Florida football is hiring Tulane’s Jon Sumrall as its next head coach, the school announced Sunday, Nov. 30.
Sumrall, in his second season at Tulane, has the Green Wave at 10-2 this season and in contention for a College Football Playoff berth. No. 23 Tulane (No. 24 in CFP) plays No. 22 North Texas in the American Conference championship game on Friday, Dec. 5, with the winner having a strong shot at reaching the 12-team bracket.
‘The University of Florida is one of the premier programs in college football, and it’s an incredible honor to serve as the head football coach,’ Sumrall said in the announcement. ‘I believe in building a team rooted in toughness, accountability and a relentless competitive spirit. Florida has everything necessary to compete at the highest level — the resources, the support, the tradition and the passion of Gator Nation. My family and I are excited to get to work.’
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports Florida is finalizing a 6-year deal with an average annual salary of $7.5 million.
Sumrall has been a hot commodity in the coaching carousel this season, and he’ll be tasked with turning around a program that hasn’t seen much success in recent years. The 43-year-old coach replaces Billy Napier, who was fired midseason after going 22-23 in four seasons.
The Gators haven’t won nine or more games since 2019, when they went 11-2 under Dan Mullen. He saw moderate success in Gainesville after Jim McElwain and Will Muschamp’s tenures fizzled out, but no Florida coach has approached the success of Urban Meyer, who won two BCS national titles with the Gators.
Florida will hope that changes under Sumrall, who has won at every stop of his college career. He finished with a 23-4 record in two seasons at Troy before leading Tulane to a 19-7 record, also in two seasons.
Before Sumrall took over at Tulane, he led Troy to back-to-back Sun Belt championships in 2022 and 2023 after the program went 5-7 the year prior to his hiring. The 2022 Sun Belt Coach of the Year and the Trojans finished No. 20 in the final US LBM Coaches Poll in 2022.
Sumrall also has SEC experience. He played linebacker at Kentucky from 2002-04 before starting his coaching career as a graduate assistant for the Wildcats in 2005. He was an assistant at San Diego, Tulane and Troy before coaching linebackers at Ole Miss in 2018 and Kentucky from 2019-20. He also served as co-defensive coordinator for the Wildcats in 2021.
Sumrall also had interest from Auburn but reportedly withdrew from the search. Florida was also reportedly interested in Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin for its vacancy, although the Gators reportedly turned their attention to Sumrall in recent days. Kiffin, meanwhile, appears to be headed to LSU.
Although Florida missed out on Kiffin, Sumrall certainly appears to be a strong option for a program searching for consistent success.
