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Grading Sunday’s Chaotic SEC Coaching Changes

Nov 6, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; South Florida Bulls head coach Alex Golesh looks on against the UTSA Roadrunners during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. USA TODAY Sports

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Grading Sunday’s Chaotic SEC Coaching Changes

Originally posted on Mike Farrell Sports
By Mark Pszonak | Last updated Dec 1, 2025 8:49 AM ET

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This is annually the busiest time for coaching changes and announcements. But Sunday took it to the next level in the SEC. Lane Kiffin’s decision obviously grabbed most of the attention, but four other schools named their new head coach in the span of a couple of hours. Here is a look at each of the five, with grades for each.

Lane Kiffin – LSU

Since winning the National Championship in 2019, the Tigers had been somewhat irrelevant in the SEC and National Championship equations. The program needed an injection of excitement, which they definitely received with the hiring of Kiffin. But now they will have to deal with the chaos that follows their new head coach. There won’t be much patience in Baton Rouge, so there won’t be a honeymoon period. LSU will have to win immediately and win plenty for this hiring to be defined as successful. And if you look at Kiffin’s coaching history, he doesn’t necessarily have an extended list of game-changing victories. With games next season against Clemson, Texas, Alabama, Texas A&M, Tennessee and yes, Ole Miss, the pressure will be immense on Kiffin to prove to everyone that he was worth all this noise.

Buzz Grade: A++++++
Overall Grade: B

Alex Golesh – Auburn

Auburn needed to hire a head coach who has the potential to spark an offense that had been extremely pedestrian under the leadership of Hugh Freeze. Golesh gives them that potential. After working with Josh Heupel at UCF and Tennessee, Golesh quickly proved himself as a head coach with plenty of potential at USF. His name was mentioned as a top candidate for several schools (see Arkansas below), so the Tigers had to earn this hire. While Jon Sumrall was the hot name through most of the process, Golesh makes more sense for the offense starved Tigers.

Buzz Grade: B
Overall Grade: B

Nov 6, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; South Florida Bulls head coach Alex Golesh looks on against the UTSA Roadrunners during the first half at Raymond James Stadium.

Jon Sumrall – Florida

This grade may have been a little higher if not for the similarities between Sumrall and recently fired head coach Billy Napier. This comparison doesn’t have many Florida fans excited about this hire, despite the fact that Sumrall has proven himself to be a winner at Troy and Tulane. Florida fans wanted a creative offensive mind, similar to Urban Meyer and Steve Spurrier, but instead got a defensive coach. Sumrall will need to hit a home run with his offensive coordinator hire if he wants to win over the Florida fanbase during the offseason.

Buzz Grade: C

Overall Grade: B

Ryan Silverfield – Arkansas

It isn’t a good sign when fans protest the hire and want the athletic director fired before the announcement of Silverfield’s addition was even official. But that is what happened Sunday morning in Fayetteville. Part of this is because of how close the Razorbacks came to hiring Alex Golesh, which seemed as a done deal only days ago. As for Silverfield, he was a winner at Memphis, but never took the Tigers to the AAC Championship Game and seemed to continuously fail at winning the biggest games. The expectations at Arkansas aren’t as high right now as some other SEC programs, which is a problem in itself, so as long as Silverfield can at least get the program bowl eligible during his first season or two, it should be able to win over the fanbase.

Buzz Grade: C-
Overall Grade: C+

Pete Golding – Ole Miss

Yesterday was obviously an odd situation for Ole Miss and Golding, but the outcome is that he is suddenly the head coach at Ole Miss. The Rebels could have named him the interim coach until they did a more extensive replacement search, but they immediately labeled him as permanent. Is Golding ready for this? Everyone will quickly find out considering his first game as a head coach will be in the Playoffs. Long-term, this really could go in any direction for Golding and the Rebels.

Buzz Grade: D
Overall Grade: C-

This article first appeared on Mike Farrell Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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