Reports: Arkansas AD meets with Lane Kiffin in Florida about vacant Razorbacks coaching job
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Lane Kiffin has been a name that has been mentioned for the vacant Arkansas head coaching job. The Florida Atlantic head coach, who has led the Owls since 2017, has gone on record on Twitter saying that he’d probably rather stay in Boca Raton for now after being wooed by a Razorbacks fan.
According to reports, though, school officials may be laying their cards on the table and ready to make a move to bring the former Tennessee head coach and Alabama offensive coordinator back to the SEC.
Per a tweet from USA Today’s Dan Wolken, a plane tied to the University of Arkansas was spotted in Boca Raton on Sunday, with athletic director Hunter Yuracek and senior staff member Jon Fagg in town presumably to meet with Kiffin.
Arkansas fans have been tracking planes all day. After doing some digging, the search team led by Hunter Yurachek and Jon Fagg is indeed hopping around talking to candidates. They were in Boca Raton today, per two sources. More interviews scheduled.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) December 1, 2019
Radio host John Nabors also posted a tweet seeming to corroborate Wolken’s report.
https://twitter.com/RushJohnNabors/status/1201263405031710726
While Kiffin’s time at Tennessee ended acrimoniously after his departure for USC after 1 year, followed by him being infamously fired on the tarmac of LAX in 2013 following a loss at Arizona State, he’s bounced back over the past few years. After his 3-year stint under Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa, he was hired at FAU, where he currently holds a 25-13 overall record. The Owls will face UAB on Saturday as they seek their 2nd Conference USA title in 3 seasons.
Bringing Kiffin on board at Arkansas, then, would undoubtedly re-energize a fanbase looking for a spark after the failed tenure of Chad Morris.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
