SEC New Coach Grades: Winners, Losers, and the Fallout From Lane Kiffin Hire

The Lane Kiffin show is wrapping up, as the former Ole Miss head coach is seemingly moving south to take over the head coaching position at LSU. 

Kiffin will not be able to finish the season for the Rebels, and that has led to even more drama in the SEC coaching carousel. 

Now, unless Eli Drinkwitz takes the Penn State job, most of the moves are complete for the time being. 

Let’s grade these coaching hires and see who got it right and who got it wrong.

LSU: Lane Kiffin — B-

There are still a lot of rumors coming out of Ole Miss and LSU’s campuses, but it seems like Kiffin is trying to strong-arm Ole Miss into letting him coach the rest of the season. Ole Miss doesn’t seem like they’re going to budge, and that’s created a tense situation in Oxford.

Sources inside the situation have said that if Kiffin isn’t allowed to coach the playoffs, he’s taking his assistant coaches and players immediately and not letting them participate either. I think this move is going to backfire for Kiffin massively, as he comes across as a villain with this move. If any player was going to follow in the transfer portal, why would they leave after battling all year to make it where they are now? Taking that opportunity away from college kids is short-sighted. LSU will have money to spend in the portal, but I think seeing this situation from the outside has made LSU a far less desirable destination for transfers.

Kiffin has proven to be a great coach since taking over at FAU, but the microscope he’s going to be under at LSU is far different. This was the biggest fish in the pond for LSU, but I just think they went about it in the worst possible way, and they have added a massive target to their backs.

Ole Miss: Pete Golding — D

This is a panic hire for Ole Miss. Obviously Kiffin put them in a horrible situation and made them miss out on any bigger hire, but Golding does not move the needle.

Ole Miss has been a very good team over his tenure as defensive coordinator, but the defense hasn’t been the bright spot. If Golding is able to keep most of this roster, or they go on a little run in the playoffs, I will quickly change my thoughts on this ranking.

However, for the time being, this move feels way too hasty for Ole Miss. I’m not sure Golding is going to be the reason they are able to keep most of their top-20 recruiting class in 2026. I would’ve promoted Golding to interim head coach and then decided on the future after the playoffs. Ole Miss has finally become relevant in the college football landscape, and they don’t want to waste that momentum. I just don’t know if this is the right move.

Florida: Jon Sumrall — B+

Losing the Lane Kiffin sweepstakes might have been the best possible outcome for Florida. Sumrall isn’t a Billy Napier hire; he’s built a winning culture over his two seasons at Tulane. He’s taken them to two conference championships, which is obviously essential, but I think he’s recruited over his weight at Tulane.

He had top-three recruiting classes in the AAC and also landed BYU transfer Jake Retzlaff after his honor-code controversy. He’s always scheduled tough for Tulane as well, having taken down Northwestern and Duke this year—two teams that were very solid in their respective conferences.

Sumrall isn’t the flashiest hire, but he might have the highest floor of any coaching move made this week.

Auburn: Alex Golesh — A

There hasn’t been a winning season at Auburn since 2020, so they need someone who can lead them out of a pretty dark period. That’s why Golesh is the perfect hire for the Tigers.

Golesh took over a USF program that had won one conference game in its previous three seasons. Since then, he’s taken the Bulls to three straight bowl games and has had USF winning its Power Four matchups this year.

Auburn finished 5–7 this year, but six of those losses were one-score games. They have a defense ready to compete and talented pieces on offense—especially at receiver with Cam Coleman. Golesh brings what Auburn is lacking: an offensive identity. A fast-tempo, high-powered scheme that puts up points.

USF had the third-best offense in the country this year behind quarterback Byrum Brown. If Golesh can bring Brown with him to Auburn, they could compete for the SEC in year one.

Arkansas: Ryan Silverfield — C-

Most years, Memphis has had the most talent in the AAC, but they’ve seemed to falter in big moments. In five years at Memphis, Silverfield never finished better than third in the conference—an alarming trend when moving to Arkansas.

Going from the most talented roster in a league to the least talented in the SEC might be a massive problem for Silverfield. I don’t think he’s a bad coach; I just think he’s a bad fit for Arkansas.

At this point, it’s expected. Arkansas still won’t commit more NIL money to the football program, and without that, they’re never going to be better than 7–5 in the SEC. They struck out on three of the other coaches already listed, so this move just feels like settling into mediocrity.