Florida AD on failed pursuit of Lane Kiffin: ‘I respect his decision’
Florida athletic director Scott Sricklin introduced Jon Sumrall as the school’s next football coach on Monday. And after that presentation, Stricklin spent a lot of time answering questions about the candidate who doesn’t accept the job. We would of course talk about Lane Kiffin.
The Gators’ interest in Kiffin was no secret, but the two sides never reached an agreement, and Kiffin was introduced as LSU’s new coach shortly after Sumrall took the podium in Gainesville. Stricklin admitted he didn’t know why Kiffin turned down the Florida job, but he felt like they had “productive conversations” throughout the process.
“He’s a fascinating guy and I respect his decision,” Stricklin said, according to The Independent Florida Alligator. “I don’t know why he made that decision, but I would say we had some productive conversations.”
Stricklin denied rumors that he and Kiffin didn’t get along well during interviews, saying there was a lot of “misinformation” circulating about the coaching search.
“There’s a lot of twisted information out there and a lot of people trying to create narratives that benefit themselves,” Stricklin said. “And so look, I said this earlier, I’m not going to talk about any other candidate, but Lane was a pretty visible candidate.”
CBS Sports’ John Talty chronicled the chaos that was Kiffin’s courtship between Florida, LSU and Ole Miss. In this article, Talty reports that initial discussions between Kiffin and Stricklin were not entirely smooth sailing. Part of the disconnect was Florida’s insistence on having a general manager who would report directly to the next coach.
In the weeks of turmoil that led Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss to LSU – with a rough pass at Florida
John Talty
Ultimately, Kiffin passed on the opportunity to coach the Gators and ended up in Baton Rouge. Stricklin was happy that Florida ended up where it ended up – with Sumrall at the helm after another excellent season at the Group of Five level. Stricklin also said he had no ill will toward other parties involved in the process.
“I’m really happy with where we are,” Stricklin said. “I wish him the best. I wish the best to all the schools involved except when we play them.”
When it became clearer that Kiffin was moving away from Florida, Stricklin said he knew the Gators had to move quickly because there would be “a line” for Sumrall, recommended by Urban Meyer. Auburn was reportedly interested in Sumrall, but Florida was able to lure him away from Tulane after moving away from Kiffin.
