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Lane Kiffin predicts Jon Sumrall will be an SEC head coach in 2026

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chrisbeasmore A sports writer for A Sea of Blue. Beasmore helps to cover Kentucky football and basketball recruiting and the big games coming up for Kentucky sports.

As the Ole Miss Rebels prepare to host Tulane this week, Jon Sumrall is once again in the national spotlight, and one coach is even predicting him to land in the SEC next year.

Lane Kiffin, when asked about Sumrall during his weekly SEC Coaches Teleconference on Wednesday, said the Tulane head coach is on track to lead an SEC program sooner rather than later.

“It’s funny you bring that up,” Kiffin said. “I told my staff yesterday, I said, ‘I feel like I’m going to be in head coaches meetings in the conference’ — I think our first one is in January — ‘with Coach Sumrall.’ So, it’s funny you bring that up.”

Sumrall, a former Kentucky linebacker, has ties to the SEC. He previously coached in Lexington and spent a year at Ole Miss as the Rebels’ inside linebackers coach. His steady climb in the coaching ranks has fueled speculation that he could be a prime candidate whenever jobs do open up in the conference.

Reports linking Sumrall to his alma mater surfaced when Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops was briefly connected to Texas A&M after Kentucky was able to defeat Louisville in 2023. While that move never materialized, Sumrall remains a name to watch across all Power Four conferences.

For now, Sumrall continues to build his coaching resume, but the SEC spotlight is clearly waiting. A win over the Rebels this week could be the breakthrough he needs to finally be hired by a major program for the 2026 season.