Breaking down pros and cons of Florida football's hiring of Jon Sumrall

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Florida football’s hiring of Jon Sumrall brings its fair share of positives, but also just as many critiques.

However, fans will be critical of Florida Athletic Director Scott Stricklin’s hiring of Sumrall, given that his previous coach was a Group of Five coach hired away from a Louisiana school.

Despite the notable resume comparisons, Sumrall’s personality is distinctly different than that of former UF coach Billy Napier. In fact, Sumrall’s personality fits a mold more closely than that of former UF coach Steve Spurrier. It also needs to be mentioned that Sumrall’s track record and coaching style are very different from Napier’s.

Here’s a look at some of the initial pros and cons of Sumrall’s hiring.

Pro: Conference championships

The glaring part of Sumrall’s resume is the fact that he has either reached or won a conference championship in every season that he has been a head coach.

More impressively, he accomplished that feat in two separate leagues in the AAC and Sun Belt.

Sumrall won two titles at Troy, reached the AAC game in his first year at Tulane, and will now face North Texas later this week in this year’s championship.

Con: Struggles against ranked teams

In the last four years, Sumrall has faced eight ranked teams, but has only come out on top twice. Sumrall secured his first win against a ranked program during his time at Troy and, beating No. 22 UTSA in the Cure Bowl in 2022. During the 2025 season, Sumrall’s Green Wave topped then-No. 25 Memphis.

His losses came against Ole Miss, Kansas State, Oklahoma and Army. In those defeats, Sumrall’s teams were outscored 230-19.

  • 2022: No. 21 Ole Miss, L 28-10
  • 2022: No. 22 UTSA, W 18-12
  • 2023: No. 15 Kansas State, L 42-13
  • 2024: No. 17 Kansas State, L 34-27
  • 2024: No. 15 Oklahoma, L 34-19
  • 2024: No. 24 Army, L 35-14
  • 2025: No. 13 Ole Miss, L 45-10
  • 2025: No. 22 Memphis, W 38-32

Pro: Defensive mind with pedigree

Fans would have likely preferred an offensive-minded coach, but Sumrall’s defenses have statistically been the best in his respective leagues and have carried his teams to victory.

In each of his four seasons as head coach, Sumrall has proven to be one of the sharpest defensive minds in the Group of Five. In his first three seasons, Troy and Tulane were either No. 1 or No. 2 in scoring defense and total defense in their conferences.

This past season with the Green Wave was his worst mark as Tulane is No. 4 in scoring defense (22.8) and total defense (323 yards per game).

On average, Sumrall’s teams allow 19.4 points per game and give up 332.25 yards per game.

Con: Lack of Power 4 experience

Most fans would have preferred that Florida hired a competitive Power 4 coach, especially after how things went wrong with Napier. And Sumrall’s resume notably lacks that.

However, Sumrall did play at Kentucky in the early 2000s, was a key piece on the Wildcats’ staff, and was pivotal in their 10-3 season.

Regardless, both Auburn and Ole Miss still pursued Sumrall.

Pro: Doesn’t call offense

It’ll also be noteworthy for Florida fans that Sumrall is not the team’s offensive play-caller, which couldn’t be said of Napier, who was often criticized for not hiring an offensive coordinator. It’s probably no coincidence that since Sumrall hired Joe Craddox as his offensive coordinator at Troy and Tulane, his teams have played for championships each season.

Up until this past season at Tulane, Sumrall’s teams have been highlighted by 1,000-yard rushing seasons, with running backs being a critical factor in his offense. This would be a welcoming sign for Florida running back Jaden Baugh, who became the Gators’ first 1,000-yard rusher since 2015.

The one exception to that has been this season, when Tulane dual-threat quarterback Jake Retzlaff has led the Green Wave with 565 yards.

Reach Florida Gators writer Andrew Abadie at AAbadie@usatodayco.com or on X (formerly Twitter) at @AndrewAbadie. You can also find him on Facebook at Andrew Abadie Sports Reporter or on Instagram @andrewabadie_sports.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida football hiring Tulane’s Jon Sumrall pros and cons list

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