Trending college football coach suddenly a favorite for Auburn job

The search for Auburn to locate its next head football coach has entered its second week, and some prominent names are starting to emerge from the fray as the perceived favorites, including one promising Group of Five coach, according to a new report.

Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall is a “serious contender and a name to know” for the Auburn coaching vacancy, according to On3 Sports’ Pete Nakos.

What Jon Sumrall has done up to now

Auburn may have some serious competition if it wanted to get into the Jon Sumrall business.

Sumrall has been on coaching staffs in the SEC before at Kentucky, his alma mater, and Ole Miss, before taking the top job first at Troy and then Tulane.

Sumrall went 23-4 in two seasons at Troy, which was ranked in the AP poll in his first season, and is currently 16-7 with Tulane entering this weekend.

Overall, he’s 39-11 in his career as a head coach, and his Tulane squad is coming off a marquee victory against Group of Five playoff hopeful Memphis.

That success has resulted in Sumrall emerging as a favorite to land at a Power Four school next season, with his name being connected to the LSU vacancy, as well.

What the experts think

Sumrall has consistently been listed at or near the top of the big boards when experts have compiled their favorites to take the Auburn position.

The coach currently leads all contenders with a solid 51 percent chance to become the next Auburn head football coach, according to prediction market Kalshi.

The next option is a distant second, with USF coach Alex Golesh at 8 percent.

Bookmakers agree, listing Sumrall as the favorite to land at Auburn with +300 odds and a 25 percent chance overall, according to the latest figures at Bookies.com.

What the analysts are saying

While there’s nothing like a consensus on who should take over at Auburn, the general trend of opinion from college football observers suggests Sumrall is a popular choice.

That includes Paul Finebaum, who believes fans would embrace the hire.

“The betting favorite at Auburn is Jon Sumrall,” he said on The Matt Barrie Show recently.

“It’s not the hire that wows America. If that ends up being the case, and we are speculating, I think almost every Auburn fan that I talked to would be thrilled. That job is so much better than I think it is being given credit for.”

(Nakos)

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