The University of Mississippi has avoided losing Lane Kiffin in previous college football coaching carousels, largely thanks to new contracts. Unfortunately for the Ole Miss Rebels, that seems unlikely to be the case this time around with both the LSU Tigers and Florida Gators having head-coaching vacancies.
Related: College Football Coaching Carousel Predictions 2025, including Ole Miss
With the Rebels in danger of losing Kiffin, it’s time to start evaluating Ole Miss coaching candidates.
James Franklin, Free Agent
In the event of Kiffin’s departure, either for LSU or Florida, Mississippi figures to have the third-best job available in college football. While the Rebels could roll the dice on an up-and-comer, the perfect fit might be hiring head coach James Franklin.
Related: Penn State Coaching Candidates to Replace James Franklin
Franklin posted a .615 winning percentage at Vanderbilt, and that came after his predecessor went 29-66 in eight seasons with the Commodores’ football program. He then had to be ‘the guy’ at Penn State after Bill O’Brien offered a little stability for two seasons following the Joe Paterno era. By his third season with the Nittany Lions, Franklin delivered 11 wins and recorded three consecutive seasons with double-digit victories from 2022 to 2024.
The knock on Franklin—his record versus top-10 teams—is a fair one. However, he’s also built winning programs, and he could help Ole Miss remain a team that can win nine-plus games. While he isn’t Kiffin, the Rebels would still have a shot nearly every season at making the College Football Playoff.
Fran Brown, Syracuse Orange
Fran Brown is quickly making a name for himself with the Syracuse Orange. The school took a bit of a chance on him, as he’d previously served as the defensive backs coach at Rutgers (2020-21) and Georgia (2022-23). It’s a bet that immediately paid off, with Brown delivering a four-win improvement and a 10-3 record in his first season as a head coach.
Before arriving at Syracuse, Brown was viewed as one of the best recruiters in college football and was named the 247 Sports’ No. 1 Recruiter of the Year in 2024. He’s also demonstrated an excellent track record in using the transfer portal, as evidenced by his work at Syracuse in his first season with Kyle McCord (4,779 passing yards, 34-12 TD-INT), Fadil Diggs (7.5 sacks), Devin Grant (3 forced fumbles, 2 sacks, and 1 interception), and Jackson Meeks (1,021 receiving yards).
The 43-year-old head coach also brings a personality that could be the ideal option to fill the void left by Kiffin. Given this would be an SEC head-coaching job, if he’s successful, there’s a strong possibility that Brown would stick with the Rebels even longer than Kiffin did.
Jon Sumrall, Tulane Green Wave
One of the top Ole Miss coaching candidates, if there’s a vacancy, needs to be Jon Sumrall. The Tulane Green Wave head coach only spent a season with Mississippi as linebackers coach, but he checks off every box the Rebels should be looking for in their next head coach.
Sumrall wins wherever he goes. He landed his first head-coaching gig with the Troy Trojans, taking over a team coming off three consecutive five-win seasons. Instantly, Sumrall made that a 12-win program, and he delivered a 23-4 record in two seasons. Tulane identified him as the perfect candidate to follow in the shoes of Willie Fritz. The Green Wave were right, with Sumrall now delivering consecutive seasons with nine wins.
It’s also worth recognizing that Sumrall has experience in the SEC, both at Ole Miss and Kentucky (2019-21). He has demonstrated both the ability to rebuild a football program and maintain a team’s success after a great head coach leaves. If Kiffin depart, Sumrall would be a fantastic replacement at Ole Miss.
Ryan Silverfield, Memphis Tigers
Alex Golesh might be an option for Ole Miss, but Week 9 of the college football season highlighted someone who outcoached him head-to-head. Memphis Tigers head coach Ryan Silverfield also has experience walking into a job where there are big shoes to fill.
Silverfield worked his way up from Memphis’ offensive line coach in 2016 to run-game coordinator (2017-18) and then assistant head coach in 2019. It was an obvious choice for the Tigers when they needed to replace Mike Norvell. Since landing the head-coaching job at Memphis, Silverfield has delivered a better winning percentage than Norvell and he could surpass him for seasons with double-digit wins in 2025.
Like Kiffin, Silverfield also has a bit of coaching experience in the NFL. The Florida native has also worked all around the country, including at Arizona State. He has connections to build a strong coaching staff and could prove to be an underrated option for the Rebels.
