🚨 Florida Fires Billy Napier | Top Candidates To Watch | Cover 3 College Football

Summary

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🚨 Florida Fires Billy Napier | Top Candidates To Watch

Cover 3 College Football Podcast
Date: October 19, 2025
Hosts: Chip Patterson & Bud Elliott

Episode Overview

This emergency episode of the Cover 3 College Football Podcast reacts in real-time to the breaking news that Florida has fired head coach Billy Napier. Chip Patterson and Bud Elliott analyze the timing and rationale for the firing, reflect on Napier's tenure, discuss the program's expectations and cycles of recent coaching hires, and dive deep into potential candidates for Florida’s now-vacant position. The hosts also survey the evolving landscape of coaching hot seats and potential domino effects around college football.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reaction to Billy Napier's Firing

[01:08]

• Timing and Inevitability: The hosts note that the firing was expected, speculating it was decided after the USF loss earlier in the season ([02:33]).
  • Bud Elliott: "I think this was done after the USF game." ([02:38])
• Performance Factors: Napier’s promising start was derailed by inconsistent play and a lack of offensive identity, compounded by injuries and a lack of progress from key players like QB DJ Lagway.

[03:33]

• Assessment of Napier’s Tenure:
  • Bud Elliott: “There were maybe a lot of big picture things that Billy did well at Florida, but ultimately was probably doomed by not correctly assessing his strengths and weaknesses… At Florida, you need to win more games.”
    ([03:33])
  • Chip Patterson: Emphasizes expectations based on talent and tradition, reflecting that “you can’t have a losing record at Florida... that’s just not going to get it done.”
    ([05:00])

2. Comparing Recent Florida Coaching Failures

[05:12]

• The hosts rank Napier among Florida’s recent fired HCs: Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain, Dan Mullen, and Billy Napier.
  • Discussion: Napier's tenure is considered among the least successful due to lack of big results, despite some efforts at recruitment and staff building.
  • Discussion on why Florida keeps cycling between 'the recruiter,' 'the offensive guru,' and 'the SEC guy,' but never finds a complete package.

3. What’s Next for Florida?

Is Florida a Top Job?

[07:53]

• Confirms that Florida is still a premier job, slightly above Penn State, due to recruiting advantages and a higher perceived national championship ceiling, though job security is tougher in the SEC.

Top Coaching Candidates

[09:05]

• Lane Kiffin:
  • “I think they're going to make Lane Kiffin say no, right?... The guy's done a nice job at Ole Miss. And if you're Florida, you really miss scoring some points.” ([09:05])
• Eli Drinkwitz (Missouri):
  • Praised for embracing NIL, adapting to portal era, and hiring good coordinators. Missouri’s advancing SEC schedule may make Florida more attractive.
  • “Eli Drinkwitz is just a good ass coach... If I'm sitting at Missouri and Florida calls, I take the conversation.” ([13:23]-[14:04])
• Jed Fisch (Washington):
  • Florida alum with deep ties, former GA under Steve Spurrier, strong personal connection to the program. “Those are three good options.” ([14:51]-[15:41])
• Other Possibilities / Longshots:
  • Marcus Freeman (Notre Dame) to get a courtesy call.
  • James Franklin (Penn State) not favored by either host or fan base: “I don’t think Florida fans would be happy to have James Franklin at all, man.” ([16:53])

Cautionary Tales and Contract Advice

• Bud Elliott: Warns against extremely lengthy guaranteed contracts—"Four or five year contract. That's all you need to give." ([09:05]-[10:15])
• Conflict of interest acknowledged re: agents and athletic directors ([10:15])

Florida’s Admin Leadership Concerns

[15:41]

• Worries about “interim president,” empty key administrative slots, and AD Scott Stricklin’s track record with coaching hires. Raises fan and donor anxiety about the leadership behind the search.

4. Broader Coaching Carousel and Dominoes

Other Names Discussed for UF

[20:35]

• If top targets fall through:
  • Alex Golesh (USF): Effective but unlikely due to reluctance after “Sun Belt coach” experience with Napier.
  • Rhett Lashley (SMU), Brent Key (Georgia Tech), Summerall (Troy) among names floated.
  • Consensus: “Should and would are different”—history shows Florida has hired outside the P5 before (Urban Meyer, Steve Spurrier).

Coordinators as UF Candidates?

• Interest in Will Stein (Oregon), Kirby Moore (Mizzou) mentioned but shot down as unlikely.
• Bud: “I would not be going for the coordinator.” ([35:03])

Notable "No’s" or Outsiders

[24:32]

• Brian Kelly (LSU): Not a fit—“That’d be tough,” says Chip.
• Kurt Cignetti (Indiana): Likely staying put.

