The Florida State Seminoles quietly entered the race for Lane Kiffin before the former Ole Miss football coach took his talents to LSU, according to ESPN.
Florida State athletic director Michael Alford was wooing Kiffin behind the scenes last month at the same time SEC rivals Florida and LSU were recruiting the coach, sources familiar with the search told the outlet.
The Seminoles then announced on Nov. 23 that embattled coach Mike Norvell would be back for a seventh season after it became clear Kiffin wasn’t interested.
Kiffin and Alford worked together at USC in the early 2000s.
The Seminoles would have owed Norvell about $54 million if they fired him without cause, plus another $18 million to pay off his assistants.
During his introductory press conference at LSU on Monday, Kiffin repeated multiple times that there were four schools he considered.
Kiffin was at the center of a coaching drama that dragged on for months before he agreed to a seven-year contract with LSU that will pay him $13 million annually.
The Tigers and Gators both targeted the sought-after coach after firing their respective coaches, Brian Kelly and Billy Napier, in October.
Florida dropped out of the sweepstakes last week and hired former Tulane coach Jon Sumrall.
Kiffin announced Sunday he was taking his talents to the SEC rival, two days after the Rebels’ 38-19 Egg Bowl victory over Mississippi State.
Several Ole Miss players called out Kiffin on social media, refuting his claims that they asked the administration to allow him to coach the Rebels through the College Football Playoff.
During a Wednesday appearance on “SuperTalk Mississippi,” Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter questioned some things Kiffin said at his press conference in Baton Rouge — specifically his claim that he wasn’t told until Sunday morning that he would not be able to coach Ole Miss through the CFP.
“There’s been a lot of things that he’s said publicly that I’m not sure are totally accurate,” Carter said.
“I think both coach and his representation knew several weeks ago that coaching in the playoffs was not going to be an option, if he was not the Ole Miss head coach.”
Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding was promoted to coach the 11-1 Rebels permanently.
