While Lane Kiffin toyed with three programs late in the week before ultimately picking LSU, the rest of the SEC coaching board was convulsing behind the scenes. For a moment, Auburn and Arkansas believed they had their men. Then one conversation — not involving Ole Miss — sent the entire carousel swerving off its tracks.
Everyone expected this potentially record-breaking cycle to get messy, but the speed at which things flipped late last week blindsided more than a few power brokers, industry sources told CBS Sports.
Yes, Kiffin’s soap-opera two-step between Ole Miss and LSU set the tone, but that wasn’t the twist that ultimately pushed multiple coaches into jobs they didn’t quite anticipate seven days earlier.
The pivot was visible by Saturday.
The actual turn started midweek, when South Florida’s Alex Golesh appeared close to accepting an offer from Arkansas. The sides had met, discussed contract terms, and were trending toward the finish line. But as the week unfolded, Florida sensed the ground shifting with its search. Kiffin’s erratic communication convinced leaders in Gainesville that he was no longer seriously considering the Gators, so they tracked candidates already on their radar.
At the same time, Auburn’s two- to three-week pursuit of Tulane’s Jon Sumrall suddenly bogged down. Auburn officials had spoken with Sumrall and his camp repeatedly, even meeting with him in New Orleans, sources told CBS Sports. A deal felt inevitable — until more questions surfaced from Sumrall’s side about the job, staffing and other details. Auburn was caught off guard by the tenor. By Thursday night, communication halted. Auburn pivoted to two primary options: interim coach and defensive coordinator DJ Durkin, or Golesh — who was simultaneously the frontrunner at Arkansas.
But Golesh’s camp cooled on the Razorbacks. So Arkansas doubled back, giving fresh looks to Memphis’ Ryan Silverfield and Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack. Both were interviewed multiple times by the Razorbacks’ administration, and Silverfield had been high on Arkansas’ board since the search opened in late September, sources said.
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Auburn, meanwhile, braced for its fork in the road: promote Durkin, or lure Golesh with an incentive-heavy deal worth $7.4 million — roughly $500,000 more than Arkansas initially put on the table. By Saturday afternoon, Auburn felt solid about either direction and began prepping a Sunday announcement: Durkin or Golesh.
A win in the Iron Bowl might have sealed the full-time job for Durkin, sources said. Instead, the Tigers fell 27-20, their sixth straight loss to Alabama, prompting more late-night discussions at Auburn. Then, late in the night, a 10 a.m. team meeting was scheduled for Sunday.
By this time, Florida was locked in on Sumrall and had an offer. Sources believed Friday Sumrall was set to be named the Gators’ head coach on Sunday, but with a caveat: what if Kiffin shocked everyone and stayed at Ole Miss? Would LSU then pivot to Sumrall as one of its top candidates?
By early Saturday, industry sources were convinced the Kiffin-Ole Miss marriage was ending, even if Kiffin was dragging his feet through red tape behind the scenes. LSU was no longer a threat for Sumrall. Auburn had moved on.
And with that, the entire map shifted. Deep in the bayou at LSU and Tulane was the center pole of the coaching carousel.
Auburn nearly closed on Sumrall. Arkansas nearly secured Golesh. Both discussions drifted apart. LSU’s pursuit of Kiffin and Sumrall’s decision to pursue Florida as talks with Auburn cooled reshaped the futures of at least five programs in a span of 72 hours. Will any of these moves work? Nobody knows. Every hire is a gamble, particularly in an era defined by NIL volatility and revenue sharing.
And that’s the magic of this sport. It thrives on the belief that tomorrow will be better than today.
What we do know: every school will now claim they hired their top choice. In this sport, that’s rarely true, but it’s always the sales pitch.
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