{"id":1817,"date":"2026-05-27T05:04:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T05:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1817"},"modified":"2026-05-27T05:04:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T05:04:35","slug":"lane-kiffin-on-turning-down-gators-it-really-was-not-about-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1817","title":{"rendered":"Lane Kiffin on turning down Gators: \u2018It really was not about them\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>GAINESVILLE \u2014 Lane Kiffin appeared destined to become Florida\u2019s next coach once the school moved on from Billy Napier.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1815\">Daily Horoscope for May 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The fit seemed natural.<\/p>\n<p>Kiffin had deep ties to the Sunshine State and a personal connection to the Florida program. If any coach in college football resembled Steve Spurrier, it was the visor-wearing, quick-witted man behind high-scoring teams at Ole Miss.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, Kiffin opted to leave Oxford for rival LSU.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking Tuesday at SEC Spring Meetings, Kiffin said many factors influenced his decision to head to Baton Rouge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was a lot that went into it, a lot of conversations and [Florida] is an amazing program with great history,\u201d he said. \u201cJust weighing everything out I made a decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kiffin\u2019s choice stung Gator Nation.<\/p>\n<p>By then, Florida athletic director\u00a0Scott Stricklin had shifted his focus to Tulane\u2019s Jon Sumrall, who became the Gators coach Nov. 30 \u2014 the same day LSU announced Kiffin would lead he Tigers.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt really was not about them it was about LSU, how it fit, the timing of everything,\u201d Kiffin explained. \u201cSo it really wasn\u2019t about the other program. It was specifically about LSU.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1814\">Joined by brother, Magic\u2019s Anthony Black discusses extension, Mosley firing<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Coaching Florida long appeared to be part of Kiffin\u2019s future.<\/p>\n<p>His father, Monte, was the defensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Bucs (1996-2008) during the franchise\u2019s hey-day, while Lane Kiffin was getting into coaching at Fresno State.<\/p>\n<p>Kiffin married Layla Reaves, a UF graduate and daughter of Gators record-setting quarterback John Reaves. The couple\u2019s first date was a game in the Swamp.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Kiffin\u2019s Spurrier-like ability to generate offensive fireworks while needling opponents made him especially appealing to Florida fans eager for a splash hire.<\/p>\n<p>When he chose LSU, the backlash was unsurprisingly swift.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are not going to please everybody in decisions and that\u2019s impossible,\u201d Kiffin said. \u201cObviously it played out and we went through all kind of different things, options. We made the decision for the next chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1812\">How Florida\u2019s Big Three ended up back with the Gators for one more run<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lane Kiffin said LSU\u2019s fit and timing outweighed Florida ties when he chose the Tigers over the Gators.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1816,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-sports","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Lane Kiffin on turning down Gators: \u2018It really was not about them\u2019 - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1817\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lane Kiffin on turning down Gators: \u2018It really was not about them\u2019 - Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lane Kiffin said LSU\u2019s fit and timing outweighed Florida ties when he chose the Tigers over the Gators.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1817\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-27T05:04:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=1817#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=1817\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"headline\":\"Lane Kiffin on turning down Gators: \u2018It really was not about them\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-27T05:04:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=1817\"},\"wordCount\":380,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=1817#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/c2064bd279b793e18b7e32fed061ab85.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"College Sports\",\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=1817#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=1817\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=1817\",\"name\":\"Lane Kiffin on turning down Gators: \u2018It really was not about them\u2019 - Orlando Relocation Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=1817#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=1817#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/c2064bd279b793e18b7e32fed061ab85.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-27T05:04:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=1817#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=1817\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=1817#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/c2064bd279b793e18b7e32fed061ab85.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/c2064bd279b793e18b7e32fed061ab85.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":683},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=1817#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lane Kiffin on turning down Gators: \u2018It really was not about them\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Orlando Relocation Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lane Kiffin on turning down Gators: \u2018It really was not about them\u2019 - Orlando Relocation Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1817","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lane Kiffin on turning down Gators: \u2018It really was not about them\u2019 - Orlando Relocation Report","og_description":"Lane Kiffin said LSU\u2019s fit and timing outweighed Florida ties when he chose the Tigers over the Gators.","og_url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1817","og_site_name":"Orlando Relocation Report","article_published_time":"2026-05-27T05:04:35+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1817#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1817"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"headline":"Lane Kiffin on turning down Gators: \u2018It really was not about them\u2019","datePublished":"2026-05-27T05:04:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1817"},"wordCount":380,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1817#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/c2064bd279b793e18b7e32fed061ab85.webp","articleSection":["College Sports","Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1817#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1817","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1817","name":"Lane Kiffin on turning down Gators: \u2018It really was not about them\u2019 - Orlando Relocation Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1817#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1817#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/c2064bd279b793e18b7e32fed061ab85.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-27T05:04:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1817#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1817"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1817#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/c2064bd279b793e18b7e32fed061ab85.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/c2064bd279b793e18b7e32fed061ab85.webp","width":1024,"height":683},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1817#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Lane Kiffin on turning down Gators: \u2018It really was not about them\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/","name":"Orlando Relocation Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1817\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}