The SEC may well be the toughest conference in all of college football. That reality does not stop coaches from taking high-paying gigs at schools all over the league. The challenge for administrations is making sure they spend big on the right coaches when they're forced into a change.
LSU, Ole Miss, Florida, Kentucky, Auburn and Arkansas all made changes in their football leadership over the last week. Kiffin ditching Ole Miss in favor of LSU made the most headlines, but it was not the only noteworthy hire that will reverberate through the SEC landscape for years to come.
The real measure of each school's hire can only be made after a couple years at the helm. It's still instructive to grade each move right now based on the probability of it working out for the schools and coaches in question. The grading sheet starts with Kiffin's move to Baton Rouge.
LSU hires Lane Kiffin away from Ole Miss
It may have seemed like LSU's quest to hire Kiffin lasted forever, but the truth is the deal got done rather quickly in the grand scheme of things. The Tigers got their top choice without enduring much stress on their end.
Kiffin may be the least popular person in Oxford at the moment but he'll ignite an LSU fan base that's desperate to get back on top of the SEC. His personality should allow him to bring a host of talented players to his new school in the upcoming transfer portal. It's also important to know that LSU was not bereft of talent upon his arrival.
Kiffin is not a lock to succeed at LSU, but the Tigers deserve credit for making the best hire of the cycle. He's a known commodity that should restore order at a program that belongs in title consideration on an annual basis.
Grade: A
Florida signs Jon Sumrall to limited fanfare
It's unfair for Florida fans to categorize Jon Sumrall as the second coming of Billy Napier. Both arrived in Gainesville on the back of winning with mid-major programs, but that's not an uncommon path for schools looking to find the next big thing to be their head coach.
Sumrall deserves immense credit for turning Tulane into a perennial contender in the American. He gets a slight demerit for not being able to dominate Memphis and South Florida, but Tulane does not have anything resembling a resource advantage over those peers.
Look for Sumrall to try to bring a much-needed boost of physicality to his new school. He may not be the sexiest hire of the cycle but he should give Florida an immediate boost they desperately need. Sumrall may not be the guy who gets the Gators back into the College Football Playoff but he might help them build a bridge to the coach who will.
Grade: B
Kentucky goes the coordinator route and scores Will Stein
The Wildcats were arguably the weakest SEC job available this cycle outside of Arkansas. That's part of the reason why the administration in Lexington chose to opt for a high-profile coordinator rather than a sitting head coach.
It's impressive they managed to pull one of the best play callers in the country. Oregon recruits elite talent but they also put their players in the best positions possible to succeed. Stein was a big part of Dan Lanning's success in Eugene and should breathe life into Kentucky's moribund program.
The move from coordinator to head coach is far from easy, but Stein represents the sort of gamble Kentucky should be taking. He may not work out, but he's got a high ceiling for a program that fancies itself a contender in the SEC.
Grade: A-
Auburn plays it safe with Alex Golesh
Alex Golesh may not be a perfect fit at Auburn, but he did represent the best hire they could reasonably make after Sumrall went off the board. Golesh arrives on the Plains on the heels of a massive turnaround at South Florida.
Tigers fans will latch on to the fact that Golesh's offense rang up 40.3 points per game last season. He'll need to leverage every bit of his offensive acumen to get Auburn's offense going again. Part of the reason they have an opening was their inability to score points against SEC competition.
The big question on Golesh is whether or not he can recruit well enough against the big boys to make Auburn nationally relevant. That valid question makes this more of a substance than style hire for the Tigers.
Grade: B-
Ole Miss plays it safe and stays in house with Pete Golding
Not many SEC programs choose to promote their assistance when their head men leave for greener pastures. That's just what Ole Miss chose when they elevated defensive coordinator Pete Golding to the big chair.
Golding has a reputation as a bright defensive mind and an effective recruiter. The administration in Oxford also hopes he gives their team the best chance of keeping things together for a run in the CFP. Making those sorts of short-term decisions has a way of biting schools over the long haul.
If Golding can hold this roster together he should have time to build some momentum and stability. If not, he could turn into a disastrous pivot for a school that will rue the day Kiffin left.
Grade: C-
Arkansas goes just north and steals Ryan Silverfield from Memphis
Arkansas was strongly linked with a few coaches during their search but ended up coming away with Ryan Silverfield. The coach who posted a 50-25 record for the Tigers was not an overly popular hire with the Razorbacks' fan base.
On paper, it looks like a pretty logical hire from Arkansas. Silverfield runs a multiple, physical ground game that fits what the Razorbacks have done in their most successful years. He should be able to recruit from a similar geographic area at Arkansas as he did during his time with Memphis.
The problem with Silverfield is that he really did nothing to elevate Memphis during his time in West Tennessee. He took over a successful program and kept things humming along. Serious questions should be asked over whether or not he should have done more with the resources available to him.
In the end, he's a suspect hire for Arkansas. This one has real disaster potential. It's one to monitor closely in 2026.