The Florida Gators' Plan B after whiffing on Lane Kiffin may be the Auburn Tigers' plan, which was previously thought to be signed, sealed, and about to be delivered.
Per ESPN's Pete Thamel, UF has infiltrated the Jon Sumrall conversation. Sumrall is expected to leave the Tulane Green Wave and join a Power 4 program, though it was long thought to be Auburn. Now, not so much.
Sumrall will apparently announce his decision after College Football Week 14 has concluded.
"Sources: Tulane coach Jon Sumrall is expected to make a decision on his coaching future on Sunday morning. He's expected to choose between staying at Tulane, and his outside opportunities have included significant interest from Florida and Auburn," Thamel wrote.
Kiffin disrespected Florida throughout the process, leading to the Gators' brain trust pulling out of the sweepstakes for the 50-year-old.
"Florida has shifted focus from Lane Kiffin in the school’s coaching search, as the school has sensed through irregular communication that he’s interested in other options. Florida has interviewed roughly a dozen candidates and is optimistic about the process," Thamel wrote.
Would Sumrall be disrespecting Auburn by pulling out at this stage of the process? Well, it's unclear if anything has been signed. It's long been rumored, but nothing concrete has been announced, while reporting has been quiet on the situation across the board.
Now, national reporting is making it sound like Florida is the frontrunner for Sumrall. In no uncertain terms, that'd be disastrous for AU, which hasn't been involved much in the Kiffin sweepstakes at any point either.
DJ Durkin could be sensible promotion if Auburn wins Iron Bowl
Keeping the status quo as much as possible may be the best-case scenario for Auburn. We know the roster is talented, it's just that the play-calling was disjointed under Hugh Freeze, to say the least. His quarterback selection also doomed the team from the start.
If AU could keep Deuce Knight, Cam Coleman, and Eric Singleton Jr., improvement may be a natural byproduct of keeping this team together.
Then, promoting DJ Durkin from interim to full-time coach could be a natural next step, especially if the Tigers beat the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Iron Bowl on Saturday night.
What Freeze built is solid. He just wasn't the team's ideal voice or X's and O's offensive "guru" like what was promised. Keep this team together, and this losing era could finally come to an end.