Wednesday was an interesting one for Florida Gators fans following the search for a new head coach. Seemingly out of nowhere, it was reported by On3 that Tulane coach Jon Sumrall was set to meet with the Florida administration on Thursday. About two hours later, On3 then put out a second story claiming that the meeting had been canceled.
With that in mind, we are going to look at some different pathways of what the canceled meeting could mean for Florida's search.
Door No. 1 - Florida wants to put pressure on Lane Kiffin
Let's be perfectly clear that the original story going public of a potential meeting doesn't happen by accident, especially when considering that there is next to zero chance that Sumrall is the only Plan B option the Gators are looking at.
Perhaps Florida feels like Kiffin is dragging his feet, especially with LSU now in the picture, and wants to send a public message that they would be willing to move on if he doesn't sign soon.
If that was the goal, based on public reaction from the original news, it probably didn't achieve its endgame goal.
Door No. 2 - Florida got the news it wanted from Lane Kiffin
Keep in mind that the UAA plane was tracked to Atlanta yesterday as well. While Georgia Tech coach Brent Key is in Atlanta, that's also where Kiffin's agent Jimmy Sexton resides.
So, is it possible that Florida worked out a deal with Sexton and no longer needed to meet with Sumrall?
Door No. 3 - Sumrall used Florida for leverage with Auburn
Florida is not the only school taking a look at Sumrall. Auburn has him very high on their list, and he is considered one of their top targets.
It's also possible that Sumrall's camp let the original story leak to put pressure on Auburn and drive his price up with them.
Door No. 4 - Sumrall got mad that the meeting leaked
It's possible there was going to be a meeting, but Sumrall wanted to keep things on the down low.
Once word got out, he was upset it was made public and called things off.
Now, if that's the case, is it possible someone from the inside who wants nothing to do with Sumrall leaked the story to intentionally get him off the radar?
Door No. 5 - Auburn leaked the story to get ahead of Ole Miss
If you really want to go down a crazy road, Ole Miss itself at least needs to get some vetting done on coaches in case Kiffin does leave for either Florida or LSU.
The Rebels would probably look at Sumrall as a candidate if Kiffin were to leave.
So if Auburn feels like Ole Miss might try to swoop in, the Tigers might be trying to leverage themselves to wrap up Sumrall before he even gets a chance with Ole Miss.