Coaching Carousel Concludes: LSU, Florida, โฃArkansas, and โคAuburn Name New Head Coaches
A whirlwind of coaching changes swept through college football Sunday, culminating in head coach hires at LSU, Florida, Arkansas, andโ Auburn. The moves began following Lane Kiffin’s decision to accept the head coaching position at LSU.
Kiffin’sโฃ move created a ripple effect. Florida aggressively pursuedโฃ Kiffin but ultimately turned to Tulane’s John Sumrall after Kiffin chose LSU. Both LSU and Florida had reportedly considered Sumrallโ as a contingency plan should theyโค fail to secure Kiffin.โข Sumrall was โalso heavily linked to the Auburn opening throughout the search process.
auburn responded by hiring Alex Golesh, previously theโ offensive coordinator at Tennessee โขand currently the head coach at South Florida. Golesh had also been a โcandidate forโ the arkansas position last week. Auburn made the hire following a gut-wrenching lossโค in the Iron Bowl.
Arkansas filled its โคvacancy by hiring Ryan Silverfield from Memphis. silverfield’s Memphis team finished the season with an 8-4 record after being โin contention for a Group of Five playoff spot. He was an early candidate for the Arkansas job, โlinked to the positionโค shortly after Memphis defeated the โRazorbacks.
The situation at Ole Missโฃ remained unsettled following Kiffin’s departure, with reports suggesting he threatened to bring his entire offensive staff to LSU โif Ole Miss impeded his move.
UPDATE: Pete Golding is expected to take over at Ole Miss full time.
The coaching search landscape isn’t entirely settled, โฃas theโ Penn State head coaching position โขremains open.