Gators’ Jon Sumrall will determine Scott Stricklin’s UF legacy
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GAINESVILLE — Scott Stricklin’s legacy at Florida rests in Jon Sumrall’s hands.
It’s a precarious position for Stricklin — and one many wondered whether the Gators’ athletic director would live to see.
Yet Stricklin enters his 10th full football season in Gainesville as the SEC’s longest-tenured AD. He is confident he finally got it right with Sumrall, his third — and almost certainly final — hire to lead Florida football.
How Sumrall fares will go a long way toward determining how Stricklin is remembered.
The 55-year-old has overseen major projects at UF and spearheaded a $1.4 billion Swamp renovation. He hired 36-year-old Todd Golden, who led Florida to a men’s basketball national championship and could go down as one of the sport’s great coaching hires. Under Stricklin, Florida has won 13 national titles across seven sports.
He guided his program through the COVID-19 pandemic and navigated an ever-changing college sports landscape as NIL and revenue sharing empowered and enriched athletes.
But Stricklin has yet to get it right in the sport that matters most.
The Gators enter 2026 with just one winning season in the last five years. Sumrall is the program’s fourth coach since 2017, when Stricklin fired Jim McElwain.
Stricklin said he’s committed to the success of all Florida sports. The Mississippi native also understands the reality at a school — and in a conference — rooted in football.
“We have 21 sports; they’re all important, Stricklin told the Orlando Sentinel this week. “Gator athletes are supported at a high level. But football has a disproportionate amount of interest and engagement at this university, in the state and Gator Nation wherever they are across country and world.
“So, it’s really important that the Gators are good in football.”
A decade of reflection and frustration
In quiet moments, Stricklin sometimes reflects on his time in Gainesville.
“You always think about: What went well, what could you have done better, and what do you wish you’d have done differently?” he said.
Some of the failures in football were beyond his control.
After arriving from Mississippi State, Stricklin stepped into the AD role during the final month of the 2016 regular season, beginning with a Nov. 5 visit to Arkansas.
The Gators’ first snap was a pick-six by Luke Del Rio, the first of three interceptions during a 31-10 loss at the Razorbacks.
“I didn’t read into anything like that’s an omen or anything,” Stricklin recalled. “We didn’t play very well that day.”
The moment proved a harbinger for McElwain, whose tenure ended in an afternoon the following October. During his weekly press conference, he claimed he had received death threats that UF was unable to substantiate. Six days later, following a 42-7 loss to Georgia, McElwain was fired.
After Chip Kelly turned down the opening, Stricklin pivoted to a familiar face in Dan Mullen, his coach for seven seasons in Starkville and Urban Meyer’s offensive coordinator for the 2006 and 2008 national champion Gators.
An offensive whiz and astute game manager, Mullen led Florida to three New Year’s Six bowls.
“I thought we were moving in a good direction with Coach Mullen — and success-wise, we were,” Stricklin said.
But troubling signs emerged during his third season in Gainesville.
His missteps included calls to pack the Swamp amid a pandemic, putting himself at the center of a benches-clearing brawl against Missouri on Halloween, criticizing the NCAA for canceling all practices so players could vote on Election Day and defending veteran Marco Wilson after a costly shoe toss penalty contributed to a crippling loss to LSU.
Then came a 55-20 Cotton Bowl no-show against Oklahoma, capping a season that ended with three straight defeats. As the losses piled up in 2021, Mullen seemingly lost his edge — and eventually his job.
Seeking stability, leadership and better recruiting, Stricklin embraced Billy Napier’s calm demeanor and bold vision.
But Napier didn’t assemble a capable staff, implement an effective strength program or build a roster strong enough to overcome his shortcomings. He insisted on calling plays and mismanaged games at critical moments.
Stricklin didn’t force Napier to make changes, even if an offensive coordinator might have saved him.
His hands-off approach drew criticism, but Stricklin said that characterization is unfair.
“I ask questions and I push,” he said. “What I don’t do is I don’t hire assistant coaches, and I don’t hire coordinators. If I need to do that, then I probably don’t have the right head coach. That’s the change you need to make when you get to the point where the AD feels like he’s having to make changes.
“I’m not at the University of Florida for my coaching ability. If we’re relying on me to coach these teams, we’re going to be in a lot of trouble.”
The cost of getting it wrong
Failing to have the right coach has put Florida in a financial hole.
