Paul Finebaum names college football coach Auburn would be ‘thrilled’ with

Paul Finebaum waits to get crowned at the Charlotte FC match | Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum joined the Matt Barrie Show on Sunday morning to chop it up with the longtime ESPN personality. Among topics on the agenda, of course, was the college football coaching carousel.

For the first Sunday morning in several weeks, a major head coach was not fired. Hugh Freeze went down at Auburn last weekend, while Florida, LSU and Arkansas all also made mid-year firings within the SEC. But there's only one of those jobs that appears to be circling a likely new candidate, by Finebaum's estimation.

“One of those four has a betting favorite, whether that means anything or not,” Finebaum said. “And the betting favorite at Auburn is Jon Sumrall — the Tulane coach who held on Friday night (won at Memphis, 38-32)."

Not only does Sumrall's hire seem rather probable at Auburn, at least per the betting odds, but Paul Finebaum would certainly endorse him for the job.

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

Matt Barrie also endorses Jon Sumrall hire

Tulane Green Wave head coach Jon Sumrall runs out of the tunnel | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Hearing that Sumrall is a top name for Auburn, Matt Barrie also gave his own thumbs-up on the potential pairing between the current Tulane coach and the Auburn Tigers: I agree. I think Sumrall is a home run at Auburn. He's from Alabama. He grew up in the state."

He's also well-versed in SEC culture and SEC football, having once played at Kentucky while previously serving as the Kentucky linebackers coach under Mark Stoops before he earned his first head coaching gig with Troy.

"He's going to have to bring an offense with him," Barrie added. "A defensive-minded head coach, a former linebacker at Kentucky. So that's just his side of the ball. So they're going to have to do something to keep the fans engaged in the offense."

Currently, the Auburn offense is really something to behold. Featuring one of the best receivers in college football with Cam Coleman, the Tigers finally exploded for 38 points Saturday, but in a loss to Vanderbilt, while they mustered just three points in a home loss to Kentucky just the week prior. Whether the offense is dynamic or not, these Auburn fans likely just want to win big college football games, no matter what the operation looks like.