5. Hot Seats & Potential Domino Effects Across CFB

• Florida State: Mike Norvell expected to be moved on “sooner rather than later” ([25:12]).
• Auburn: Hugh Freeze’s health situation makes for an uncertain timeline ([26:13]).
• LSU: Bud is nearly alone in thinking Brian Kelly could be vulnerable given the tough schedule and lack of momentum ([27:35]).
• Wisconsin: Luke Fickell’s tenure seen as untenable; Lance Leipold the obvious replacement ([30:02]-[30:58]).
• Discussion includes situations at Kentucky, Colorado State, Texas A&M (Bobby Petrino!), and general observations on AD and university search processes.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Bud Elliott on Napier's Offense:

  “Ultimately was probably doomed by not correctly assessing his strengths and weaknesses. ... I don't think he's anything special as an offensive coach.”
  ([03:33])

• Chip Patterson wonders why Florida can't have it all:

  “Why can't Florida be able to get the offense and the defense and the recruiting... Why can't Florida have it all?”
  ([07:03])

• On Lane Kiffin's Candidacy:

  “If you are Lane Kiffin, I think you can get away with being quirky anywhere in America.”
  (Chip, [10:49])

• Eli Drinkwitz Evaluation:

  “When we're just ranking coaches who seem to get it and seem to be able to get results in this modern era, then yeah, Eli Drinkwitz is going to be out there...”
  (Chip, [13:23])

• Florida’s Leadership Uncertainty:

  “If you're a Florida fan, you have some trepidation because they don't have a president, because they don't have a dean of the law school, because they don't have a dean of the medical school. ... Do you really trust him [Stricklin] to make the correct hire? I don't know.”
  (Bud, [15:41])

• On coordinator hires:

  “I would not be going for the coordinator.”
  (Bud, [35:03])

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Important Timestamps

• [01:08] – News hits: Billy Napier fired from Florida
• [03:33] – Detailed evaluation of Napier era at UF
• [05:12] – Where does Napier rank among UF coaching failures?
• [09:05] – Top candidates: Lane Kiffin, Drinkwitz, Jed Fisch
• [14:51] – Digging into Jed Fisch’s candidacy
• [15:41] – Concerns about UF job leadership
• [16:53] – Why James Franklin is not a fit
• [20:35] – "Plan B" and longshot coach names
• [24:32] – Why Brian Kelly, Kurt Cignetti aren’t fits
• [27:35] – LSU & Brian Kelly future in doubt?
• [30:02] – Wisconsin situation, Leipold as favorite
• [35:03] – Ruling out coordinator route for UF job

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Tone & Overall Takeaways

The episode balances measured analysis with the irreverent, rapid-fire energy that Cover 3 is known for—mixing stats, history, and fan sentiment. Listeners unfamiliar with the sport's intricacies will get a clear idea of Florida’s expectations and the gravity of this coaching search, as well as the major names and themes shaping the college football coaching carousel for 2025.

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For those following the Gators or the larger coaching dominoes, this episode provides a comprehensive, insightful, and immediately relevant breakdown of the state of one of college football’s most high-profile programs.

Transcript

[A]

This episode is brought to you by PNC Bank.

[B]

A lot of people think podcasts about.

[A]

In depth analysis on college football are boring sometimes, sure. But doing the research and understanding every game gives you the knowledge that you need to make small talk with any sports fan anywhere. It's like banking with PNC Bank. It might seem boring to save, plan and make calculated decisions with your bank, but keeping your money boring is. It's what helps you live a more happily fulfilled life. PNC bank Brilliantly boring since 1865 Brilliantly boring since 1865 is a service mark of the PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. PNC Bank National association member FDIC.

[C]

Welcome back to the COVID 3 podcast with your hosts, Chip Patterson, Tom Fernelli, Danny Cannell and Bud Elliott. It's your call for the best college football cover signing day to the national championship and everything in between. CBS Sports presents the COVID 3 podcast.

[B]

And welcome back to the COVID 3 podcast here on CBS Sports. That's Bud Elliott. I'm Chip Patterson coming to you [e-mail] cover3 and everywhere. You get your podcast on demand. Thanks for hanging out. Smash that subscribe, smash that like and come and join us in the chat where they know you. You see those sirens in your feed, you know exactly what that means. A whole hit list of names, Bud. That could have been. We figured it would be a siren Sunday. And Here we go. 2:10pm as we are coming to you live as the the news had been confirmed. Shout out to Matt Zenitz, Richard Johnson, our friends, our colleagues here at CBS Sports, though they were on it, I know they've been working this story to be able to get the confirmation. We knew there would be assistant coaches meetings, we knew there would be team meetings. And and now we know that Florida has in fact decided to fire Billy Napier. Lots to get to here as we react to the news in real time, including you know what the domino effects are going to be here, candidates to watch and whether this will be the only firing that we have here on Sunday, October 29th. But there's no surprise here. Here, I will pose it like this. Do you think any performance against Mississippi State could have changed this outcome? The timing of course, being heading into the off week before you go into the cocktail party game against Georgia.

