Ole Miss urged to pursue $15 million head coach if Lane Kiffin decides to leave

Ole Miss is having an epic season, but will face the possibility of losing Lane Kiffin. With a 10-1 season brewing and a likely spot in the College Football Playoff, Kiffin is a hot prospect for a variety of open head coaching jobs, from the Florida Gators to the NFL's New York Giants. But analyst Josh Pate shared his take on the talented young coach who he sees as a viable successor to Kiffin.

Josh Pate's Thoughts on Sumrall

All due respect, mountains of respects, to Lane Kiffin. If I'm Ole Miss, I want you to be my head coach. But if it's not you, I'm going to be okay. I need to know sooner rather than later. And I'm going to be okay because you know what I think? I think I could be very competitive with Auburn in trying to pursue Jon Sumrall. That's what I think because there aren't many places in the SEC right now that are set up better to succeed than Ole Miss.
Josh Pate

Kiffin's failure to make any sort of public declaration of disinterest in the job at Florida (or LSU or New York) has to be concerning for Ole Miss. But to Pate's point, it's not as if the cupboard is exactly bare of potentially strong coaches.

Sumrall's Resume

Sumrall has already coached at Ole Miss, where he was the linebackers coach in 2018. He played at Kentucky and also coached there before getting head coaching jobs at Troy and then Tulane. Between the two schools, Sumrall has posted a 40-11 record, including 26-4 in the relevant conferences of the two teams.

Sumrall's Contract

Sumrall is slated to earn around $3 million per year on a contract that runs through the end of 2029. Exact details of his salary and the potential buyout Ole Miss or other suitors would face are unknown, as Tulane, as a private school, is not subject to the type of reporting requirements of public universities.

Other Sumrall Possibilities

But Sumrall's success in the south has led to him being a top candidate for jobs like Auburn and Arkansas. When Kentucky was off to a 2-5 start, it seemed plausible that Sumrall might be coveted by his alma mater to replace Mark Stoops. Suffice it to say that Sumrall is likely to see some advanced opportunities after four seasons of Group of Five dominance. If Kiffin goes, the Rebels would indeed be another logical suitor, and Josh Pate's take could be a popular one at the end of the Lane Kiffin carousel.