The coaching carousel is spinning, perhaps faster than ever before.
Round and round it goes.
The jobs are big. Eight power conference gigs are open — four of them are considered blue-blood, championship-type programs in LSU, Florida, Auburn and Penn State.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe names (some of them at least) are big. Lane Kiffin, the most-coveted of them all, it seems. Jon Sumrall, the popular up-and-comer at Tulane. Jeff Brohm, the offensive whiz at Louisville. Eli Drinkwitz, the man who’s made Missouri a consistent winner. Clark Lea and Brent Key, who have led programs like Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech to playoff contention. There’s Jedd Fisch at Washington, too, as well as a slew of non-power league coaches: Alex Golesh (USF), Bob Chesney (JMU) and Ryan Silverfield (Memphis).
Where will they all land?
The puzzle is beginning to take shape. The pieces are aligning.
As the final regular season weekend approaches, a flurry of activity over the last two weeks — mid-season interviews, broken promises, extended deadlines — is leading into this final push this week. While many searches are winding down, others are just starting as administrators anticipate their coaches leaving.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSome coaches are signing secret memorandums of understanding (can they keep it quiet?). There are promises of millions in above-the-cap cash for rosters (even though that isn’t really allowed!). Players are anticipating following their coaches to other schools. Recruiting staff members are shifting their attention to what prospects they might land when their coach takes School A or School B. Extensions for many coaches lay on their desk, unsigned as they remain undecided.
Everything is accelerated compared to years' past (Exhibit A: Oklahoma State’s hiring of North Texas coach Eric Morris on Tuesday).
For many others, decision day looms this weekend.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Kiffin Domino
For one coach, Kiffin, the biggest domino of ’em all, his own school publicly set a deadline for a decision: Saturday.
A decision from Kiffin — or Ole Miss administrators — is expected no later than Saturday afternoon, a day after the program plays Mississippi State in the annual Egg Bowl. There was no ultimatum last week for Kiffin from the school despite those reports. They only wanted clarity. After a meeting last Friday of Kiffin, AD Keith Carter and chancellor Glenn Boyce, the clarity came: An announcement, Carter released in a statement, will come Saturday — a public deadline for the coach himself.
There does seem to be an ultimatum this week: Sign a lucrative extension with the program or leave immediately for another job. If he chooses to leave, Kiffin is not expected to coach the playoff — a decision that school officials have arrived at over the last several weeks (not such a surprise given Kiffin’s actions up to this point).
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementKiffin represents the biggest domino in what’s expected to be a historically busy coaching cycle.
While his decision has been made to involve three places — Ole Miss, LSU and Florida — signs continue to point toward one of those destinations.
Florida officials have started to pursue other candidates, and Ole Miss administrators have begun to reach out to potential replacement coaches — two signals of Kiffin’s possible intent. In Baton Rouge, things are mostly quiet as the program readies a multi-million dollar offer for the coach.
If — or when — Kiffin leaves, the dominoes really begin to tumble.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSumrall Sweepstakes
Sumrall, the 43-year-old who’s 41-11 in four seasons as a head coach, has a connection to both Auburn and Ole Miss. He’s from Alabama and his wife graduated from Auburn. He coached Ole Miss for a season in 2018 and still has deep ties in Oxford.
Perhaps there’s a third school here too? If Kiffin isn’t the man at Florida, maybe Sumrall is.
Sumrall’s team has a chance with a win over 1-10 Charlotte to host the American Conference championship game. Wherever Sumrall lands in the SEC — Ole Miss, Auburn or Florida — he’ll likely want to and be allowed to coach the title game and, even, the CFP if the Green Wave make the field.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOklahoma State is permitting Morris to do the same at North Texas if the Mean Green advance to play in the American title game: Win it and go to the playoff.
Expect to see more of that in the future — non-power league coaches hired before their regular season ends and allowed to complete their postseason. The college football calendar — the December signing date and only one portal in January — is expediting the hiring cycle.
But back to Sumrall. If he’s seriously courted by all three SEC programs, what does he choose? And where do the other two programs turn that don’t get his commitment?
Well, that may lead to many more dominoes falling.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe shallow pool
Weeks ago, as blue-blood coaching jobs popped open, an administrator delivered this statement: “There aren’t enough quality coaches to fill the amount of quality jobs.”
This isn’t a slight to the many very capable coaches available right now. There are plenty beyond Kiffin and Sumrall who Auburn, Penn State and Florida have either interviewed formally, plan to interview or have at least entertained the possibility. They include Brohm, Drinkwitz, Lea, Key, Golesh and Chesney.
For the most part, everyone’s fishing from the same pool. Speaking of, Fisch at Washington — apologies for the play on words — is a former Florida player (but he has a buyout of at least $10 million). There are other choices beyond those mentioned above. Like the interim at Penn State, Terry Smith, and the interim at Auburn, DJ Durkin. While Smith doesn’t seem like a serious candidate for the full-time job, he’s got the support of many players and alums.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDurkin is a serious candidate for the full-time job at Auburn, something athletic director John Cohen has voiced publicly, and a win over Alabama in the Iron Bowl could lead to his promotion, many around the program believe.
The rest
Arkansas’ coaching search may be the most accelerated of the current openings.
The Hogs have interviewed well over 20 coaches, but a small handful have survived to the end, most notably Golesh and Silverfield, according to those with knowledge of the search. UCLA is down the road as well, specifically with a high level of interest in Chesney, the James Madison coach who’s 130-51 at four different schools on three different levels of football.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe backfill of the potential openings in the American — Tulane, USF, Memphis, North Texas — will be fascinating to watch.
Former power league coaches like Neal Brown and Billy Napier are expected to be in the mix. Perhaps Pat Fitzgerald and Jimbo Fisher get a look too. There’s Toledo coach Jason Candle, who’s won 80 games in 11 seasons at the school, and Charles Huff, who at Southern Miss is attempting to lead a second different team to the Sun Belt championship game in back-to-back years.
Buckle up for a ride around the carousel like we’ve never seen before.
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