[D]

No, I, I think this was done after the USF game.

[B]

Okay. Like how? Because of just the conversations that had been happening in that game. Okay.

[D]

Yeah, I think it's people I trust thought this was done after USF. I. Look, do you know that 100% no. That's what I tend to think.

[B]

Yeah, well, I mean, the one in three start, certainly there was some, you know, some evidence right there that would have said, like, this is not going to end with the kind of season a team that comes in ranked Inside the top 15, top 20 talented roster that really, because of injuries, we've never really gotten seen at its full strength. But after a one in three start with that loss to South Florida, then perhaps the idea that this would even get to a 9 and 3 type season was just, you know, obviously right out the window before you'd even gotten into the thick of SEC play was. How would you categorize Billy Napier's tenure at Florida?

[D]

I would say probably fits and starts, right? Certainly some promise. I think there were maybe a lot of big picture things that Billy did well at Florida, but ultimately was probably doomed by not correctly assessing his strengths and weaknesses. Meaning, like, I don't think he's anything special as an offensive coach. I think he's a very good recruiter. I think he's probably a pretty good assembler of staff. And maybe one of the things he should have assembled was a play caller ultimately. And to take away the keys, like from himself of the offense. It was, it was a tenure, you know, really just kind of hallmarked by dumb, dumb penalties and, and just in sometimes, like, nonsensical play calling with some of the trick plays, you know, a tenure that, I mean, at times they looked really damn good. And this could have potentially been the year. I think there was a path to that. Maybe if Lagway was healthy during the off season and got real reps with his young receivers who also, you know, were not really healthy this off season. But you really spent, I think, a lot of your political capital last year. And they already did the thing where, hey, if you win out or, or come close to winning out, we'll bring you back for 2025. I don't think Florida was willing to put up with that again for 2026, especially because Lagway did not really show any progress from last year to this year, probably doing no small part, to be honest, due to the injury. So, yeah, I think there were some things he did well, but it's Florida and you need to win more games. Like, you can't have a losing record at Florida in what, four years, five years, however long this tenure was, that that's just not going to get it done. But ultimately just not good enough for.

[B]

Fired head coaches since Urban Meyer for the Gators in Gainesville, that would be, Will Muschamp, Jim McIlwain, Dan Mullen, Billy Napier. Hey, I'm not going to give you the blind ranking because I've obviously just told you all four. Let's. Let's rank them. Failed Florida tenures. Where does Billy Napier stack up against those other three?

[D]

Are we ranking like, like, who was the best or who was, like, the most, like, amazing failure? Because, like, McElwain got fired for. For, like, fake death threats. Right. And had the Shark thing and a bunch of other stuff like that.

[B]

Allegedly. The Shark thing, you know? Allegedly.

[D]

I'm not saying he was the. He was not the guy in the Shark photo, but the Shark thing thing were questions surrounding his tenure. There was a Shark thing. It was actually not him, but, you know, it was kind of, you know, wondered about. All right, so McElwain won. Mullen two.

[B]

Mullen, man, 2020 team was.

[D]

Yeah, it was quite good.

[B]

And that was a. That was a coach him up special. That was Kyle Rask, right?

[D]

Yeah, yeah, that's because it was Felipe Franks. And then they put in Kyle Trashwick. Oh, this guy's much better. Franks. Let's. Let's use him. How would you stack three and four?

[B]

See, I think that Billy's two.

[D]

Or is Billy three?

[B]

Billy didn't have that much success relative. I mean, so McElwain. McElwain made SEC championship games. Mullen made an SEC championship game. You know, the. The must champ thing was about the offense, but they still had dudes on defense.

[D]

Yeah, Yeah.

[B]

I think that this is. In terms of. If I was to rank them with one being good, I think billionapiers, either.

[D]

Three or four makes sense. Yeah.

[B]

Along the way, I mean, there was some. It's. It is. I was talking with somebody who's covered Florida for a long time. This was actually a couple weeks ago. But it's like, first you get the defensive guy and you complain that he. He doesn't have an offense. So. No, then you get an offensive guy and he's totally out of touch with the fan base in Gainesville. So then you get a guy from the SEC who's got a relationship with your athletic director and he doesn't recruit. So then you go and you get the recruiter and the recruiter can't coach. But why can't Florida have it all? Why can't Florida be able to get the offense and the defense and the recruiting and the note? I mean, hey, let's just go ahead and spin it here, because we've known that Billy Napier is on the hot seat and that a change might be there. Let's dive in. Candidates for the Florida job, which, how about this? Florida and Penn State are both open. Florida's a better job.

[D]

I, I think so.

[B]

Okay.

