Florida HC Jon Sumrall is being massively underrated, and it’s likely due to former Gators HC Billy Napier
We know that the Florida Gators landed a great head coach in Jon Sumrall, but he’s not being recognized in that way.
How good is Florida Gators head coach Jon Sumrall right now? That answer will depend on who you talk to.
On3 Sports’ Chris Low ranked all of the SEC head coaches and Sumrall finished in 10th place, one spot behind Brent Venables and just ahead of Shane Beamer.
“All Sumrall has done is win, which is the reason he’s one of college football’s fastest-rising coaches. It’s also the reason he was on short lists at Auburn, Florida and just about everywhere else last season. Sumrall, 43, won two Sun Belt Conference championships at Troy, an AAC championship at Tulane and was 43-12 at those two stops. He took Tulane to the playoff season. He has SEC coaching experience at both Kentucky and Ole Miss, but now comes the real challenge: Proving that he can win as a head coach in the SEC at a blue-blood program that should never go through the kind of dismal stretch the Gators have with four losing seasons over the past five years. Florida hasn’t won 10 games in a season since 2019. We’ll see how quickly Sumrall can change that.”
Jon Sumrall ranks 10th among SEC head coaches
The ranking of 10th feels pretty low for Sumrall. He has been incredibly successful with both the Troy Trojans and Tulane Green Wave, sporting a record of 43-12 and one berth in the College Football Playoff. He elevated both teams consistently, and never won less than 10 games.
Why would he rank at 10th for Low? The biggest reason is Billy Napier.
When Napier was hired, the move was widely praised, receiving an A grade from many analysts at the time. Even with that grade, Napier struggled mightily across the board. He never won more than eight games and registered just one winning season, finishing with a record of 22-23.
Wanting to see a proof of concept is a big deal here, as you can only project so much. If the Gators did make the right hire in Sumrall, his ranking will improve significantly next season.