Lane isn't going to Florida/An Analysis of the Caliber of Our Program

WhoDatReb17 · Tuesday at 1:17 PM

Kiffin isn't leaving Ole Miss for Florida in 2025. Why?

I genuinely believe Lane when he says he loves Oxford and think that he has finally embraced the idea that Ole Miss and he could have been made for each other.
He didn't leave for Auburn. Some may say that Florida is a better program--but they have been in disarray since Urban Meyer left. Not only that, but remember why Lane did not leave for Auburn last year. Nothing has changed, other than alot of roster turnover that will follow this season. Is that enough? I dont think so.
His daughter is a sophomore and loves Ole Miss.
His son is rumored to be transferring to Oxford High School for next school year.
At the present moment, we have just as much, if not more money than Florida--especially with regard to our Collective
Florida will have to buy out Napier, pay Lane an outrageous salary, and pray that we dont match it.
Florida has an interim President. They will need to hire a permanent President, who may want another AD, since this would be Stricklin's third football coach hire, without success and money wasted. Too many moving parts for Lane to jump into without knowing who the President and possibly AD will be. Also if we do get into the playoffs, then they would presumably have to wait until January for him to take over. Too long to wait for Florida. (MudIslandReb, if you are here, I will tag you for credit.)

Hypothetically, if he were to leave, we (very) fortunately had Lane sign the latter years of his contract with the Ole Miss Athletic Foundation. It is my understanding that any buyout from Florida would not only include a check being written to the University, but also a hefty check to the Athletic Foundation. (I was previously under the impression the latter years of Lane's contract were with the Grove Collective, but was told it was the Athletic Foundation--which begs the question as to whether or not an NIL fund can contract with a coach? Can we set our collective up with a big paycheck from another university if Lane were to leave?

Next, I truly believe that if Lane hypothetically were to leave, our next head coach would be Pete Golding. I have no source on this, but it is purely a guess. I think that Golding would never leave Ole Miss and we wouldn't have to hear rumors of him leaving each and every year.

Is Ole Miss an elite program now that NIL has entered the picture?

A note on the above #5: I am skeptical we can keep up with our current spending, year after year, as any sane fan would be. Below, I offer questions to ponder--as I doubt anyone can offer a truly correct black and white answer.

Are we a "window program" where we have enough money to build a championship caliber team every 3-4 years, or can we have sustained success year after year with the increasing "salaries" of these players? Only time will tell. I am quite optimistic, but no one can say anything with a straight face, barring pure speculation, other than Walker Jones and others in the know about exactly how much money we have. Even then, I am confident they don't even know--due to the fact that it seems the landscape changes each and every year. See below
While we currently have a big advantage due to getting our Collective rolling early--before "bigger" programs--what happens when all of the traditional powerhouses' collectives have a few years of fundraising? What happens then? Has our Collective hit it's peak, while other program's Collectives are just getting started? It makes sense as to why we have gone all in on this year if that is the case, as we certainly needed to take advantage of the opportunity. Will salaries increase drastically in the future, and will we be able to keep getting the same return on investment dollar for dollar? I think we absolutely do have the ability to consistently compete with the traditional powerhouses when it comes to funding, but I stress the importance of continued financial support to our Grove Collective.
Not to mention, the NCAA is currently trying to figure out ways to regulate NIL. Will future regulations hinder or cultivate an Ole Miss ascension to the top of college football? What if they were to implement salary caps similar to the NFL? How will University profit sharing alter each individual program?

I am not here to offer an answer to the above question(s). However, as of today, September 17, 2024, Ole Miss is undoubtedly an elite college football program and should be treated as such. I have no idea what the future holds for our program because as I mentioned earlier, only time will tell. With that being said, I sure as h*** am going to enjoy this season (and the upcoming seasons with Lane as our head coach 😉 ), because at this moment, we are a d*** good program and have a legitimate shot to win a National Title.

Hotty Toddy and GTHLSU

OxonianReb · Tuesday at 1:20 PM