Industry insiders questioned Napier’s seven-year, 51.8 million deal after he earned $2 million — up from $1 million — during his final season at Louisiana in 2021.
Firing Napier cost Florida more than $21 million to buy out his contract, pushing the payouts of fired coaches to more than $55 million since Meyer retired in 2010.
“It’s expensive to make coaching changes,” Stricklin said. “It’s the cost of doing business in this day and age. We have a pretty healthy reserve that is invested, and as it grows, we have been able to take some of that investment growth.”
Those costs came as attracting and retaining talent required more money than ever.
Stricklin’s stint at Florida began two years before the NCAA transfer portal permitted unfettered player movement and nearly five before NIL legislation. In July 2025, revenue-sharing required schools to carve out $20.5 million to distribute to athletes in all sports, with football receiving around 75%.
“We’ve had to continually adapt,” Stricklin said. “The pace of change in the industry has made everything so different.”
A struggling football program has presented its own set of demands.
A rabid, unforgiving fan base holds every coach to the standard set by Steve Spurrier in the 1990s and Meyer in the 2000s, highlighted by three national titles and seven SEC crowns in an 18-season span.
The Gators have gone 17 seasons since Meyer’s 2008 team won the national title.
Fan frustration often has been directed at Stricklin.
“Ultimately, I’m the guy that my name’s on whatever decision gets made, so I own that,” he said.
None of it surprised him.
Stricklin worked in media relations at Auburn when Terry Bowden went 19-1-1 in 1994-95 and was fired after a 1-5 start in 1998. At Kentucky, he saw Tubby Smith’s tenure end after the Wildcats failed to advance past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament three consecutive seasons.
“One of the things that excited me about coming here is I knew the passion that existed,” Stricklin said. “I came in with my eyes wide open.”
Ears, too.
Stricklin has had to endure some uncomfortable moments.
During a celebration of Golden’s Gators during the 2025 spring game, some fans booed Stricklin as he introduced the team. Once a strong social media user, he has tempered his presence in recent years.
“Ultimately, I’m the guy that my name’s on whatever decision gets made, so I own that,” he said.
Building the program Florida needed
Stricklin also knew changes were necessary.
Under Jeremy Foley, the Gators had fallen behind in the facilities arms race. Florida was cost conscious while many top SEC programs upgraded their programs and built stand-alone facilities to improve efficiency and attract recruits.
“I thought there was a need to invest in facilities. That was probably the primary focus when I was coming in,” Stricklin said.
Mullen inherited an office with the same curtains, carpet and desk as Meyer had in 2009, the year after Mullen left Mississippi State.
UF broke ground on the Heavener Football Center in 2021, ahead of Mullen’s final season.
When Napier arrived, he bused players 600 yards from the Swamp to the practice field to save them the wear and tear from the walk.
After the $87 million facility was completed in 2022, the practice fields, weight room, locker room and coaches’ offices were finally adjacent.
Napier failed to deliver on the investment.
Stricklin is betting Sumrall will.
What Stricklin sought all along
When top target Lane Kiffin of Ole Miss spurned Florida for LSU, Stricklin was well positioned for Tulane’s Sumrall, one of the cycle’s hottest candidates and coveted by other schools, including Auburn.
Since arriving in December, Sumrall, who signed for six years and $44.7 million, has energized the fan base, promoted his program during more than 50 interviews this past spring and generated headlines with his candor, intensity and even his self-care routine, including his two-monthly pedicures.
Sumrall’s track record at Troy (2022-23) and Tulane (2024-25) include three conference titles, three 11-win seasons and a 2025 College Football Playoff appearance.
Stricklin believes the no-nonsense, football-obsessed approach has changed the program’s direction.
“I’m closer to it, obviously, than most fans are,” he said. “But I see the same thing that fans are seeing — a guy that inspires a lot of confidence, who’s highly competitive, and can relate to anybody at any level. If you have a level of intellect, if you’re highly competitive, you have a great work ethic and you’re a good dude, you have a really good chance to be successful.”
Given a three-year contract extension in the summer of 2025 worth $2.075 million annually, Stricklin aims to leave Florida football on a high note before the deal ends.
If the Gators are winning on the football field, he’ll head into the sunset content, spending his days at his beach house on 30A on Florida’s Panhandle.
Whatever happens, he’ll have no regrets.
“I would have still been fired up to come here 10 years ago,” he said. “I’m glad I did it. I’m really grateful that I’ve had 10 years here.”
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
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