The SEC’s coaching board has been shaken up again, and the new look heading into 2026 puts Lane Kiffin in a spot that says plenty about both his résumé and the expectations waiting for him at LSU.
Only two coaches landed in the top tier: Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer. Smart’s place there is easy to understand after two national titles and an SEC championship in 2025, even with Georgia falling short of the semifinals in each of the last two seasons.
DeBoer, meanwhile, keeps his elite label despite the frustration around Alabama and that ugly Rose Bowl loss to Indiana. His overall work still stands out - he’s 57-17 in the FBS, 33-3 at home, and 6-1 against the spread in road games.
He also guided Washington to the national championship in 2023 and has already beaten Georgia in back-to-back regular seasons at Alabama.
Kiffin is part of the next group, along with Texas coach Steve Sarkisian and Texas A&M’s Mike Elko. The case for all three is simple: they’re good enough to win a national championship, even if none has done it yet.
Kiffin and Sarkisian are both elite offensive minds, while Elko brings the same kind of strength on defense. Each has flashed that ceiling.
Sarkisian took Texas to back-to-back playoff appearances in 2023 and 2024. Kiffin and Elko both built playoff rosters in 2025.
Now the pressure shifts into 2026, and for Kiffin, that means proving it at LSU with one of the most expensive rosters in the sport.
Below that, the SEC is packed with quality coaches who still have more to show. Oklahoma’s Brent Venables remains one of the sport’s top defensive minds and got the Sooners into the playoff despite an offense derailed by quarterback John Mateer’s injury.
Florida’s Jon Sumrall brings a strong track record from Tulane and Troy, and the roster Billy Napier left behind gives him something to work with. Tennessee’s Josh Heupel, Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea and Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz have all lifted the baseline at their schools, even as Heupel faces pressure to push Tennessee higher after bringing much-needed stability to a program that had been a mess for two decades before he arrived.
The final tier is where the uncertainty really lives: potential, potential, potential. Auburn’s Alex Golesh, Kentucky’s Will Stein, Mississippi State’s Jeff Lebby, Arkansas’ Ryan Silverfield, Ole Miss’ Pete Golding and South Carolina’s Shane Beamer all land there for different reasons.
Beamer is under pressure after a disappointing 2025, though quarterback LaNorris Sellers is back and the new offensive coordinator and offensive line coach give him some help. Lebby is entering his third year at Mississippi State, where fans want progress more than promises.
Golding has already won two playoff games at Ole Miss, but with only three games as a head coach, he hasn’t built enough of a sample yet to climb higher right now. Silverfield and Golesh have done their best work at the Group of Six level and now have to translate it to the SEC.
Stein is the wild card of the group, a first-time head coach who left Oregon’s offensive coordinator job to take over at Kentucky.
In Other News...
LSU Inherits A Quarterback Storyline Lane Kiffin No Longer Controls
Trinidad Chambliss arrived at Ole Miss as one of the more interesting quarterback additions in the SEC, a spring 2025 transfer from Division II Ferris State who quickly turned himself into a real storyline. His rise has already drawn plenty of attention, but not everyone around the league views it as simply a product of Lane Kiffins system. One anonymous SEC coach pointed to Chamblisss natural talent and playmaking ability as the bigger reason for his success, a reminder that the quarterback himself has done more than just benefit from the right play sheet.
That angle matters even more now that Kiffin has left Ole Miss for LSU, where the Rebels new offensive playcaller will be John David Baker. For LSU, the move created an unexpected subplot to keep an eye on, because Chambliss is no longer tied to the coach many people associated with his rise. The question hanging over the next chapter is whether his production travels with him when the architect of the old offense is gone and the new one takes over. [Read more 🡒]
LSU No. 25 Connects Rising Talent With A Tigers Legacy
LSUs No. 25 has become a small but interesting bridge between the present and the programs past, with two current Tigers carrying the number for very different reasons. Running back Rod Gainey Jr. is still early in his college career and sits behind the depth chart for now, while safety Aiden Hall arrives with plenty of buzz as a highly rated recruit from New Orleans, giving the number a mix of developmental promise and homegrown prestige.
The jersey also ties back to a name that still resonates around Baton Rouge: YA Tittle, who wore 25 during his LSU days from 1944 to 1947 before going on to a Hall of Fame NFL career. For a program that leans heavily on tradition, having a number shared by a backup back and a prized defender gives LSU another reminder of how its current roster keeps brushing up against the schools history. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Faces An Early Receiver Concern As Clemson Prep Intensifies
LSU moved into its sixth fall-camp practice with the first full-pads session Wednesday, a useful checkpoint as the Tigers keep sharpening things for the season opener against Clemson. The wide receiver group is already getting a close look, and junior Malik Elzy has been a steady target as LSU works through its early camp rhythm. Elsewhere, injured players Gabriel Reliford and Aidan Anding were seen on stationary bikes, while freshman Jaiden Braker has been adjusting to a new home on the defensive side of the ball after switching from linebacker to defensive end.
The more immediate concern is at receiver, where Winston Watkins Jr. was absent again for a second straight practice. LSU does not have much time to let any camp absence linger with Clemson looming, so every rep matters now, especially as the Tigers try to sort out who is ready to handle the load when the opener arrives. Watkins availability will be worth watching as camp intensity rises and the depth chart starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]