Coaching Carousel 2025: What the Eli Drinkwitz extension means for LSU, Florida, and Auburn
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James Franklin is taking over Virginia Tech. Eric Morris is taking over at Oklahoma State. Arkansas is said to be closing in on a move to bring Alex Golesh aboard. Curt Cignetti quickly spurned the carousel with an extension at Indiana. Rhett Lashlee is staying at SMU after putting pen to paper on a contract extension earlier this month. And now Eli Drinkwitz is officially off the market after agreeing to a contract extension with Mizzou on Thursday.
LSU and Florida fans are not-so-patiently waiting for Lane Kiffin to make up his mind.
But, while they wait, Drinkwitz’s extension hints at an uncomfortable reality for the loser of the Kiffin sweepstakes.
If Kiffin leaves, where does Ole Miss turn? If LSU or Florida (or both) miss out on Kiffin, who is the backup plan? The market for top-notch coaches is crystallizing and the biggest jobs remain unfilled.
The Penn State job is still open after Franklin was dismissed in mid-October. Penn State was reportedly interested in Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule, and that led to an extension for Rhule at his current school.
Drinkwitz had been mentioned for the Penn State job as well as the LSU and Florida ones. He was also a name tossed around for the Auburn job, which is still without a permanent head coach after the school fired Hugh Freeze on Nov. 2.
LSU is reportedly preparing to offer Kiffin a pay package worth nearly $100 million. If that offer (or something close to it) materializes and Kiffin turns the school down, is there another coach on the market worth that figure?
Some have mentioned Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman in the same breath as some of the top jobs, but Freeman has regularly stated his focus is squarely on the Irish, who are in prime position to make a return to the College Football Playoff.
So, what happens after Kiffin makes his decision? Let’s take a look at some of the top jobs:
Florida
Most believe the LSU and Florida jobs are the top jobs on the market. If Kiffin chooses LSU, which he has been heavily linked to, Florida would presumably get the right of first refusal from the rest of the pool of available coaches.
Jedd Fisch remains a potential option for the Gators. The Washington head coach is a Florida alum who spent time as a graduate assistant for Steve Spurrier in 1999 and 2000. He also worked in the state as an offensive coordinator for Miami (2011-12) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (2013-14).
Fisch led one of college football’s greatest modern turnarounds at Arizona from 2021-23, when he took a 1-win team to 10 wins in the span of 2 seasons. He was hired by Washington to replace Kalen DeBoer and has gone 14-10 across his 2 seasons.
On a podcast recently, Spurrier named Tulane’s Jon Sumrall and James Madison’s Bob Chesney as 2 coaches from outside the power-conference level who would make sense for Florida if it missed on Kiffin.
“There are a lot of good coaches out there who aren’t in the Power 4 right now,” Spurrier said. “The guy at James Madison, the guy at Tulane — they win consistently. Sometimes one of those coaches ends up being better than a big-name hire. You just never know.”
Chesney is 19-5 at James Madison since replacing Curt Cignetti. The Dukes are 10-1 this season.
Sumrall is 18-7 across 2 seasons at Tulane after going 23-4 in 2 seasons at Troy. The Green Wave are 9-2 this year.
Florida could also kick the tires on Louisville coach Jeff Brohm, who is in his third season with the Cardinals.
Here’s what Kalshi thinks of the Gators’ search:
LSU
Would LSU look to pull another coach from Notre Dame if it missed on Kiffin? Marcus Freeman succeeded Brian Kelly as the Notre Dame coach and he has arguably elevated the Irish brand. Notre Dame won 2 College Football Playoff games last season and advanced to the national championship game against Ohio State. The Irish won a program-record 14 games.
Freeman has been linked to LSU several times.
“This university, what it stands for and the people it impacts, I’m grateful for it,” Freeman said this week.
If Freeman is uninterested in a move, would LSU look to Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea or Georgia Tech coach Brent Key?
ESPN’s Greg McElroy recently said Lea was in a “really good position” to be in the mix at Penn State. Lea has transformed Vanderbilt from an SEC doormat to a legitimate threat to make the CFP. He went 7-6 last season and earned the program’s first bowl appearance in 6 years. This fall, the Commodores are 9-2 and seeking their first-ever 10-win season.
Key has done similarly transformative work at Georgia Tech, which went through a painful transition from the triple-option under Paul Johnson to a more modern offensive approach. The Yellow Jackets went 7-6 in each of Key’s first 2 full-time seasons. They are 9-2 this year.
He played offensive guard for Georgia Tech, but he’s also an SEC country lifer. Key worked at UCF from 2005 through 2015. He worked at Alabama under Nick Saban from 2016-18 before moving to Georgia Tech. Key was born and raised near Birmingham.
LSU appears to have pushed all its chips in on Kiffin. With the resources that are reportedly available for the next head coach, a miss could mean any number of backup avenues are on the table.
Here’s what Kalshi makes of the LSU search:
Auburn
The Tigers have been operating on the periphery since firing Freeze. They did not get involved in the Kiffin sweepstakes. They had been linked to Drinkwitz, but that option is now firmly off the table.
Drinkwitz’s extension with Mizzou would presumably impact Auburn the greatest. If Kiffin were to pick LSU, Drinkwitz would have been a prime candidate for Florida. With that option unavailable, Florida could be picking from the same pool as Auburn.
Key is one option that has been tossed around, but would he give up his alma mater for another rebuild job? Lea is another option that Auburn could consider.
Sumrall, an Alabama native, is presumed to be the top candidate for the Auburn job, but The Athletic reported this week that Sumrall is expected to be atop the Ole Miss wish list should Kiffin leave.
Would Auburn consider removing the interim tag from DJ Durkin, who has gone 1-1 since taking over for Freeze? If Durkin were to lead an upset of Alabama on Saturday, support for him would grow louder.
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg also named Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann as a potential candidate. Schumann has only ever worked as an assistant, first at Alabama and then at Georgia, climbing the ladder from inside linebackers coach to defensive coordinator. Schumann did not play college football and does not have prior head coaching experience.
Check out the Kalshi market involving the latest in the Auburn search:
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