[D]

Yeah, I, I, I think so. But I mean, small, right, Small margin. I, I don't think Florida's a way better job than Penn State. Florida has won three national titles since Penn State. Last one, it's national title. So yeah, I think Florida is a better job. The SEC is also. It's easier to get fired at Florida than it is at Penn State. Right now anybody taking one of these jobs considers themselves to be an alpha. So they don't really think about the floor. They just think about what could be for the most part. Right. And what could be is I'm going to get super rich and I'm have a shot to win a title. And I think it's more likely you can win a title at Florida if things are going well. Right. Just the ability to get that level of player specifically out of high school to be a like upper level blue chip ratio team I do think is higher at UF slightly over Penn State. I think, like to me, to me, there's three guys I would really take a look at here. Okay. Lane Kiffin. I think they're going to make Lane Kiffin say no, right? I know there's probably some old Florida boosters who don't like some of the antics, but the guy's done a nice job at Ole Miss. And if you're Florida, you really miss scoring some points.

[B]

Ah, man, and he had that team ready to go yesterday.

[D]

That was, that was wild. Which brings me to my other point. Like think about a candidate, like a Glenn Schumann. Just quick, quick kind of like, like side, side chatter here. Did Glenn Schumann forget how to coach defense in one off season or has Georgia just done a poor job of deciding who to keep and who to let walk in the transfer portal? I just think the most important thing for Florida or anyone hiring this year is that you, you stop doing these super long guaranteed contracts. NFL teams don't do this. There's nobody, there's no NFL coach. You're like, oh, now we got this guy. We're super bowl bound, right? There's no Major League Baseball managers. Oh man, now that we got Dave Roberts, we're gonna go win the World Series. It's a players based sport now and you need to treat it as such, just like the pros do. Four or five year contract. Okay? That's all you need to give. If you're the Gators. You want to pay them 10 million a year, that's fine. But, like, you don't need to be doing this 10 year crap. It looks good for the ad, but it's a. It's a major principal agent logic problem. Right. Is that actually in the best interest of the school? No. If things are going well, he's very likely to stay. What job are you leaving Florida for?

[B]

Well, what if the AD has the same agent as the coach?

[D]

Well, right now, that. That is absolutely a major conflict of interest. And it's something that happens quite a bit. Or at least they're. They're at a sister agency, you know.

[B]

Yeah. It might not be the. An agent, but they might have offices that have business interests that are aligned.

[D]

That's correct. Yeah. I think you make Lane say no, right? I mean, he. He's going to score points. He knows the state, obviously knows the program. Does he want to leave Ole Miss? I don't know. Can you get away with being quirky at Ole Miss in a way that you might not be able to at Florida?

[B]

No. No. Excuse me. Let me say that you can. If you are Lane Kiffin, I think that you can get away with being quirky anywhere in America.

[D]

Is it because he has Florida by the balls at this point?

[B]

Leverage? Yes. They've had fever dreams about him for more than 12 months, and I just really think that he's hit that point in his. I mean, he had. You got Ms. Terry, like. Like Ms. Terry is up on college game day, and Ms. Terry's like, well, what about our baby coaches like Kirby and Lane? Well, you know what the difference between those two is? Kirby's got national championships, but Lane still gets mentioned in that class, even though he does not have SEC championships, even though he does not have national championships because he's just Lane Kiffin. You know, I think the cult of personality, the force of personality around Lane Kiffin allows him that if he shows up in Gainesville, Florida will let him be Lane Kiffin. I think that is my bet right now.

[D]

I would agree with that. Yeah. So I think he's probably one. It's probably like DrinkWits and Jed Fish. Two, three. You know, if you think about it, if you're Eli, you have done a great job embracing an il, right? You score points. You have done a great job of hiring coordinators. When you've lost your coordinators to bigger programs, you probably want to get to a point where you're not losing coordinators to bigger programs. You're only Losing coordinators to head coaching jobs. I also think it's worth pointing out, much like some of these guys who were early adopters of the portal and now other teams have caught up both in terms of portal hunting and in terms of increased retention. Missouri and Eli were really like on the forefront of nil use and nil adoption. Right. And being creative in that and being willing to spend and not pretend like there's, you know, pearl clutching, all this kind of stuff. Now the sport has somewhat caught up. I do think Missouri still has a strong nil program. They're not lacking there. It's just other people have closed the gap. Right. For a while, Missouri was one of the best nil teams in the sec and they are still a very good one. But I don't think that they have this edge over maybe like half the teams out there that they once did. So is it going to be harder to sustain this at Missouri, especially now that you have the nine game conference schedule coming? I think potentially so, like, if I'm, if I'm Eli, I'm looking to get out. If I can get to a place that I think is an awesome place, which, you know, Florida, when it's at its best can be. It's also a place with a lot of pressure, you know, and a lot of weird stuff, not like weirdo stuff.

