Tulane Green Wave head coach Jon Sumrall was penciled in to be the Auburn Tigers' replacement for Hugh Freeze, but at the last moment, he pivoted to choosing the Florida Gators, and AU ended up hiring USF Bulls head coach Alex Golesh.
As it turns out, Sumrall spoke to Lane Kiffin, who has dominated the news with his vicious decision to leave the Ole Miss Rebels for the LSU Tigers right before the former's likely first College Football Playoff berth, before making his decision.
“Lane Kiffin and I have been going through the same thing. And we’ve talked a lot. And we both agreed that I was the best guy for this job," Sumrall said.
Kiffin famously chose Auburn in 2022 before quickly changing his mind and staying in Oxford. Of course, the Tigers hired Hugh Freeze, and the rest is history. As was seen in one of his troll tweets leading up to his decision, Kiffin believes there are a bunch of losers at AU.
Turns out, Kiffin may have a grudge.
Lane Kiffin is a villain to everyone in college football but LSU at this point
Auburn fans didn't necessarily care about seeing Kiffin burn Ole Miss. They might care that Kiffin meddled in the coaching search, even if Sumrall ultimately has agency and made the decision himself.
Of course, the reason why Sumrall didn't choose Auburn is the same reason Kiffin didn't choose Florida: those schools aren't going to give full autonomy to the man in the head coaching seat. Kiffin may have told Sumrall something that hasn't been reported, because Sumrall was reportedly scared off by AU in a sudden fashion.
Either way, it's done now. Golesh is on the Plains, Sumrall is in Gainesville, and Kiffin is one of the greatest villains College Football has ever seen.