By now, it appears the top-three candidates for the Florida job are Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen, UCF’s Scott Frost and former NFL coach Chip Kelly, in some order.

Though the school is keeping the search close to the vest, it should come as no surprise that the Gators are aiming high as they look for a new leader of the program.

On Sunday night, Yahoo! Sports reporter Pete Thamel said the Gators were already making moves to vet new coaches. As you can see in the segment below, he reported that the school has already begun discussing Kelly’s past with NFL executives and those familiar with his days at Oregon:

We wrote the day after the firing that the three prime candidates for that position will be UCF’s Scott Frost, Chip Kelly and Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen. That trio still remains in focus, with sources indicating that a thorough vetting of Kelly has begun. That includes calls to NFL executives to do general background on Kelly and exploration of his NCAA issues at Oregon.

Does this mean Kelly has the inside track on the Florida job? Not necessarily, but as the only one of the three currently without a coaching job, it makes sense the Gators are doing their homework on him first.

Who ends up getting the job in Gainesville remains to be seen, but the Gators are busy making sure they are aggressive in their search.