'The Puppet Master’: What to know about Jimmy Sexton — Lane Kiffin’s superagent and college football power broker

For decades, superagent Jimmy Sexton has been one of the most powerful figures in college football. This year’s coaching carousel has once again reminded fans just how far his influence reaches.

Here's what to know about the man behind the curtain.

What is Jimmy Sexton's official job title?

Sexton is co-head of the Creative Arts Agency football division. Per CAA's official website, the agency has a roster that includes 181 Pro Bowl selections since 2015 and seven Associated Press Rookies of the Year since 2010.

Notable Jimmy Sexton coaching clients

Sexton is most well known for his role as agent to multiple prominent college football head coaches, including Georgia's Kirby Smart, Alabama's Kalen DeBoer, Texas' Steve Sarkisian and Florida State's Mike Norvell.

His client list also includes new Virginia Tech HC James Franklin and LSU HC Lane Kiffin, the biggest coaching hires of this season's cycle so far.

Jimmy Sexton is also an agent to several NFL pros

Per Spotrac, Sexton, along with fellow CAA agents including Tom Condon, Tony Dandy, Jim Denton and R.J. Gonser, boast Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford as clients. In the four players most recent contracts, they signed deals with a combined $319 million guaranteed, an average of roughly $80M per player.

Jimmy Sexton history

Sexton has long held the role of college football power broker. In 2015, ESPN's Mark Schlabach profiled Sexton in a piece that described him as a "super agent some call the most powerful man in college football."

When discussing his remarkable influence, Sexton said, "I just try to build good relationships. In this business, it's all about the relationships you have with your clients and the people who are hiring them."

Those relationships date to the 1980s, when he was the equipment manager at Tennessee the same time future Pro Football Hall of Famer Reggie White played for the university. Sexton represented White in contract negotiations, and he later branched out to the NBA before shift full time to football. His first college coach client was Tommy Tuberville, who left Ole Miss for Auburn in 1999 after falsely saying the only way he'd leave Oxford was in a "pine box." 

Jimmy Sexton impact on 2025 coaching cycle

Sexton helped get Kiffin out of Ole Miss, too, but his biggest impact on the 2025 coaching cycle might be in the Big Ten. 

"He's messing with Penn State right now because Penn State let go one of his guys, James Franklin, in a manner that he didn't appreciate," NFL Draft expert Todd McShay recently said in a conversation during "The Bill Simmons Podcast" (h/t Awful Announcing).

The supposed acrimonious relationship may have cost Penn State a shot at ascending coaching talent Bob Chesney, hired by UCLA after going 20-5 in two seasons at James Madison, where he replaced Indiana's Curt Cignetti. Among power conference programs that had openings this offseason, Penn State is the only team that has yet to announce a hiring.

Perhaps that's why influential ESPN college football commentator Paul Finebaum calls Sexton "The Puppet Master." 

Jimmy Sexton media influence

Sexton's reach extends far beyond the football field and negotiating table. With connections to the media world as well, Sexton can twist narratives to his liking. Amid the fallout from the Kiffin debacle, ESPN NFL analyst Rex Ryan — whom Finebaum noted on “Get Up” earlier this week is also a Sexton client — defended Kiffin’s decision to leave national-title contender Mississippi.