With the Florida football program missing out on the Lane Kiffin sweepstakes, the Gators look to be turning their attention to the American Conference. According to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Saturday afternoon, Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall has emerged as the “clear favorite” for the Gators’ vacant head coaching position.
The 43-year-old coach has been a head coach for four years. He spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons with Troy, going 23-4, before moving to Tulane for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Sumrall has gone 18-7 in 25 games with the Green Wave to this point.
According to Thamel’s report, Sumrall is “expected to make a decision on his future by Sunday morning as he considers staying at Tulane, or a move to Gainesville.” Sumrall was also a prominent name in Auburn’s head coaching search to replace Hugh Freeze, but recent reports have suggested that the Tigers are shifting their search elsewhere.
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If Sumrall were to go to Florida, it would be another return to the SEC. He was a linebacker with the Kentucky Wildcats from 2002 to 2004, and then spent two seasons as a grad assistant in Lexington in 2005 and 2006. He also spent one year as the Ole Miss Rebels’ linebackers coach in 2018, was the Kentucky Wildcats’ inside linebackers coach from 2019 to 2020, and was promoted to Kentucky’s co-defensive coordinator in 2021.
Sumrall was named the Sun Belt Coach of the Year in 2022 after leading the Troy Trojans to a 12-2 overall record.
Sumrall’s potential path to Gainesville is still in the shadows of Lane Kiffin’s looming decision, though, which is expected to come at some point on Saturday. Kiffin is expected to either stay with Ole Miss after six seasons or potentially switch to LSU.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more SEC coaching news throughout the weekend.
