Reports: SEC schools making new hires

The Sunday after the last regular season college football game is when you expect the coaching carousel to really start moving. That seems to be happening.

With the early signing period in just more than a week and the transfer portal opening for two weeks in a little more than a month there’s good reason for schools to move quickly and according to On3 reporting it seems like that has happened.

Florida, Arkansas, and Auburn fired Billy Napier, Sam Pittman, and Hugh Freeze during the 2025 regular season.

According to Pete Thamel and numerous others Florida is very close to naming Tulane coach and former Kentucky player and assistant Jon Sumrall as its new coach. Thamel’s latest report suggests Sumrall will make almost $7.5 per year on a six-year deal with the Gators.

Given all the speculation about Mark Stoops’ future it was natural that Sumrall would come up in conversation. It’s not clear what Mitch Barnhart plans to do with the regular season over and the Gators had an opportunity to get an early start.

Early on it seemed unlikely that Florida would hire Sumrall after firing Napier, since both were Group of Five head coaches before offered jobs by the Gators. But as it stands now, Sumrall will likely be coaching against Kentucky at some point in the future.

Sources: Florida is finalizing a six-year deal to make Tulane’s Jon Sumrall the head coach at an average of nearly $7.5 million per year, with significant incentives tied to the College Football Playoff. Sumrall is 42-11 in four seasons as a head coach. pic.twitter.com/woryZCvedm

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 30, 2025

But the other two schools appear close to hires as well, with new reports suggesting Arkansas is close to landing Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield. Auburn announced the hiring of South Florida coach Alex Golesh on Sunday before noon.

Sumrall, Silverfield, and Golesh have been three of the hotter names mentioned during the coaching carousel for the last several weeks and all are head coaches from the Group of Five level.

Sumrall coming off the board could have some impact on Barnhart’s thinking at Kentucky if he were to be inclined to make a move after the Wildcats were blown out by Vanderbilt and Louisville to end the season, ensuring a second straight campaign without a bowl game.

Golesh, like Sumrall, is reportedly being signed to a six-year deal.