Another major college football job is now open.

On Sunday, the Florida Gators parted ways with fourth-year coach Billy Napier after a 3-4 start to the season. Napier won his final game, beating Mississippi State 23-21 on Saturday, but it wasn't enough to salvage a season that began with high expectations but saw hope quickly fade amid a 1-3 start that featured a home loss to South Florida.

Now, UF is set to begin its fifth coaching search since 2010. The program hasn't been able to establish stability since Urban Meyer resigned, and after several failed coaching tenures, the Gators must get this one right.

With that in mind, here are a few names who could be candidates for the Florida job as athletics director Scott Stricklin begins his search.

Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss head coach

This one is the no-brainer, at least on Florida's end.

It's been a long and winding career for Kiffin, but at Ole Miss, he's established himself as one of the top coaches in the sport. He has led the Rebels to three 10-win seasons, and his 2023 squad won 11 games for the first time in program history.

Still, it's fair to wonder if he is beginning to bump up against Ole Miss' ceiling. A job like Florida could offer him more resources, and he could be intrigued by a return to the Sunshine State.

Kiffin also fits the mold of the kind of coach Stricklin and the Gators will likely be looking for, given his offensive background and a demeanor that has drawn quite a few comparisons to legendary Florida coach Steve Spurrier.

Ole Miss is reportedly working on an extension for Kiffin, but now that a big-time SEC job has opened up, it may be facing some added pressure to try to get a deal done.

Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame head coach

Freeman has quickly established himself as one of the rising stars in coaching. Though he had no head coaching experience before taking over at Notre Dame following Brian Kelly's departure for LSU in 2021, he's currently 38-12 in South Bend and coming off a year in which he led the Fighting Irish to the national title game.

If Freeman has an interest in the job, it's a lead that's absolutely worth pursuing for Stricklin. It's fair to question whether Freeman, an Ohio native who played at Ohio State, would want to leave a big-brand job in the Midwest. Still, Florida would provide some advantages over Notre Dame, particularly when it comes to geography and recruiting.

Wooing Freeman seems less likely than Kiffin, but it's still worth a call to see if he's satisfied with his current position in South Bend.

Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri head coach

Drinkwitz probably doesn't get enough credit nationally for the job he's done at Missouri. He's 44-25 overall since he was hired in Columbia in 2019, and since the beginning of the 2023 season, Drinkwitz is 27-6 and is looking to complete his third-straight double-digit win season.

It's yeoman's work, especially at a job like Missouri, which is not exactly among the most resourced in the conference. Drinkwitz has demonstrated a strong grasp of the new roster-building tools available to coaches, and it's hard to imagine he wouldn't win in Gainesville.

It's also hard to imagine he wouldn't take the job if Florida pursued him.

Drinkwitz may not excite the fanbase the way the first two names on this list would, but he would be a more than solid backup option for a program desperate for consistent success.

James Franklin, former Penn State head coach

This is another name that would probably divide the fanbase. Still, there's no denying Franklin can coach.

He pulled Penn State from out of the depths in the sanction-riddled era that followed one of the most high-profile college sports scandals in recent memory, establishing the Nittany Lions as a consistent Big Ten contender.

Obviously, we all know the score with Franklin. His 4-21 record against the top 10 (and 2-21 mark against the top 6) is the reason he's currently unemployed.

His struggles in big games are well-documented, and while it's not a given that those issues would follow him to Gainesville, it is a pretty noticeable red flag. Still, Franklin is a stellar program builder and floor raiser who would undoubtedly get the Gators back to at least moderate success.

Given the significance of this hire, would Stricklin want to hire a coach who was just fired by a program Florida would like to compare itself against? Perhaps not, but the Gators could certainly do worse.

Brent Key, Georgia Tech head coach

Key was widely viewed as a bridge coach when he was elevated from an interim role to the full-time gig after the 2022 season, but he's proven to be much more for the Yellow Jackets. After back-to-back 7-6 seasons in his first two years as the full-time head coach, he has Georgia Tech ranked in the top 10 as it's off to its first 7-0 start since 1966.

He's coaching at his alma mater, so he may not be as inclined to leave as one might think. He's also never been a play-caller, so nailing the coordinator hires would be imperative. It's unlikely Key is at the top of Florida's list, but if it's told no a few times, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Gators circle back to Atlanta.

Clark Lea, Vanderbilt head coach

Lea fits roughly the same archetype as Key. Both are currently doing more with less at academically focused institutions that face some bespoke challenges, but Lea is doing it in the SEC at what has historically been an afterthought program.

It certainly took some time for Lea to get things rolling in Nashville. The Commodores won just nine games across Lea's first three seasons, but after importing quarterback Diego Pavia and consultant Jerry Kill from New Mexico State, Vandy's luck has turned.

Lea's team upset No. 1-ranked Alabama en route to a 7-6 finish last fall, and this season, the Commodores are 6-1. Lea has Vanderbilt ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll for the first time since 1947.

Like Key, he's also coaching at his alma mater. It's also fair to question whether his approach and skillset would translate to a more well-resourced but higher-pressure job like Florida. Still, it's almost certain the Gators will target a sitting Power Four head coach, and if they strike out on a few targets higher on the list, Lea could enter the mix.

Contact/Follow @College_Wire on X and @College_Wires on Threads. Like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of college sports news, notes, and opinions.

This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: 6 candidates to replace Billy Napier at Florida

Reporting by Tyler Nettuno, College Sports Wire / College Sports Wire

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect