Yurachek is playing the coaching search game for his Arkansas football team, and Jimmy Sexton is the final boss in the game of coaches.
Who is Jimmy Sexton? Most of you are probably asking this question, so don’t feel like you are out of the loop or alone. Here is a very brief explanation of who Jimmy Sexton is and why he matters to Arkansas right now.
Jimmy Sexton is often referred to as a super-agent and described as an integral part of the football division at Creative Artists Agency. Sexton is currently the youngest person ever to be licensed by the NFL Players Association, as well.
According to Forbes rankings of most powerful sports agents, Sexton comes in at 21st with his contracts with 79 clients totaling 1 billion dollars. There is no compiled list of his clients that I could find, but extracting pieces out of articles gives a stunning look at his influence.
Sexton is college coaching. That statement is nowhere near dramatic or overstating his value. He was the man behind Gus using Arkansas to get a raise in the last Arkansas coaching search, all the while representing Chad Morris to get him the job. Many of these names that are getting thrown around as having expressed interest in coaching jobs are often just Sexton throwing names out there to shop his clients.
"“How would you deal with an agent like Jimmy Sexton, who often eats athletic directors for lunch when it comes time to negotiate?” Mike Irwin"
Butch Jones rumors during the coaching search were an example of just this kind of operation. There is no telling who is only getting shopped and who is a serious candidate for the job by just looking at headlines or rumors.
The topic of being shopped around brings us to where we are now — Kiffin, who is represented by Sexton. Does Ole Miss have any chance of getting Kiffin, or is this just Sexton using the Ole Miss opening as a leverage point?
It very well could be Sexton just making a play to drive up the price on Kiffin. As the weekend approaches, so does Kiffin’s future path. Kiffin will undoubtedly be announced to lead a new program, and Yurachek will have to go through negotiations with Sexton for that name to be Arkansas.
Yurachek has already overcome a push to take this hire from him and is now free to hire who he wants. So far, that looks like it will be Lane Kiffin. As Mike Irwin states in here, that is going to be a tough task. “Just get a coach, so-and-so,” is a universal cure heard from fans. Remember that its more than just cutting the check. It’s also playing Jimmy Sexton’s game, which has burned Arkansas a few times recently.