Tulane’s 48-26 loss to UTSA threw the American Athletic Conference race wide open, with Navy now perched just ahead of six other contenders as Week 11 looms. Despite a decent 6-2 record, Tulane’s inability to have quality wins has left questions swirling about its ceiling. But it’s not unfamiliar territory for Tulane. A year ago, they raced to a 9-2 start only to fizzle down the stretch, losing their final three contests. Sumrall has been candid about his shortcomings from last season, admitting he failed to keep his team centered when outside distractions mounted. This time around, Sumrall wanted no repeats.

“Last year, I didn’t say s—, and I probably should have,” Sumrall told his players during his usual Wednesday speaker series, as reported by ESPN. “I just kind of put my head down and kept working and hoped everybody else would do the same. What I didn’t take into account is, man, players are doing the same stuff coaches are doing. Last year, I dropped the ball, to be honest. I screwed up.”

With Power 4 jobs reportedly dangling multimillion-dollar offers, including talk of a $54 million replacement tag, recently, it’s the LSU Tigers after the firing of Billy Napier. Sumrall isn’t pretending the chatter doesn’t exist. Instead, he’s using it as fuel to refocus his locker room. He also told players that having agents or future plans isn’t the problem, losing focus because of them is. “I said, ‘They’re not bad things, right? But at the wrong time, they’re very bad things. To the distractions of all that coming up in the season, man, get the hell away from me.'” He continued, “It’s what everybody has to decide. But be all into this freaking team all the way to the last conference game, which is hopefully a freaking conference championship.'”

A couple of weeks ago, during a summer team meeting, he asked his players if they had seen reports connecting him to other coaching jobs. Naturally, many hands went up. Rather than ignoring the speculation, Sumrall used it as a teaching moment about timing, focus, and accountability. “I don’t think about it until the last conference game,” Sumrall said. “And I do think about it, every year. I go, OK, I love it here. Is there something I can’t say no to? I told the guys, ‘(Specific assistant coaches) got offered other jobs and said no. Isn’t that cool?’ … I also talked portal. The challenge for this room, lock into this team to the last conference game, then lift your head up and see what’s going on.” 

Sumrall is on point with his assessment of the issue as a whole. And he will all but hope that his players take his advice and focus on the job at hand. His regret over last season’s finish has evolved into a renewed emphasis on discipline. Meanwhile, Tulane and Jon Sumrall look all set to go and challenge for the national title, or at least the AAC one. On the other hand, the talk about him replacing Brian Kelly has caught pace. Let’s see why the rumors place him at the helm of the LSU Tigers.

Is Jon Sumrall going to replace Brian Kelly?

Jon Sumrall to LSU will come as a welcome respite for the LSU faithful. And it stems from the fact that he is what LSU needs at this point. After spending the $ 54million on Kelly’s buyout and allocating hefty resources to provide him with what he needed, LSU requires someone like Sumrall. He has a proven record as a coach who can deliver success even with limited resources. Along with his experience as an SEC player and assistant, makes him a low-risk candidate as compared to other costly options. The oddsmakers have him as the favorite to land the LSU gig. Plus, considering his impressive 36-10 record during his time at Troy and Tulane increases the legitimacy of his candidacy.

However, he has played down any talks about his future and has repeatedly said it will be decided at the end of December. “I love what I do with … I told my team, 25 years from now, can I tell you I’m gonna be sitting here coaching?  don’t know that, but I wouldn’t be mad about it. I’m cool. Like, I wouldn’t be pissed about that. It’d be cool, I love New Orleans. I love everything about my job,” he said. “I’m so freaking micro-focused on going 1-0 every week that all that speculation, I don’t pay attention to it. When people bring it up to me, I’m like, ‘Get away from me. Don’t even talk.’ Like, I ain’t got no time for it.” It’s all justified, as why would anyone want to leave a job where they are excelling?

But his going to LSU makes sense as he knows the Louisiana circuit well. He knows the recruitment patterns and how strongly the fans feel about their team. All of which was non-existent with Brian Kelly. And the way he has built Tulane into a national contender automatically makes him a fit for the job. Although the reality is that Jon Sumrall is at Tulane for now. And he is focused on leading them to the glory of college football.