[B]

I don't think you need to spell doom and gloom for the future of the Missouri football program. While also acknowledging Eli Drinkowicz is just a good ass coach. That when we're just like ranking coaches who seem to get it and seem to be able to get results in this modern era, then yeah, Eli Trinkowicz is going to be out there on that list. He's going to be able to do a lot of the things that you want. And I, I don't think that you're breaking hearts to say that. If I am someone who, you know, like, he, he's from, where he's from, but man, he's coached all over the place, you know. Right. We're not, we're not going to do a, he's tied to one specific place. If, if, if I'm sitting there at Missouri and Florida calls, I take the conversation.

[D]

So yeah, I mean, I'm sure they'll call Marcus Freeman, just say, hey, how are you doing? Right.

[B]

So I, I think that that is Lane, Eli, Jed Fish. Jed Fish at Washington, of course, somebody who is a University of Florida alum, somebody whose first coaching job I believe was a GA for Steve Spurrier. You know, I mean, he's, he still, he told us. Ah, yeah, this isn't a bad thing. I mean, like he was telling us in Las Vegas about the annual trips he still does with his college buddies. You know, you, you think, you think those golf trips with his college buddies are, are filled with people who don't love the Florida football program.

[D]

Exactly.

[B]

You know, and, and would love to, to see him be able to go get a shot at it. I think, I think Jed Fish is another good shout. And if you're Florida, because you're Florida, all of these names are at least worth taking the temperature and having those conversations before you start to advance. Because remember, remember, a job is never offered until it's accepted. Right, Bud?

[D]

That's correct.

[B]

That is correct. So that way they were always our first choice. But yeah, whether it's, whether it's an outright conversation, an outright interview, or just kind of back channeling this, this thing, I don't know, man. A completely uninvested observer, except for covering the story. Those are three good options. Like if I'm, if I'm the University of Florida and I felt like those are, those are good spot, good potential choices, then I, I don't, I don't feel bad about moving on from Billy Napier. And maybe you needed to just to go ahead and get those conversations going.

[D]

I think if you're a Florida fan, you have some trepidation because they don't have a president, because they don't have a dean of the law school, because they don't have a dean of the medical school. Right now, they have an interim president. There are a lot more, bigger, not bigger, but like similarly large things that the president has to tackle. You know, this has been left in the hands of Scott Strickland, the athletic director. And you know, given that he has not been good at hiring coaches at Florida so far, for the most part, I mean, you probably are like, do you really trust him to make the correct hire? I don't know. Maybe like if you had, if you had a non interim president. Is Scott Strickland still around? They won in basketball. You know any Florida fans who are still real happy today because, because the basketball thing, I don't like, I, I do.

[B]

Her name is Jacqueline d' Agostino and she, she lives that man.

[D]

That's fair.

[B]

That's. Hey, when you were a dazzler, you know, you were sitting there for, for all the basketball games, I think she was there for the, the 2014 run, I think was when she was in school. But that's a Whole nother question. Get. We'll get Jacqueline and Jake to, to weigh in on, on the Florida coaching search for the COVID 3 podcast soon. You did not mention a name. You know which name you did not mention?

[D]

No.

[B]

James Franklin.

[D]

Oh, I, I don't think Florida fans would be happy to have James Franklin at all, man.

[B]

Wow.

[D]

I mean, you, you play a lot more big time games in the SEC than you do in the Big Ten. His record in big games is awful.

[B]

Are you sure that's a James Franklin thing and not a Penn State thing?

[D]

Well, so if you think he has poor game management now that the sport is a lot tighter, that means he's having to make more critical decisions more times per year.

[B]

How. I thought that we had, I thought that we had come to a point with James Franklin that the, the big game James sticks because there is still a win loss record. But I do not remember in the last three years as many just truly baffling decisions made by James Franklin. Conservative, sure. But I don't, I don't know if there's been a lot of like, oh my, like three, four years ago, you'd be like, what is he doing right now? Like, the clock is running. Don't you realize what's happened? I don't anecdotally have on my mental notepad a long list of that continuing to be something that would stick with him if I was, if I was a Florida fan. I think James Franklin's a pretty good hire. That's somebody who was successful in the SEC at Vanderbilt and somebody who's won a whole lot of ball games. And look, you might, you might need to have, you know, maybe James Franklin's not your national championship winner, but maybe James Franklin gets you a hell of a lot closer than Billy Napier was.

[D]

Yeah. But I don't think if you're Florida, you, you want to hire a guy who doesn't have a national championship ceiling.

[B]

Okay.

[D]

Like, it's hard to fundraise off that. I, I don't think UF fans would be very happy. And you have boosters would be happy to have James Franklin. Right. If you think you are a better job than Penn State, you don't go hire the guy Penn State just fired. Also, and I think James Franklin would do a really good job at a lot of programs. He doesn't score points. And Florida fans, they don't want to sit in those steel bleachers in the swamp in September and watch these 13 to 10 games. But I get it. Like, the guy's track record is really solid. It's a lot, it's a lot easier to say, hey, we don't lose games we shouldn't than actually go out there and do it. He does very, up until this year very rarely have letdowns.

