Jon Sumrall admits he had the same fears as Florida fans when he was getting hired

When it was clear Florida wasn’t going to hire Lane Kiffin and was pivoting to Jon Sumrall, Gator fans went into a mini revolt. We here at Hail Florida Hail were not shy in pointing out the similarities between Sumrall’s time at Tulane and Billy Napier’s time at Louisiana. While both coaches were winners at their respective stops, the large number of close games both coaches faced is, in general, not a great indicator of future success once at the Power Four level.

Whether Sumrall reads us or was just hyper-aware of multiple other accounts expressing similar concerns, he admitted this week that he too shared the same concerns when he was first being considered for the Florida job.

Jon Sumrall claims he is not the same person as Billy Napier

In an interview with On3’s J.D. Pickell, Sumrall was asked what the process was like getting hired at Florida and how he ultimately wound up a Gator. Sumrall claimed he had his doubts on whether or not Scott Stircklin would actually hire him:

“You know, full transparency, I thought, is Florida going to hire another G5 coach from Louisiana? Probably not. So I went through the first conversation, and I got a lot of respect for Billy, but Billy and I are not the same guy. And I thought, but just because we maybe had somewhat of a similar track record to some degree, that they may shy away from me. 

And so I did the first conversation, and the conversation went great. And I just kind of wrote it off. I'm like, whatever, we'll see. I'm going about my business. And I really did not even think much about this being an option. “

From a pure data perspective, both Napier and Sumrall had an average margin of victory prior to Florida of about 12 points. The more telling stat is that Napier was 13-1 in one-score games while Sumrall was 10-3.

One can make the argument that winning one-score games is an important trait, and it is, but when making the jump from the Group of Five to the Power Four, it is a red flag to have been involved in that many one-score games in the first place.

But where Sumrall has been able to win over most Gator fans to this point is when he states, “Billy and I are not the same guy,” because there is a noticeable energy to Sumrall that Florida fans clamored for during the Napier Era. Frquently, the camera would pan to Napier with a look of “Huh,” rather than someone who was invested in the final outcome.

Ultimately, Sumrall is going to have to prove that his energy and attention to detail translate to the Power Four, despite data that mirrors the previous guy. But unlike the previous guy, Sumrall isn’t burying his head in the sand and seems willing to take on any challenges that will emerge while he is in Gainesville.