Jon Sumrall was on the sideline with the Tulane Green Wave for one final time on Saturday, December 20. And it felt extra heavy with their 41-10 loss to the Ole Miss Rebels in the first round of the College Football Playoff. The newly hired Florida Gators’ head coach did not sugarcoat things. He ensured that his former team never normalized the losing culture. 

“I told them it’s never okay to lose,” said Sumrall in his latest presser after the CFP heartbreak. “It’s not okay, we lost. I also told them that doesn’t change how I feel about them. I love this group. This team will walk together forever as champions because we won a conference championship.”

With the Tulane chapter officially closed, offensive coordinator Will Hall is set to slide into the head coach’s chair. Meanwhile, Sumrall was juggling two playbooks, recruiting for Florida by day, and scheming against Ole Miss by night. But the balancing act didn’t exactly pay dividends on Saturday.

Trinidad Chambliss was in full takeover mode. He handled business with two scores on the ground and one through the air, powering No. 6 Ole Miss to a 41-10 CFP first-round smackdown of Sumrall’s Tulane. Quick-hit touchdown runs from Kewan Lacy and Chambliss put the Rebels ahead 14-0 in a blink during Pete Golding’s first game calling the shots.

This was Sumrall’s payoff after emptying the tank to drag Tulane into the CFP conversation as a true underdog. In Green Wave, he stacked respectable classes, partially owning the 2023 haul (71st after his December arrival). He followed it up with a 67th-ranked 2024 class and a 70th-ranked group in 2025. 

That last class still delivered juice, featuring true freshmen Javin Gordon and Jamauri McClure, who ended up carrying the Green Wave’s ground game. Even though Sumrall’s squad took a loss from Ole Miss on Saturday, they had shown flashes of brilliance.

Tulane got punched in the mouth early, down 7-0 just 59 seconds in, and staring at a 14-0 hole midway through the first quarter. But the Green Wave steadied themselves, tweaked the game plan, and forced a clutch second-quarter turnover to limp into halftime still within shouting distance of 17-3.

This loss came after Sumrall landed a subtle shade about Kiffin. 

“Well, a lot of respect for Lane. Lane did a great job at Ole Miss, but he’s not the only reason they’ve had success,” the 43-year-old did not mince his words. “They’ve really put together an elite roster in college football. Their NIL rev share stuff is aligned with anybody in America. And so they’ve got a great roster.”

It wasn’t just Sumrall who saw his Tulane chapter close on a sour note. Jake Retzlaff’s college career ended the same way-on the wrong side of a CFP loss to Ole Miss. Normally a menace with his legs- 610 yards, 16 touchdowns coming in- Retzlaff was bottled up all night, limited to 24 yards on 11 carries and dropped twice behind the line.

Meanwhile, life got extra tough for Sumrall as he got hit with a personal tragedy. 

Jon Sumrall hit with a loss in the final hours before the CFP kickoff

The past two weeks put Sumrall in an impossible bind, managing two programs under nonstop pressure. As if that weren’t enough, the final days of that stretch were marked by a personal tragedy. He lost his father, George, on December 18, two days before the CFP matchup.

“It’s been hard,” said Sumrall following Tulane’s loss. “I’m not going to deny it. I called my mom Friday morning at about 6 a.m. or whatever when I was driving into the office, and she picked up, and she just said, ‘Jon I was going to call you in about an hour, but dad passed last night.’”

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Even through the heartbreak, there’s little doubt Sumrall is making his dad proud. While prepping Tulane for the CFP spotlight, he was simultaneously laying the foundation in Gainesville, and he didn’t waste time. 

Sumrall swung big, landing Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner and Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White.

Even with his plate overflowing, Sumrall never lost the Tulane faithful. After the CFP loss, he stayed front and center, lifting spirits instead of ducking the moment. 

Jon Sumrall then capped his tenure with a powerful gesture alongside his wife, Ginny, a $100,000 donation to the Green Wave Talent Fund to support NIL, recruiting, and roster retention. That’s how you close a chapter the right way.