Jon Sumrall hires former Florida LB Bam Hardmon to Gator staff, per report
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Jon Sumrall’s attention will solely be on his new duties as Florida‘s head coach after Tulane was knocked out of the College Football Playoff by Ole Miss on Saturday.
As Sumrall continues to build out his initial staff, he’s set to bring a former Gator to the fold.
According to Gator Country’s Andrew Spivey, former Florida linebacker Bam Hardmon will return to Gainesville to coach outside linebackers. Hardman has held the same role on Sumrall’s staff at Tulane for the past two seasons.
Hardman played for the Gators from 1999 to 2002 and was named second-team All-SEC as a senior. After a professional career that lasted five years, he turned to coaching, first as a graduate assistant at Illinois for four seasons and later as special teams coordinator/outside linebackers coach at Charleston Southern.
From 2013 to 2015, Hardman was Idaho’s defensive line coach. He then joined the staff in the same role at Troy, where he spent the better part of a decade. He coached under Sumrall in 2022 and 2023.
When Sumrall was named Tulane’s head coach, he brought Hardman with him to New Orleans. Now, with Sumrall heading to Gainesville, he’ll retain the services of the ex-Gator.
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.
