SEC Shaken Up With Coaching Changes
Six SEC teams have made significant moves within their coaching staffs since Sunday. Florida, LSU, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Auburn all hired new coaches, while Kentucky fired longtime head coach Mark Stoops.
Over two months after Billy Napier’s firing, athletic director Scott Stricklin announced Jon Sumrall would be Florida’s next coach. From 2022-23, he was the Troy Trojans coach and had a 23-4 record with the team. In 2022, Troy finished the season ranked No. 19 and won the Cure Bowl against Texas-San Antonio 18-12.
Following his two year tenure with Troy, Sumrall took a job with Tulane. He led the program to an AP poll high No. 18 in 2024, and had a record of 19-7 over two seasons. He has a coaching record of 42-11 (1-1 in bowl games) and won Sun Belt Coach of the Year in 2022.
Lane Kiffin will be LSU’s next coach after his sixth season with Ole Miss. He had a 55-19 record with the Rebels and led the team to a peak ranking of No. 4 in 2025. In 14 years as a college head coach, he won 117 games and appeared in 9 bowl games (5-4).
After Kiffin’s departure, the Rebels named Pete Golding as their next coach. It will be his first head coaching tenure in college football, but he has been a part of several programs’ staffs. From 2018-22, he worked under Nick Saban as Alabama’s defensive coordinator. He helped the Crimson Tide win three SEC titles and one national title before becoming the Rebel’s defensive coordinator in 2023.
Ryan Silverfield was named the Razorback’s coach following their worst record (2-10) since 2019. He was the Memphis Tigers’ coach for six seasons and had a record of 50-24 (4-0 in bowl games). Memphis peaked at No. 16 during his time with the program.
Auburn went 1-7 in the SEC in 2025 and announced Alex Golesh as its next coach. He was USF’s coach from 2023-25 and had a record of 23-15 (2-0 in bowl games). In 2025, the Bulls had their best record since 2017 (9-3), appeared in the AP Top 25 for five weeks and peaked at No. 18.
Mark Stoops was Kentucky’s coach for 13 seasons before being fired Monday. The Wildcats have not had a winning season since 2023, when they went 7-6. Stoops won SEC Coach of the Year in 2018, had a record of 82-80 during his coaching tenure and led the program to four bowl game wins.
Category: College Football, Football, SEC
