Ole Miss is ‘engaged’ with multiple coaching candidates pending Lane Kiffin’s decision, per report
By David Wasson
Published:
As much of the college football world waited Saturday night on the result of the Lane Kiffin Sweepstakes, Ole Miss is reportedly covering all angles in the event Kiffin decides to depart Oxford.
Yahoo Sports reported that Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter has begun engaging with potential Kiffin replacements Jon Sumrall and Alex Golesh – the latter already tied to the Arkansas opening.
Sumrall, the Tulane coach, is reportedly the top target for the Florida opening. Golesh is still officially the USF coach.
Kiffin, of course, is the top target of both the LSU Tigers and the Florida Gators. He was given a Saturday deadline by Carter at Ole Miss to decide if he would stay with the 11-1 Rebels or depart for a new job.
Ole Miss is a virtual lock for one of the 12 College Football Playoff berths, but one of the questions amid Kiffin’s personal three-way coaching carousel is if the Rebels would allow him to stay in Oxford and coach the team during the CFP while he is actively recruiting players and assistant coaches at a rival school.
Kiffin is 55-19 in 6 seasons at Ole Miss. Sumrall is 18-7 in 2 seasons at Tulane. Golesh is 22-15 in 3 seasons at USF.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