[B]

So. So Florida State head coach James Franklin.

[D]

I mean, if he wants to come for cheap, I, I just think like.

[B]

I don't know, but because losing the.

[D]

Game job there, I mean, like, there's, there's a reason I took Stanford Moneyline, right?

[B]

Like hedging happiness.

[D]

Yeah. Norvell is doing a really bad job. And when you're out spending most of your conference foes by like 40 or 50% like that, that's inexcusable. I think there's a lot of folks who will have success at this issue.

[B]

Yeah, the, the. Because Franklin is offering that, like, well, we're not going to lose, right. Stanford, you know, we're not going to have these horrendous losses down the line. Okay. We'll get to more dominoes and other expectations here in just a second after we hit a break. What. So let's say they strike out. Let's say, let's say, let's say Auburn or actually that's more the dominoes. But let's say for whatever reason, Lane says, I'm going to hang an Ole Miss, you know, gets a, a brand new deal, a huge investment. And he's like, man, I just, I just like being me in Oxford and, and maybe Drinkwitz looks at Florida and looks at, you know, the leadership situation and you know, then all of a sudden says, well, there's other jobs that are open and I think I would be a better fit or I would very, I would, you know, I would like going somewhere else. And, and maybe Jed Fish goes the NFL or if the, you know, maybe there's another job out there that does end up, you know, being a little bit more attractive. So, so what does it go? Where does it go after that?

[D]

I mean, I think Golesh does a really good job. I don't think Florida wants to go G5, but like, I, I think he does. Well, man, you know, I, I do.

[B]

I think. I think the scars of hiring high school. I think, I think the scars of hiring a Sunbelt coach is going to prevent hiring a head coach from the American even if.

[D]

But should it. Like, do you think that's, do you think that's a smart way to go about things?

[B]

No, I don't agree.

[D]

Because you know what? Once upon a time, Urban Meyer was, was a group of Five coach, two guys I know. And Steve Spurrier was at Duke, which really just should have been a G5 program for all intents and purposes. Like, when they took Spurrier from Duke, Duke was literally moving their home games against FSU and taking a check to move them to neutral sites. You can look it up like they were playing Duke home Games in Orlando, Florida for money. Like, the two best coaches in your history were basically G5 or glorified G5 coaches before they came to you. I. I go also coached for Tennessee.

[B]

Should, should and would are different, you know?

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

So. All right, one, let's hit a break.

[D]

And then take a look at Lashley. Like, I'm trying to think of, like, other guys here. Like, Lashley would be interesting. I don't think SMU is going to let him go. I mean, I, I think Summer all is really good, to be honest. But again, they're not going to go G5 from Louisiana. It's just too, too on the nose for what they did with Billy.

[B]

Eli Drinkwitz, Marcus Freeman. I'm with you on the. Like, you just, you call, you call Jeff Prom, Rhett Lashley. What about Brent?

[D]

Yeah, probably. I think he does a really good job in the underdog role. Georgia Tech's not a real easy place to win at. He's doing a nice job there. My question with Brent Key is like, is he the best coach on that staff or is it Buster? Like, am I getting Buster? Is Buster the secret sauce there? Because I think it might be.

[B]

It's a good question.

[D]

And I think Brent's a good coach. I do. But, like, if you could take one coach off that staff, who are you taking? Because I'm taking Buster.

[B]

I don't know. Brent Key kind of seems like a tone setter for the program, but that's, you know.

[D]

Oh, yeah. No, and, like, he talks about it like he's got a bunch of big people on staff. Like he wants to have, you know, big physical guys.

[B]

All right, let's hit a break and then we'll do. We'll do some domino predictions coming up on the other side. So Florida's open, Penn State's open. Who's next? What are we on the lookout for? And more next.

[E]

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[B]

No way Brian Kelly could go sidestep to Gainesville, right?

[D]

I don't think so.

[B]

That'd be tough.

[D]

Would you want Brian Kelly after what he's done in the sec? No.

[B]

No. Yeah, I think that's just a tough sell. Hey, look, I know it didn't go well at lsu, but this time this is going to be the fit. I think, I think that his stock price is a little bit tough. Brian Kelly, who, you know, probably was on lists that when this job was open for Billy Napier, but yeah. So Florida's open. Florida State. What's going to happen now that Mike Norvell's 04 in the ACC and has won just one conference game since the conclusion of the 2023 season?

[D]

I mean, we said, what, two weeks ago, one week ago, that it's, it's done. They're just going to figure out when to do it. You know, I think Stanford may move that timeline up.

[B]

Right.

[D]

I don't think they really wanted to have to do it this year or this week. I mean, they're boxed up and ready to move into the football only facility.

