Lane Kiffin Leads 4 New SEC Head Coaches Texas Must Face in 2026

The Texas Longhorns ended the 2025 season with one of the best wins in college football, taking down the No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies, in the Lone Star Showdown's return to the Forty Acres. The Longhorns scored the massive upset 27-17 last Friday night.

The Longhorns will have an outside chance at the College Football Playoff as the only 9-3 team still slightly in the hunt for the postseason among other programs with better records. Texas will find where it stands in the second-to-last College Football Playoff Rankings coming out on Tuesday night.

While the Longhorns will look to remain focused on wrapping up the 2025 season, whether in the College Football Playoff or in a bowl game, looking ahead to 2026, some of Texas' matchups will have a new look. As all coaching vacancies in the SEC are now filled and the Longhorns will be taking on four of those teams with new head coaches next year. Here's a look at those four matchups.

LSU Tigers - Lane Kiffin

LSU new head coach Lane Kiffin speaks at South Stadium Club at Tiger Stadium. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

The most highly profiled hire of this year's coaching cycle is Lane Kiffin, who decided to move on from the Ole Miss Rebels and take on the LSU Tigers head coaching job through a drama-filled and drawn-out process. Kiffin's official decision came on Sunday, and the newest LSU head coach was officially introduced as the latest Tigers' head man on Monday.

The Longhorns will take a visit to Baton Rouge to take on Kiffin and LSU in one of the rowdiest environments in college football in Death Valley next season, for their SEC slate, which moves from eight conference games to nine. It'll be the first time the Longhorns take on the Tigers since 2019, when LSU played in Austin during that legendary 2019 season for the Tigers.

The last time Kiffin coached against the Longhorns was as the USC Trojans' offensive coordinator in the 2006 Rose Bowl, where he coached alongside now Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian, who was the Trojans' quarterbacks coach.

Ole Miss Rebels - Pete Golding

Mississippi Rebels new head coac Pete Golding — Mississippi Rebels defensive coordinator Pete Golding watches from the sidelines during the first half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Needing to replace Kiffin quickly, as the Rebels are still truly in contention in the College Football Playoff, ranked as the No. 7 team in the country. Ole Miss pivoted and promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding as the team's permanent head coach on Sunday after Kiffin's departure. Golding has served as the Rebels' defense coordinator since 2023.

While Golding does not have any previous head coaching experience, the new leader of the Ole Miss program has been a part of great teams, as he was the defensive coordinator and inside linebacker coach for the Alabama Crimson Tide from 2018-22, coaching in two national championship games and winning one in the 2020-21 season. Sarkisian was also a part of the national championship-winning team at Alabama, serving as the offensive coordinator.

Texas will welcome Golding and the Rebels to Darrell K. Royal Stadium next year for a conference battle; the two have not squared off since 2013, when the Rebels came away with the win in Austin, 44-23.

Florida Gators - Jon Sumrall

New Florida Gators head football coach Jon Sumrall speaks during a press conference at the James W. “Bill” Heavener Football Training Center in Gainesville, FL. | Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Florida Gators got their guy in former Tulane Green Wave head coach Jon Sumrall, with the announcement also coming on Sunday morning, and he was officially introduced as the Gators' new head coach on Monday. Sumrall spent the last two seasons with the Green Wave, accumulating a 19-7 record and spots in the last two AAC conference championship games.

Texas will welcome the Gators back to Austin next year. The two programs have played each other in each of the last two seasons since the Longhorns have been in the SEC, with those matches being split, with Florida winning this season and Texas winning the first matchup.

Arkansas Razorbacks - Ryan Silverfield

New Arkansa Razorbacks head coach Ryan Silverfield — Memphis Tigers Head Coach Ryan Silverfield looks on during the second half against the South Florida Bulls at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. | Wesley Hale-Imagn Images

The Arkansas Razorbacks decided on former Memphis Tigers head coach Ryan Silverfield as their next head coach. Silverfield has spent the last six seasons as the Tigers' head man. During that time, he has totaled a 50-25 record and made a bowl game in every single year of his tenure, winning four of them.

The Longhorns and Razorbacks have renewed their old Southwest Conference rivalry since moving to the SEC, with the Longhorns coming out on top in both matchups since the renewal. Next season, when the Razorbacks come into Austin, Arkansas will have a brand new look.