Split Zone Duo: College Football Podcast Black Sunday Blow-by-Blow: Lane Kiffin and the Coach Carousel in Real Time
SUBSCRIBER EPISODE: Richard spent Sunday on his phone, gathering information on the day’s many college football coach hirings and firings. This episode takes you through Richard’s day of reporting. Alex joins him to discuss a bunch of moves:
* Lane Kiffin heads to LSU, and Ole Miss replaces him swiftly with the internal succession option we talked about a few weeks ago: Pete Golding
* The argument between Kiffin and Ole Miss at the end, Kiffin’s efforts to own the narrative, and how much of this is his doing vs. the calendar’s
* Florida hires Jon Sumrall, who’s technically a consolation prize but brings a lot more to the table than many Florida fans realize
* Auburn, after weeks of pursuing Sumrall, winds up not with DJ Durkin but with Alex Golesh. But did Durkin play a role in how it shook out?
* Arkansas gets Ryan Silverfield, angering Hogs fans but not Memphis fans
* Michigan State fires Jonathan Smith and moves quickly to replace him with Pat Fitzgerald, in a sequence that looks like a set piece
* Recapping some hires at Oklahoma State, Stanford, Colorado State, and Oregon State, while other jobs wait to be filled
* Penn State’s search is quieter than a whisper, but it’s getting down to two options: Hire a coordinator, or take a big swing on a mystery man. If there’s a mystery man, is he coaching a conference championship game?
It’s a great time to subscribe to Split Zone Duo
Our coach carousel episodes, including this one, go behind the $10 monthly paywall for subscribers. If you’re looking for a mix of reporting and longer-form discussions about the coach movements that shape the sport, we’d love to have you. Everyone can listen to a free preview of this episode, of course.
Further listening from us
* Alex’s solo episode about DJ Durkin’s time at Maryland. For a limited time, we’ve pulled this 2024 episode out from behind the paywall. If you’ve ever wondered why this podcast talks about Durkin in a certain way, and what his story has to do with CFB media, this will be the episode for you.
* The Week 14 Sunday Hurry-Up, presented by Dad Water.