LSU coaching hot board 3.0: Who remains atop LSU's wish list in third week of search
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LSU football is looking for a new coach. The Tigers fired Brian Kelly and Oct. 27, hitting the reset button after suffering its third loss of the season and getting knocked from the College Football Playoff discussion — far below the high expectations LSU had to begin the year.
The standard at LSU is a national championship. Kelly didn’t shy away from that fact when he took the job, but Kelly’s program failed to sustain momentum after a promising year one.
LSU is among the top open jobs in what is already a record-setting coaching carousel. Penn State,Florida,Auburn, and Arkansas joined LSU in firing their coaches midseason. That’s already a strong list of Power Four jobs, and it’s only November. There will be even more openings at season’s end.
Every week, we’ve been looking at the top candidates to be LSU’s next head football coach. We’ll reevaluate the list again today. Here’s volume three of LSU’s coaching hot board.
Lane Kiffin — Ole Miss HC
Three weeks in, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin remains top of the list. LSU will have competition for the most sought-after coach of the cycle. Kiffin is first on Florida’s wish list and Ole Miss is expected to do everything it can to hold on to their head coach.
Kiffin has the Rebels in line for a spot in the College Football Playoff and is working on his third-straight double-digit win season. Ole Miss hasn’t had this kind of success in years.
There’s no shortage of speculation about where Kiffin will be in 2026, but plenty think he remains in Oxford. He’s built a consistent program and is competing at the top of the SEC. Why move just to rebuild somewhere else?
Even in this new era of college sports, where NIL has leveled the playing field, it’s easier to assemble talent at LSU than Ole Miss. That doesn’t mean Kiffin can’t win a title at Ole Miss, and if Kiffin thinks that’s possible, he might as well just stay put. But if Ole Miss comes up short and Kiffin views LSU as a high-ceiling program, he’ll certainly entertain offers from Baton Rouge.
Jon Sumrall — Tulane HC
Sumrall’s Tulane squad kept its playoff hopes alive with a big win over Memphis last week. In four years as a head coach, Sumrall is 39-11 between his time at Troy and Tulane. He wins.
Sumrall is a sharp defensive mind with experience as an SEC assistant. He’s yet to coach at a program of LSU’s magnitude, but he understands what it takes to recruit high-caliber players. At Tulane, he’s proven he can manage high school recruiting and the transfer portal, even with fewer resources than bigger programs.
With defensive-minded head coaches, there are always some questions about how their teams perform on offense, but Sumrall has had some explosive groups.
There will be skeptics with a G6 coach jumping to a job of LSU’s status, but Sumrall is a risk worth taking.
Brent Key — Georgia Tech HC
Key is coaching at his alma mater. The Yellow Jackets are 8-1 with a shot to make the College Football Playoff. Key’s name is a consistent presence on every job board. If a Power Four school decides Key is their guy, they’re bidding against other schools and have to pay enough to pry Key away from a job he likes. That won’t be cheap and it won’t be easy.
Key was a longtime assistant at UCF before joining Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama. After leaving Tuscaloosa, Key joined Georgia Tech’s staff and was promoted to head coach after the firing of Geoff Collins. Key has engineered a quick rebuild in Atlanta, raising his national profile.
He’s competing in a Power Four conference and has experience working at a major SEC program.
Clark Lea — Vanderbilt HC
Like Key, Lea is also working at his alma mater. The former Brian Kelly assistant has Vanderbilt competing for a playoff spot, something that didn’t seem possible a few years ago.
Vanderbilt wants to retain Lea, but Lea has yet to sign an extension like some other top names have done this cycle (Matt Rhule and Curt Cignetti).
Even if Lea wants to remain at Vandy, he’ll listen to offers from blue-blood programs. Vanderbilt is punching above its weight, but it’s easier to build a contender at LSU or Penn State. That’s just the way it is.
Lea’s path, which includes stops at Wake Forest and Notre Dame before Vanderbilt, may not align with your typical LSU head coaching resume. Recruiting isn’t as critical at those schools, but Lea has proven to be adaptable.
Kelvin Sheppard — Lions DC
Is Sheppard a real candidate at LSU? It’s too early to say, but several former Tigers have advocated for Sheppard, another former Tiger, to get the gig.
Sheppard has taken a meteoric rise through the NFL coaching ranks after his playing career. He’s spent his entire coaching career with the Lions, beginning as linebackers coach before being promoted to defensive coordinator.
At this rate, Sheppard will be an NFL head coaching candidate soon enough. That could make it hard to pry him from the NFL ranks. Most guys with a chance to be an NFL head coach aren’t dying to come recruit 18-year-old kids 365 days a year.
But if LSU thinks Sheppard is their man, the offer will be tempting. Sheppard is a risk, given he’s never been a head coach and doesn’t have college coaching experience, but he’d likely excel as a recruiter and provide LSU with consistent defenses. That’s a high-floor program.
Eli Drinkwitz — Missouri HC
Missouri was knocked out of the playoff race after falling to Texas A&M in Week 11, but Drinkwitz’s resume in Colombia remains impressive.
Drinkwitz has raised the talent level at Missouri, recruiting high school and the transfer portal. He’s consistently made strong hires on both sides of the ball, and Missouri’s offensive line has been one of the best in the SEC for three years running now.
Drinkwitz is a name you will hear tied to multiple openings, potentially Florida and Penn State. Missouri will make an offer to keep him put, too.
James Franklin — Former Penn State HC
I understand LSU fans will have mixed feelings about Franklin, but I’m keeping the ex-Penn State head coach on the list.
A proven program builder who is 128-60 as a head coach is worth consideration at LSU. Yes, Franklin never quite won the “big one” in Happy Valley, but he led the Nittany Lions to a Big Ten title in 2016. He was a play away from the national title game last year and won 34 games from 2022-24. There aren’t many available coaches with this resume.
Franklin is ready now, too. LSU wouldn’t have to wait out a playoff run or NFL season.
Jeff Brohm — Louisville HC
Yet another coach at his alma mater.
Brohm is a veteran head coach, leading Western Kentucky and Purdue before taking over Louisville. The Cardinals’ playoff hopes took a hit with a Cal loss in Week 11, but Brohm’s overall track record speaks for itself. Brohm won 10 games in 2023 and nearly reached that mark again last year.
He’s an offensive guy, but he’s built well-rounded teams that are good in all three phases of the game.
Josh Huepel — Tennessee HC
Why not throw Huepel’s name in just for the fun of it?
Every coaching cycle brings at least one major surprise. Maybe this year, it’s Josh Huepel leaving Tennessee. Huepel has returned the Vols to relevancy, earning a College Football Playoff birth in 2024. Tennessee was blown out by Ohio State, but this program is well above where it existed for a decade before Huepel’s arrival.
This would simply be a case of LSU throwing a bag of money at the Tennessee coach.
Trending Down: Who’s off LSU’s coaching board?
Never say never, but it’s probably time to axe Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham and Bills OC Joe Brady from the list.
Per reports, Dillingham told his ASU team that he wasn’t leaving and intended to remain in Tempe.
Brady is likely gearing up to be an NFL head coach. LSU could make a significant offer, but giving Brady a massive contract probably doesn’t make sense for either party.
Other names to know
- Manny Diaz, Duke head coach
- Alex Golesh, USF head coach
- Ryan Silverfield, Memphis coach
- Will Stein, Oregon offensive coordinator
- Glenn Schumann, Georgia defensive coordinator
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: LSU football head coach hot board 3.0: Who remains atop the wishlist?
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