[B]

So.

[D]

And I believe that's tomorrow. So do you want the symbolism of that? I mean, for the photo ops, you let Norvell move into the football facility or are you going to pull the plug today or tomorrow morning? That's kind of, that's my thought. Yeah.

[B]

I mean, clean slate, fresh start.

[D]

Yeah, right, exactly. And that way you can message, hey, we're serious about this. We won the lawsuit against the acc, we got the stadium done, we have the new building done, our address, or we're still in the state of Florida. You should be able to recruit here if you actually put effort into it.

[B]

All right, what about Auburn?

[D]

So here's my question on this. If you're freeze and you want to coach again in the sport, you don't really want to get fired, right? Obviously you're battling the, you know, the, the cancer stuff, right? The health stuff. Do you do. You do basically, like a medical, you know, like, hey, let's talk about this buyout. Let me walk away. Once I get healthy again, assuming, you know me, like, like, legitimately here, like, assuming he, you know, he beats it and comes out good on the other side, maybe he goes and he can coach, I don't know, Arkansas State or Memphis or something down the line. Right.

[B]

I think he can go and coach at that level as long as he wants to.

[D]

Yeah, right. Exactly. Yeah. I had a guy be like, hey, the only real thing there is, there are some people who like DJ Durkin. Durkin's done a good job with the defense. If you fire him now, that gives Durkin a lot of Runway to maybe win some ball games. And we don't really want to hire DJ Durkin, you know, but maybe there's some people in the booster thing who like him. So I don't know if I buy that. I'd be shocked if Alberto, you know, but I don't know. I'm not as, like, confident on the timing of Auburn.

[B]

Got it.

[D]

What about.

[B]

What about lsu?

[D]

I. I seem to be the only one that thinks, like, that could move. I don't know.

[B]

You.

[D]

Is anybody else thinking, like, that's going to go, But, I mean, look at the remaining schedule. It. It's not friendly. You just seem to be the only.

[B]

One that's thinking that it's not gonna go or that it.

[D]

No, I. I think I'm, like, the only one that, like, from looking around, nobody else seems to have Brian Kelly on, like, watch today.

[B]

I. I mean, if you don't want.

[D]

To, outside of our show, you know. You know, like, we're looking at it like, guys, you got A and M and Bama Next Arkansas can probably score on you. And, I mean, there's no guarantee your offense shows up and, like, are you going to score any points at Oklahoma?

[B]

Not against that defense.

[D]

Right?

[B]

Yeah. Not. Not the way they're playing right now. Offensively, I think that I've got Brian Kelly and LSU more. I don't know. I. I see things careening that way. It wasn't like today, where I'm checking in, in Gainesville to say, like, what time are coaches getting to the facility? Those kinds of questions. So that's. That's kind of where. Where I'm at right there. What about Wisconsin? Saw them on America's most watched network, the network of stars. They had a hell of a fake punt in the fourth quarter.

[D]

That was a fake punt.

[B]

That. That was a. That was a awesome I might be coaching my last game. We're pulling this out. We're just gonna let this guy do it. And boy, he was hyped. Come out of a. Come out of a less than enthusiastic jump around. But then you get. Get him going again with the fake punt. Happy for the sideline, happy for the punter on that one.

[D]

I mean, if the AD fires him, is the AD firing himself?

[B]

That's, I mean, tough dynamic question I.

[D]

Have to answer, right?

[B]

Yeah, maybe, maybe not. The Virginia Tech situation has kind of changed my tune on that. Where now the university can decide to set up these search committees where the athletic director is not the one making the hire.

[D]

Okay. Yeah, that's fair.

[B]

You know, like, I. We've talked a lot about the. We've talked a lot about that dynamic with the athletic director. We've talked a lot about, you know, are you going to be able to fire the coach or what's the athletic director. Is he going to want to hang on. I think that the big business of college football and a college football program has reached the point that universities are. Are very much in the. Like, let's put a committee together rather than put this all in one person's hands. I think that, that they need to move, then they should be able to pull it together and move. I would think so.

[D]

So if you're Wisconsin, we're assuming Fickles out. Right.

[B]

But again, don't know when. But yeah, they. I believe the Badgers will have a new head coach for 2026. Yeah.

[D]

There's no way this is tenable to run it back. Correct. At all. Correct. Is it Lance Leipold and then Jason Eck? Are there other obvious names that I'm missing?

[B]

I. I think Lance Leipold fears the. Is it Occam's Razor? Is that the one, though? It's like the most obvious solution is just sometimes just. Is it. Yeah. The guy who won championships at Wisconsin, Whitewater might be the one who is ready to come here and like, help modernize and also stabilize a Wisconsin program that love Luke Fickle. But like, that program had an identity crisis under his watch. And so now they. They need an identity stabilizer. And I think Lance Leipold might be able to do that.

