Questions loom with Florida’s decision to let Jon Sumrall coach Tulane in CFP
What Florida’s chosen to do with Jon Sumrall — or, better yet, not do — is a research opportunity for college football.
Despite hiring the Tulane coach on Nov. 30 to fill the vacancy left by firing Billy Napier a month earlier, the Gators allowed Sumrall to coach Tulane through its postseason — a move unheard of for a major college football brand. Subsequently, in early December, the Green Wave won the AAC Championship the same week as Early Signing Day. With their victory came a College Football Playoff berth and a first-round matchup with No. 6 Ole Miss. No matter that Tulane had already lost 45-10 to the Rebels earlier this year, Sumrall still committed to splitting his time between his old and new homes for another two weeks.
So, Saturday, when 11th-seeded Tulane fell 41-10 to Ole Miss, the collective athletic director scratchpad added a note.
It will be months until anyone can try to tabulate results for Florida’s decision, and, even then, it’ll remain impossible to isolate any specific reason Sumrall’s first season in Gainesville doesn’t proceed smoothly. However, the Gators have undoubtedly lost crucial minutes during a flawed high school and transfer recruiting timeline, with little to show for their gamble, except for scoring some points with their new leader.
Florida’s statement at the time of his hiring even reeked of confusion.
“Jon is going to finish the season with Tulane, and we wish him and the Green Wave well this week and beyond,” Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said during Sumrall’s opening press conference. “But beginning today, he is the head coach of the Florida Gators, and we could not be more excited about his willingness to lead this program.”
Sumrall’s first three weeks as Florida’s coach, however, featured more flights than days on the ground, an average of two hours of sleep per night and a satirical X profile photo of him in both Florida and Tulane gear. He was everywhere. Yet when the whistle sounded in Oxford, he was nowhere.
During your bathroom break after No. 10 Miami outlasted No. 7 Texas A&M, Ole Miss powered down the field to score in the first 59 seconds. Three plays, not even a glimpse of concern from the Rebels about missing their previous coach, Lane Kiffin. He, notably, isn’t coaching his former team in the Playoff per its direction, fearing that rather than focusing on the postseason, he’d use the time to poach players.
Ole Miss led 14-0 early, nevertheless, and after Tulane mustered a field goal and some hope simmered in the Bayou, the Rebels stomped the Group of 5 into its third consecutive New Year’s Six bowl and CFP loss. No coach will admit their efforts weren’t worthwhile, but the nature of his buy-and-loan test run at Florida involved diverting attention from a critical roster-building phase.
College football’s early signing period was Dec. 3 to Dec. 5, and Florida landed 18 recruits, good for the No. 16-ranked class in 247Sports’ recruiting system. That showing was respectable. The second and arguably more important component of the December schedule was selling Florida’s present-day roster on staying. Sumrall knew it.
“It starts with our current team,” he said on Dec. 1. “ Retention in these days of the college football world is the most important thing to build a team. We need those guys to stay, and that’s the first recruiting effort I have.”
Two weeks after his declaration, Florida quarterback DJ Lagway announced he’d enter the transfer portal when it opens on Jan. 2. He threw for 28 touchdowns in 19 starts as a true freshman and sophomore, captivating Florida to the extent he seemingly earned Napier the opportunity to coach this year after a 4-5 start last season. However, a source said that Lagway’s initial meetings with Sumrall’s staff this month went poorly. The new coaches pressed him, questioning his competitiveness, CBS Sports first reported. Like that, one of the brightest guiding lights early in Sumrall’s rebuild was gone.
Lagway’s joined by 12 other UF players who are set to enter the transfer portal when it opens, including two starters. The number will likely increase as Sumrall’s staff spends more time on campus and the deadline to transfer draws near, as players must leave by Jan. 16.
The Gators will, similarly, add players. But it’s worth noting for whom Sumrall’s choice may have been more beneficial.
“It became clear it was the right decision to make,” Tulane athletic director David Harris told CBS Sports. “It gave us the best chance to win, and it felt like it was the right thing to do for everyone involved.”
Morals rarely win, though, especially in this broad-strokes way. Stricklin did right by Sumrall, and he positioned Florida as the dummy for whether a college football program can function with a coach wearing two hats. Even better: when it’s trying to climb from its worst season since 1979.
With Tulane’s razing, Florida’s one-sided bet already has faulty footing.
This story was originally published December 24, 2025 at 6:00 AM.