Grading SEC head coaching hires: The fallout from the Lane Kiffin sweepstakes

The 2025 SEC coaching carousel will be forever marked by Lane Kiffin. With six of the SEC's 16 teams having engineered head coaching swaps since the beginning of the 2025 season, all of those swaps are directly related to the hunt for Kiffin. But how did each team end up faring? With the coaching swap season likely finished (barring some weird last minute move for, say, Josh Heupel or Kalen DeBoer), here's a grade for each team's new coaching hire.

LSU: A-

Yes, they got their guy in Lane Kiffin. But after a $91 million contract, an interminable will-he-or-won't-he courtship, is Kiffin who LSU thinks he is? After all, Verge Ausberry was up front about wanting a coach who would put LSU in the College Football Playoff every year. This is-- or would have been-- Kiffen's first CFP head coaching experience this season. Sure, he'll have great infrastructure, financial backing, and a historically strong program on his side. But can anybody satisfy LSU?

LSU is the other aspect of this grade. The interference of governor Jeff Landry, the ditching of an athletic director due to outside pressure, there's plenty that went down in the process that made LSU's situation look a little less stable than the Tigers would probably prefer. LSU won the battle, but might end up losing the war due to the inner turmoil that the Kiffin hunt brough to the surface.

Florida: B+

Florida did not get Kiffin, but then pivoted to Tulane coach Jon Sumrall. While Sumrall doesn't have the name recognition of Kiffin, it was a solid second choice by the Gators and one that has many positives.

Sumrall is a defensive-minded coach and given Florida's recent issues with offensively-centered coaches, a chance was likely a good move. Getting a coach who has thrived at two P5 schools (42-11 across Troy and Tulane) and has SEC experience with multiple schools was a nice pick-up. Florida might have wanted more pizazz, but skipping the drama might have been a positive outcome.

Kentucky: B+

Sumrall would likely have been a desired candidate at Kentucky, where he had coached under Mark Stoops. But when the firing of Stoops extended before Sumrall's decision to pick Florida, the Wildcats had to move elsewhere. After a quick turnaround, Kentucky nabbed Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein. Stein is from Kentucky and his father played for the Wildcats.

Stein is a promising young offensive mind that should help Kentucky's struggling offensive profile immediately. Stein is just 36 and has never been a head coach, but his hiring makes sense, albeit with an aspect of a gamble. For one of the tougher SEC job, this came together quickly and seemingly easily for Kentucky.

Auburn: B+

Meanwhile, Auburn was also deeply interested in Sumrall, but he took his name out of consideration, which sent the Tigers in another direction. Auburn quickly shifted to South Florida coach Alex Golesh (23-15 in three years). The real issue here was that had Auburn bested Alabama in the Iron Bowl, the prospect of interim head coach D.J. Durkin taking over as head coach may have been foisted on the Tigers. Frankly, clearing the decks with Golesh was probably a much better fit. He was a successful coordinator at Tennessee and will get his SEC head coaching shot.

Arkansas: B

Arkansas was reportedly after Alex Golesh, but when he jumped to Auburn, the Razorbacks went local on former Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield. Silverfield has worked his way up at Memphis over the last decade, going 50-25 as a head coach. Of course, Silverfield and Memphis bested Arkansas in September, so he's a familiar face.

Silverfield is geographically local and doesn't seem like a job hopper. He does lack any prior SEC experience and is seemingly inheriting one of the more difficult jobs in the SEC. Golesh might have been a bit more upwardly mobile, but this isn't a bad hire.

Ole Miss: C

It's the Rebels who ended up in a bad spot. Yes, they lost Kiffin, but that was forseeable. What seems odder is going with defensive coordinator Pete Golding as a permanent head coach. It was offense that make Lane Kiffin's Rebels roll, while Golding's defense was more on the adequate level than exceptional (25.4 points per game allowed in SEC games).

Yes, Ole Miss has the upcoming CFP to keep in mind. But they could have let Golding be the interim coach and continued a search. If he leads Ole Miss to the CFP championship, obviously, this hire will look pretty smart. But the Rebels didn't have to make a full-time decision while the emotion of the Kiffin betrayal was still lingering.