[D]

I think that's fair. He's also losing Daniel. So, you know, if you were going to get out.

[B]

Well, yeah, I mean, you could also say that, hey, you, You. You've had a couple hot seasons at Kansas. History says that you're gonna pull right down. That's a sell. While the stock high is high situation.

[D]

Kansas does have a lot of new investment, so I do not expect that Kansas is going to go right back to the basement. Right. But they probably have more downward mobility than upward. Yep. Kentucky lost in overtime. That still feels like a whole lot of money to come up with, man.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

37 million. A lot of it's due, like, now.

[B]

It doesn't feel like he's getting far.

[D]

He.

[B]

It does not feel like there is an urge from the university to figure that. To answer that question or figure that out right now.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

So let that. Let that one play out. Any other. Any other names that we should watch for? Hot seat or just, like, general candidates? As you've been thinking about this.

[D]

Colorado State lost last night, right?

[B]

Yes, they did. Jay Norvell. Yeah, that.

[D]

That's probably. That may have run its course.

[B]

I would probably agree with you.

[D]

Petrino scored a whole lot of points on. On a. M. Man.

[B]

I know. I think he's gonna get the job.

[D]

I kind of think so, too.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

Other Florida candidates, just to put a bow on this, from my perspective. Do you call Ashley. Yeah. Okay. I do, too.

[B]

I think money would be a problem.

[D]

Because SMU would. Would fight pretty hard.

[B]

Yeah. And. And this.

[D]

Would you rather live in Highland park or Gainesville? Yeah. I mean, come on.

[B]

And beyond that, I'm not trying to. I got. Look, Rhett. I know Rhett's a huge fan of the COVID 3 podcast, so. Red, I. I apologize in advance. Feel free to tell me how disrespectful this was. But when you're playing poker and you do get into, like, one of these bidding wars, sometimes you're just in the. You're in the bidding war. But they're like, oh, man, I don't know about this hand.

[D]

Like, Right.

[B]

If you end up getting in a bidding war and then you win the bidding war, and what you get is a Rhett Lashley, are you going to be like, oh, man, I could have. I could have gotten a Lane Kiffin for this right now. You know?

[D]

Exactly.

[B]

That's a. That's going to be. Money is going to be an interesting factor because as, again, as I feel like I need to remind the rest of the country, this is a university community at Southern Methodist University. That said, don't worry about giving us media rights checks for nine years. We'll foot the bill.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Crazy. All right. Yeah. Kurt Signetti ain't going anywhere. That extension at Indiana. Yeah. He says he wants to retire a Hoosier. I believe him. He'll. He's gonna, he's gonna coach, he's gonna win a whole lot of ball games. And then if he stops winning ball games, the shtick will start to wear on people and he'll be, he will have changed Indiana football forever. Everyone will be happier for it. So I'm not sending Kurt to Penn State. I'm not sending Kurt to Florida. I, I think that I believe him. I think he'll be at Indiana to, to, to run this thing out.

[D]

No chance. Florida goes coordinator. Right.

[B]

I just don't know who that would be. Will Stein.

[D]

Yeah, but I would think, like, Will Stein, like, is Texas too big of a job if something went sideways with, with Sark, like, he's, you know, from Texas. Right. I mean, Kirby Moore does a really nice job at Missouri, but probably not. Like, that's like, you just go get drink. Not Kirby.

[B]

This is Florida.

[D]

I know there's been some, like, talk about Glenn Schumann, but, like, he's not having a good year this year overall. Right. So.

[B]

Yeah, I would, I, I would, I would not be going for the coordinator. Hey, I mean, honestly, Florida State's offensive coordinator, if you're, if you're going to hire a coordinator, I don't think he's.

[D]

Going to be a head coach again.

[B]

Okay. Just like, his own personal motivations, like, I was thinking about retiring, you know.

[D]

Yeah, right, Exactly. I do not think he wants to deal. Like, if you didn't want to deal with all the stuff that comes with being a head coach at ucf, multiply that by about a billion at uf. Yep, I would agree.

[B]

All right, well, we will have much more on this coaching carousel. Very, very likely. If not guaranteed to make an appearance on Mondays, upon further review, 11:00am Eastern Time. So if you want to go and check it out and you can follow him on Twitter @BUD Elliot3, you can follow me at Chip Underscore Patterson. Bud, thank you very much.

[C]

Streaming October 26th on Paramount. Plus it's the epic return of mayor of Kingstown Warden, you know who I am. Starring Academy award nominee Jeremy Renner as well.

[B]

This way.

[C]

In these walls, Emmy award winner Edie Falco.

[E]

You're an ex con who ran this place for years and now, now you can't do that.

[C]

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[B]

You're about to have a plague of.

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Outsiders descend on your town. Let me tell you this. There's gonna be consequences. Mayor of Kingstowne new season streaming October 26th on Paramount Plus.