Florida Hires Tulane Head Coach Jon Sumrall

The Florida Gators are hiring Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall as its next head football coach, per sources. The Gators turned their attention to Sumrall after they moved on from their pursuit of former Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin. Sumrall received significant interest from Auburn, who hired former USF head coach Alex Golesh, in recent weeks and was expected to be a factor at Ole Miss with Kiffin’s departure. Sumrall is a former Kentucky linebacker and co-defensive coordinator for the Wildcats, he is 19-7 in two seasons at Tulane.

Before his tenure at Tulane, Sumrall was the head coach of the Troy Trojans for two seasons. He went 23-4 in his time there and lead them to the conference championship in both seasons. The 43-year-old Alabama native has the Green Wave playing in another conference championship game this week with a College Football Playoff bid on the line. Sumrall is 10-2 on the season and 42–11 in four years as an FBS head coach.

Former Jacksonville Jaguars general manager David Caldwell is finalizing a deal to be Florida’s next general manager, per sources. His reported contract with Florida is a six-year deal with an average annual salary of nearly $7.5 million with heavy bonus incentives tied to the College Football Playoff.

Jon Sumrall was a popular name in last year’s coaching carousel, receiving interest from West Virginia and North Carolina, but he opted to sign a contract extension and return to Tulane. The Green Wave were unable to hold onto him this year with the allure of the SEC. Florida fired Billy Napier in October after following a 3-4 start to the season. He went 22-23 in four seasons at Florida, including 12-16 in SEC play. He was 5-17 against ranked opponents, including 0-14 away from home.

Statement from Jon Sumrall: "One of my first priorities will be to assemble an incredible staff, including an offensive coordinator who understands that, at Florida, having an explosive offense isn't optional – it's mandatory!"

Stay tuned to https://www.flofactorysports.com for more on the Florida Gators.