There will be motivation for a few new SEC coaches to make their mark in Year 1.
Lane Kiffin choosing to leave Ole Miss in the midst of a run to the College Football Playoff ignited a firestorm that touched several conference programs, including the Florida Gators.
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While Kiffin was being linked to Florida after Billy Napier was fired, Jon Sumrall was getting heavily linked to the Auburn Tigers while he was leading Tulane to the CFP.
LSU entered the mix for Kiffin after firing Brian Kelly and incurring a $50 million-plus buyout. With Kiffin quickly falling out of the realm of possibility for the Gators, the program turned to Sumrall, and Alex Golesh left USF to join Auburn.
It’s impossible to judge Sumrall before the Gators play a snap of football this fall, as Napier was successful in the Group of 6 before struggling at Florida.
Blake Toppmeyer of USA Today objected to where Sumrall stands in his SEC coaching ranking list and gave the new Florida coach some bulletin board material, calling the former Tulane head coach a “consolation prize” for Kiffin. He ranked Sumrall No. 8 in the SEC.
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“This might be the last chance to buy low on Sumrall stock,” Toppmeyer wrote. “He won more than 78% of his games in four seasons as a Group of Six coach. He took Tulane to the CFP. Sure, he must still prove himself in the SEC, but there’s no reason to think he can’t reinvigorate Florida.
“He played in this conference. He’s worked in it, too, as an assistant. Sumrall became a hot commodity on the coaching carousel. He’s a good consolation prize for Florida after it missed on Kiffin.”
A No. 8 ranking is generous for Sumrall, given he has yet to coach a game in the SEC with Florida. However, Sumrall and Florida won’t appreciate it being suggested that he’s a consolation prize for Kiffin.
Frankly, it’s unclear if a marriage between the Gators and Kiffin would have worked out in the first place. Florida has a different power structure than LSU, and Kiffin chose a place where he’d have more control.
