Paul Finebaum floats Eli Drinkwitz, Lincoln Riley as top options in LSU coaching search

The LSU Tigers didn’t expect to open this season, but now that it has and the entire school administration has turned over, LSU remains a premier job. However, with rumors that link Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin to Florida and Tulane coach Jon Sumrall to Auburn, two premier coaches who make sense for the Tigers look to be off the table.

With those rumors in mind, Paul Finebaum recently appeared on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning. There, he pitched Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz and USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley as potential head coaching candidates in Baton Rouge.

“I think the name of the moment is probably Eli Drinkwitz,” Paul Finebaum said. “Certainly, he is a good name. He isn’t Lane Kiffin on the buzz meter, but he’s probably the next best thing.”

Drinkwitz spent one season at App State as the head coach before landing the job at Missouri. Now in his sixth season there, he has a 45-27 record overall and 25-23 in SEC play. Notably, in the last three seasons, his record is 28-8 and 14-8 in SEC play. Now, he’s been rumored for seemingly more prestigious SEC jobs, like Florida and LSU.

“Do you go back to the well where you were five years ago and make another run at Lincoln Riley, who, in spite of a couple of incredibly mediocre years, has done a very good job this year,” Finebaum said. “At least resurrecting his name and respect and his program is in tremendous shape at the moment, barring whatever happens Saturday afternoon in Eugene. That’s what we think.”

As Paul Finebaum noted, Lincoln Riley was rumored for the LSU job when he was the head coach at Oklahoma. At the time, he famously said, “No, I’m not going to be the next head coach at LSU.” Of course, that didn’t mean he wasn’t leaving and it doesn’t mean there had never been a mutual interest.

In his time at USC, Riley is 34-16 overall and 23-11 in conference play. However, that includes a pair of disappointing seasons in 2023 and 2024 that this year’s team is still trying to bounce back from.

Still, the coaching carousel is continuing to turn, and none of the SEC jobs that have opened yet have filled their positions. Plenty can change. More jobs could open too, which makes it all the more fascinating which dominoes fall first.

“I mean, of all these jobs,” Finebaum said. “I’m probably most comfortable in saying Sumrall is going to Auburn and Kiffin will be offered the Florida job. Beyond that, I think everything is a little bit dicey.”