One coach makes sense for LSU if Lane Kiffin doesn't flip to Tigers

The LSU Tigers are serious about their pursuit of current Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin.

It makes sense, too. Sure, Kiffin has had some ups and downs (to put it lightly) as a college football coach, but he's been great at Ole Miss since 2020, and he currently has the Rebels at 10-1 and in the running to make a huge run through the College Football Playoff.

He's comfortable with SEC football, and he's known as a great recruiter. Those are all things that would make Kiffin a big-time hire for the Tigers as they look to replace Brian Kelly, but they're not the only program in the running. Ole Miss would, obviously, like Kiffin to stay, and the Florida Gators are turning on the full-court press for him as well.

LSU would be smart to have options 1A and 1B if Kiffin doesn't end up coming to Baton Rouge, and according to Scott Rabalais of NOLA.com, the Tigers do have two names in mind.

"If not Kiffin — and obviously he could go any number of ways — then who for LSU? Two of the names to consider right now appear to be Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz and Tulane coach Jon Sumrall," Rabalais reported earlier in the week.

Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall could be a perfect fit for LSU Tigers

Eli Drinkwitz of Missouri would be a great option. He's gone 44-27 in six seasons with the Tigers from Columbia, Missouri. The issue with him is somewhat similar to what plagued Kelly at LSU, though, and it's something that led to Penn State firing James Franklin — now the head coach at Virginia Tech.

Drinkwitz has kept Mizzou very competitive in the SEC, but he has struggled in big spots. He is 7-14 against ranked teams. LSU could get that kind of production, or lack thereof, from Kelly, which then makes Jon Sumrall from Tulane the next option to look at. Frankly, he may be the best one of the bunch for LSU, and even better of a fit than Kiffin.

One of the big problems with Kelly at LSU is that he never fit into the Louisiana culture. A Massachusetts native, he was always seen as an outsider and never tried to change that. 

Sumrall wasn't born in Louisiana, but he does hail from Texarkana, Texas, which is roughly five hours north of Baton Rouge. He was a linebacker at Kentucky from 2002 to 2004, so he understands SEC football, but most importantly for LSU, he understands life in Louisiana as the head coach at Tulane.

He's now in his second season with the Green Wave, but he was also the co-defensive coordinator at Tulane from 2012 to 2014, so he has a lot of experience working and recruiting within the state.

Throw in the fact that he's only 43 years old (thus, he really has no baggage as a head coach), and he has No. 24 Tulane in the hunt in the American Athletic Conference as well as in the hunt for a spot in the CFP, and there are few scenarios in which Sumrall wouldn't be a home run hire for LSU.

Again, he may even be a better option than Kiffin, though it does sound like LSU wants to bark up that tree first before looking elsewhere.