Jon Sumrall may be new to Florida, but he plans on being there for a long time. Sumrall may be one of the best rising head coaches in the profession, but he only stayed at his two previous employers for two seasons apiece. He had great success at both Troy and Tulane, but this is now his third head-coaching opportunity in the last five years. Does Sumrall plan to establish some roots? We think so...
Sumrall touched on what brought him to Florida, and why he is not leaving, when talking to CFBudge.
"Yeah, you know, when I left Troy to go to Tulane, I told my wife, 'We're not leaving Tulane unless it's one of six, seven, eight jobs'. And we named off what a lot of those jobs were. One of them was Florida. And so I was completely content on staying at Tulane for a really long time, if the right situation did not present."
Florida may have been one of six, seven, eight jobs, but this was clearly more about the fit for him.
"And that didn't mean I didn't listen to some situations that came up. But there were a lot of them as they came up, and you learned more about them. You're like, 'Man, that's the reason why I didn't name that one in those seven or eight schools initially'. It's just because it's just not the right fit for us right now. And so I've been really selective."
Sumrall continued by saying that when opportunities arise, he lets his representation go to work.
"When those phone calls have come to my representation and they call me, most of the time the answer is a pretty quick no. Occasionally, it's a maybe and rarely, it's a yes. When the University of Florida calls, it's a yes."
He finished by saying Florida provides everything that he needs to be a championship head coach.
"This is a place that I think has got so many things that can attract the best of the best in our country, in regards to staff and coaching and players, I should say. So staff and players that we can get great players here. We can get great coaches here. It's the University of Florida. And so when Florida calls, man, you answer that phone call."
Here is the entire sit-down conversation Sumrall had with CFBudge about him taking over at Florida.
We are going to have to take Sumrall at his word that he plans on staying at Florida for the long haul.
Jon Sumrall explains why he will finally unpack his suitcase now at Florida
With how he phrased it, Sumrall did seem like he wanted to stay at Tulane for as long as it financially made sense to him. Even though Troy has had the better football history in the Group of Six, relatively speaking, Tulane has quickly become a program where you can regularly compete for a playoff berth. Sumrall took what Willie Fritz had left him in 2024, and had the Green Wave in the playoff by year two.
What is important to understand is there are not many jobs as good as what Florida has to offer in the Power Four. No, it is not the easiest of traditional powers to win at. Just ask any head coach who has worked there before not named Steve Spurrier or Urban Meyer... However, Sumrall seems to be giving off the early vibes of being closer to that ilk, as opposed to that of a Billy Napier, or even a Dan Mullen.
To be frank, the only job to leave Florida for would be if the head coach's alma mater is a traditional power, and that position became available. Thankfully for the sake of Sumrall, he played linebacker at Kentucky... Overall, Sumrall has finally gotten to a program where he can build a legacy at, as opposed to getting the next big opportunity. When we think of the greatest coaches, they all established roots.
Simply put, Florida is not built to be anyone's stepping stone, and Sumrall seems to be aware of this.
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