Florida Gators hire their next head coach after missing out on Lane Kiffin, and it’s one that will split the fanbase
The Florida Gators might have missed out on Lane Kiffin, but they hit a home run with Jon Sumrall.
The Florida Gators were all-in on hiring Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin, and it seemed for a while that it would end up happening. Ultimately, Kiffin and the Gators chose a different path forward, which meant athletic director Scott Stricklin had a critical decision to make on who he wanted to be the next head coach of the program.
It didn’t take long for things to come together, but the decision will cause a split fanbase, as the Gators will be hiring Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall to be the next head coach in Gainesville.
Florida Gators hire Tulane HC Jon Sumrall to the same position
The coaching carousel this year has been sporadic at best. Outside of the Gators, there have been multiple other high-profile jobs that have come open, most notably the Penn State Nittany Lions and LSU Tigers. Having to compete with other top schools dwindles the talent pool. Pair that with all of these firings happening before the end of the season, and you have coaches getting extensions quickly.
The Gators were the second of those high-profile jobs to come open, as Penn State fired James Franklin one week prior to the Gators moving on from head coach Billy Napier. Kiffin was the top target for both the Gators and Tigers, but it didn’t happen in Gainesville. Why the Sumrall hire will split the fanbase is because it feels eerily too similar to the Napier hire: a successful G5 head coach.
Sumrall started off his college career at the University of Kentucky, where he was a linebacker before becoming a graduate assistant, and in time, eventually earned the title of defensive coordinator. His 2021 defense earned him the head coaching job at the University of Troy.
His success at both Troy and Tulane is reminiscent of that of former Gators coach Urban Meyer, as he went 24-4 at Troy with two Sun Belt Championships, along with a 19-7 record at Tulane, and a chance at the College Football Playoff. It’s an impressive resume, especially when you consider that he lost his star quarterback Darian Mensah and running back Makhi Hughes, and somehow has a better football team the next year.
Sumrall has always been a forward thinker on both sides of the football, along with a good identifier and developer of talent. Who comes with him as the general manager could end up being what makes or breaks him, as the on-field product will most certainly be better than what we’ve seen in recent memory.
This isn’t the ideal hire for the Gators, but it’s the right one. Sumrall is coming to a program that can win immediately, and he has the pedigree to do so with a 42-11 career record.
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