Tim Tebow explains why Jon Sumrall can succeed where recent Florida coaches failed

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Florida is off to a 2-0 start under Jon Sumrall, and folks have noticed an uptick in swagger around the Gators program.

"I’ve met beach chairs with more charisma than Sumrall’s predecessor," USA TODAY Sports columnist Blake Toppmeyer wrote in May. "… The Florida Gators weren't just bad with Billy (Napier). They were boring.

"And, the one thing the program Steve Spurrier transformed can never be is boring. Napier could leave a room full of reporters comatose."

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One of the greatest Gators of this century agrees, at least when it comes to Sumrall having the personality to make Florida fans believe better days are ahead following Napier's four years of .500 ball (22-23).

“I liked him when we hired him. I love him the more that I’ve gotten to know him," 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow told ESPN's "Bussin' with Pate" ahead of Saturday's game against Auburn, who also sits 2-0 under new coach Alex Golesh.

“As a coach, but even more so just as a guy, as a husband, as a father. Like one of the things I feel like you have at Florida because it’s a great program — but it’s not an easy program — there’s a lot of pressure. Like there’s a lot of eyeballs. You’re expected to do really, really good, and sometimes really good ain’t good enough. Right?

"So you have to have that kind of charisma, confidence that sometimes border lines on arrogance. When we look at the really good coaches at Florida, specifically Spurrier and Urban (Meyer), there’s a little bit of confidence that goes to arrogance and a little bit of crazy, right? You’ve got to have a swagger… We’ve had some really good coaches since, but no one who brought that it factor. And I think Jon has the ability to bring that, and I’m hoping that continues to kind of develop.”

In Sumrall's first two UF games, Florida outscored FAU and Campbell by a combined margin of 118-24 to lead UF to its first 2-0 start since 2021. It marks the most points scored (118) and largest point differential (+94) of any UF head coach in team history through his first two games at the helm.

But Saturday's game against Auburn will be Sumrall's first real test since his arrival from Tulane. We'll see how that charisma serves him on The Plains with nearly 90,000 Tigers fans packed into Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Gainesville Sun reporter Kevin Brockway contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tim Tebow explains why Jon Sumrall can succeed where recent Florida coaches failed

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