JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Lane Kiffin and Manny Diaz will square off on Thursday night in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.

However, on Wednesday, some 36 hours before kickoff, the head coaches at Ole Miss and Duke were talking more about the issues facing their sport than they were the chess match that is awaiting them at EverBank Stadium Thursday night.

“You have to adapt or you will be left behind,” Diaz said during a press conference at WJTC, just across the street from EverBank Stadium.

Diaz and Kiffin were asked about the transfer portal, the football calendar, the need for a commissioner in college football and more.

“It’s changed,” Kiffin said. “Just a few years ago to now, it’s completely changed. Now I have a roster as they come out in the morning for breakfast and I’m like, ‘OK, making sure he’s not in the portal. He’s not in the portal. He hasn’t opted out.’ I’m just happy if they’re out there now every day.”

Diaz, known for his savvy as a former defensive coordinator, complimented Kiffin’s offense, the Rebels’ defensive prowess this season and Kiffin’s penchant for always being in attack mode. He said he’s trying to build that identity at Duke.

Still, both Diaz and Kiffin were definitely thinking big-picture on Wednesday.

“There needs to be something,” Kiffin said in response to a question that referred to the current landscape as the “wild, wild West.”

Duke (9-3) will play against Ole Miss (9-3) Thursday without quarterback Maalik Murphy, who got into the transfer portal after the regular season.

“We’re still playing,” Kiffin said. “You would never create a system in any professional sport — pro sports has this figured out — where you have free agency right at the end of the regular season before the postseason. With all the tampering that’s been talked about and stuff, it puts it in kids’ heads during the season that they’re going other places. There are a lot of problems, a lot of issues.”

Kiffin reiterated an idea that he shared with RebelGrove.com last month — making his former boss at Alabama, Nick Saban, the commissioner of the sport.

Diaz advocated for Saban as well, but only if he were given real power. Diaz said he supports going to an NFL calendar, getting rid of spring football in favor of NFL-style mini-camps and OTAs.

“We don’t have to invent something,” Diaz said. “The (NFL) has already figured it out. It’s ludicrous, like Lane said, to have player movement while the season is going on. The only reason that’s the case is kids want to be at the spring semester at their next stop. Why do they want to be there for the spring? They want to be there for spring practice. If we can take away the incentive to leave mid-term, we can finish the season.”

As for Saban, Diaz said the legendary former Michigan State, LSU and Alabama coach would be “phenomenal” as commissioner, “but it doesn’t matter who the commissioner is. You have to give the guy power. Right now, the power is with the (conferences). If everyone wants to get in the sandbox and play nice, that would be the best thing, but right now, no one is showing that they’re willing to let someone create consensus, and that’s what’s hurting our game.”

Diaz took over at Duke after serving as Penn State’s defensive coordinator. He pointed out that the Nittany Lions have played three postseason games — the Big Ten title game, a CFP first-round win over SMU and a Tuesday night win over Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl — and could play two more between now and Jan. 20.

“We’re a spring sport now,” Diaz said. “We need to just act like that.”

Kiffin, who was a head coach for the Oakland Raiders earlier in his career, said the current system has “so many problems,” noting that he’s had to renegotiate with current players and allow players who are still playing for his team to visit other schools during bowl preparations.

“It’s not the kids’ fault,” Kiffin said. “It’s the system’s fault. Sometimes you can get upset with the kids. It’s not their fault at all.”