Florida officially announces Jon Sumrall as head coach
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Florida on Sunday afternoon announced the hiring of Jon Sumrall as its head coach. Sumrall comes to Gainesville after two seasons at Tulane.
It’s a return to the SEC for Sumrall, a one-time graduate assistant at Kentucky who later served as its inside linebackers coach and, later, as its co-defensive coordinator. He also briefly coaches LBs at Ole Miss.
“Jon Sumrall is a proven winner and an exceptional leader who has built successful programs at every stop,” Florida AD Scott Stricklin said in a statement. “He brings tremendous energy, strong recruiting relationships across our footprint, and a philosophy rooted in toughness, discipline and player development. He will cultivate a daily culture of competitiveness, accountability and winning that drives success on the field and throughout our program.
Sumrall has risen through the ranks over the past few years. His first head coaching role, at Troy, saw him go a combined 23-4, including back-to-back Sun Belt titles. His 2022 team finished ranked in the top 20.
He was then named head coach at Tulane, going 9-5 in 2024 while leading the Green Wave to the American Conference championship game and the Gasparilla Bowl. In 2025, the Green Wave went 10-2 en route to a fourth straight American championship game appearance.
In all, Sumrall is 42-11 in four seasons as a head coach.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
