Potential SEC Coaching Hires Could Concern Texas Longhorns

There are 16 teams that make up the Southeastern Conference, a conference that many would consider the best and toughest in college football.

With that high level of talent comes even tighter competition, competition that has resulted in four coaches throughout the conference being fired by their respective teams: Florida's Billy Napier, Arkansas' Sam Pittman, Auburn's Hugh Freeze, and LSU's Brian Kelly.

As per usual with the dismissals, the rumors begin to flood as to who could fill those holes for the teams, from Bill Belichick to Pete Carroll to even Nick Saban himself, but when you look at the logical options for replacements, the options available are astounding, and could spell trouble for titans in the conference such as the Texas Longhorns.

The Coaching Carousel Versus The Texas Longhorns

The possibilities are endless for the potential coaching moves over the offseason, but here are a few realistic choices that could provide the Longhorns with a big challenge in the 2026 season.

LSU Tigers

Lane Kiffin

The former Nick Saban protege and current Ole Miss Rebels head coach has quite a read on the Longhorns and Steve Sarkisian, for that matter.

Kiffin was the wide receivers coach with the USC Trojans when they won their national championships in 2003 and 2004, and was still on the sidelines when Vince Young and the Longhorns denied them their three-peat in the 2005 national championship game.

The quarterbacks coach for USC in the 2003 and 2005 seasons? Yep, Steve Sarkisian himself.

And when Kiffin was at Alabama as the offensive coordinator, who replaced him after he left to take a head coaching job with the Florida Atlantic Owls? You're right, again, it was Steve Sarkisian.

The coaching chemistry is still strong between the two even some 20 years after their tenure with the Trojans together. The two know how each other operates during the span of a game, and that kind of chess match would be perfect if the Tigers are able to pluck Kiffin out of Oxford.

Joe Brady

Brady is the current offensive coordinator for the NFL's Buffalo Bills, and the offense that the team has seen with him since he started as the quarterbacks coach in 2022 has been astronomical, resulting in three straight AFC East division titles, and for this past season, an AFC Championship appearance and an MVP season for quarterback Josh Allen.

Brady's philosophy of "Everybody Eats" that he has implemented in Buffalo's offense, which resulted in a record 13 players scoring offensive touchdowns, is the exact reason why he could be a threat in Baton Rouge, the sheer unpredictability of who could be getting the ball in the red zone, especially with the talent that is slated to suit up next year.

Arkansas Razorbacks

Will Stein

Stein, the current offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Oregon Ducks, joined Dan Lanning's coaching staff in 2023, and has already mentored two NFL starting quarterbacks in Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel, and with his offensive expertise nearly led Oregon to a perfect season in 2024, their only loss coming to the eventual national champion Ohio State Buckeyes in a 41-21 contest in the CFP semifinals.

Taylen Green is unfortunately a senior this year, but KJ Jackson, another dual-threat quarterback in the Pigs' system, could benefit just as well as Nix and Gabriel did under Stein's watch, which would easily give the Burnt Orange a challenge regardless of whether the game is in Austin or Fayetteville.

Collin Klein

The 2025 Texas A&M Aggies have seen a boost in offensive production like very few teams have seen in recent years, and they largely have their offensive coordinator Collin Klein to thank for that.

Klein is also a mastermind at working with quarterbacks, having finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2012 as a quarterback himself during his time with the Kansas State Wildcats, and we've all seen how well Marcel Reed has progressed during his work with Klein. One can only imagine how Jackson would benefit from Klein's leadership.

Florida Gators

Lincoln Riley

Another former foe that Texas Longhorns fans will remember fondly, USC head coach Lincoln Riley gave the Longhorns quite a few issues during his time as the coach of the Oklahoma Sooners from 2017 to 2021, scoring four straight Big 12 Championships with the team from 2017 to 2020, and coaching Heisman Trophy quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, both of whom went number one overall in the 2018 and 2019 NFL drafts, respectively.

Riley also coached Jalen Hurts during his lone season in Norman, and even when he left for Southern California in 2022, he brought over quarterback Caleb Williams with him, and Williams also won a Heisman Trophy and was the number one overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

Riley's air raid offense will allow DJ Lagway to progress in his passing game while still staying mobile as a dual-threat option under center, and one that could lead the Gators to success that they haven't had since Urban Meyer was steering the ship.

Given Riley's success against the Longhorns, the head-to-head matchup could be a chippy one between the two teams, although Riley's playoff success has been pretty nil over the years, so that could be one positive for Sark and the Horns should they ever meet the Gators in the playoffs.

Clark Lea

If Clark Lea and Diego Pavia can turn around the football culture in Vanderbilt, imagine what could be done in "The Swamp" with Lea at the helm in front of a Gainesville crowd that has anxiously been waiting to taste the glory of a national championship for over 15 years.

Lea took over the head coaching duties for his alma mater back in 2021 after previously serving as defensive coordinator for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 2018 to 2020, and was named the 2024 SEC Coach of the Year, not to mention Lea has already twice come close to beating Texas the past two seasons, and perhaps the personnel in Florida are just what he needs to get over the hump and contend for a national championship, given that his chances of doing so with Vanderbilt just dropped dramatically after their close loss to Texas this past Saturday.