Where does Florida's Jon Sumrall rank among SEC head coaches?
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
The start of college football's 2026 campaign is just over the horizon and with the new season comes six head coaches on the sidelines among the 16 SEC schools, including Jon Sumrall with the Florida Gators.
With spring practice, the transfer portal and summer official visits now well in the rearview mirror, USA TODAY Sports writer Blake Toppmeyer put together his rankings for all 16 of the conference's head coaches. Among them. Sumrall falls right in the middle of the pack at No. 8, between Missouri Tigers coach Eliah Drinkwitz and Vanderbilt Commodores skipper Clark Lea, respectively.
"This might be the last chance to buy low on Sumrall stock. He won more than 78% of his games in four seasons as a Group of Six coach. He took Tulane to the CFP," Toppmeyer notes.
"Sure, he must still prove himself in the SEC, but there’s no reason to think he can’t reinvigorate Florida. He played in this conference. He’s worked in it, too, as an assistant. Sumrall became a hot commodity on the coaching carousel. He’s a good consolation prize for Florida after it missed on Kiffin."
Sumrall and Co. are scheduled to face 11th-ranked Alex Golesh and the Auburn Tigers on the road in their SEC opener on Sept. 19, followed by 12th-ranked Pete Golding and the Ole Miss Rebels on Sept 26. Seventh-ranked Dirkwitz and Mizzou host the Orange and Blue on Oct. 3, 13th-ranked Shane Beamer and the South Carolina Gamecocks come to Gainesville on Oct. 10, and then the Gators are back on the road against second-ranked Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns on Oct. 17 before the bye weekend.
The second half of the SEC slate sees Florida face top-ranked Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs in Atlanta on Oct. 31, 10th-ranked Brent Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners on Nov. 7 at home, 14th-ranked Will Stein and the Kentucky Wildcats on Nov. 14 on the road, and finally, ninth-ranked Lea and the Commodores on Nov. 21 back at home.
SEC football coach rankings
- Kirby Smart, Georgia
- Steve Sarkisian, Texas
- Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
- Lane Kiffin, LSU
- Josh Heupel, Tennessee
- Mike Elko, Texas A&M
- Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri
- Jon Sumrall, Florida
- Clark Lea, Vanderbilt
- Brent Venables, Oklahoma
- Alex Golesh, Auburn
- Pete Golding, Ole Miss
- Shane Beamer, South Carolina
- Will Stein, Kentucky
- Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State
- Ryan Silverfield, Arkansas
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Where does Florida's Jon Sumrall rank among SEC head coaches?
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos