Jon Sumrall went 43-12 across four seasons at Tulane and Troy. Each year, he was competing at the conference title games. So when the Florida job opened after Billy Napier was fired, he became a potential replacement. But behind all the noise back then, even the 43-year-old battled with skepticism when the Gators first called. 

“Full transparency, I thought, ‘Is Florida going to hire another G5 coach from Louisiana? Probably not,’” Jon Sumrall told J.D. PicKell on The Hard Count. “

You can see why he’d think that. Billy Napier came from Louisiana and won big there. Then, he showed up in Florida with hype and left with a 22-23 record and two losing seasons. Florida was 3-4 when he was fired and finished the season 4-8. At Tulane, Jon Sumrall went 20-8 in two seasons. Before that at Troy, he was 23-4 across 2022 and 2023. Also with Louisiana ties, he isn’t wrong in wondering and he made his thought public. 

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Billy,” he added. “But Billy and I are not the same guy. I thought just because we had somewhat of a similar track record, to some degree, that they may shy away from me.”

Still, after the first conversation with Florida, Jon Sumrall mentally filed it away. “Whatever. We’ll see,” he said and went back to work, focused on Tulane, and didn’t assume anything. But as the process deepened, he started evaluating fit.

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“The more I pulled back the curtain, if you will, to see what was behind the curtain and kind of got a glimpse of my fit here or my family’s fit here,” he said. “We felt better and better and better about being at the University of Florida as that transpired.”

Of course, the hire wasn’t universally celebrated. Florida fans were already emotionally exhausted after the buzz about Lane Kiffin. There was frustration about going back to the G5 as well. Jon Sumrall faced that head-on at his introduction.

“No two people are the same, okay?” he said of the Napier comparison. “Coach Meyer, you coached G5 football, right? Curt Cignetti coached G5, I think… Judge me for who I am. I’m a winner. We’re going to win. Just give me a shot. Believe in me.”

Florida AD Scott Stricklin has Jon Sumrall’s backed since Day 1. And he wasn’t about to eliminate someone just because of a label.

“I don’t think being a Group of 5 coach has any indication of whether you’ll be successful or not,” he said. “

He even pointed out that only three of the 16 SEC coaches came from another Power 4 job. Late in the process, Florida royalty like Tim Tebow, Steve Spurrier, and Urban Meyer encouraged Jon Sumrall for the job. By the time he signed his $44.7 million deal in November, it was about whether he could be the right guy and that starts with the roster.

Florida enters a portal gamble under Jon Sumrall

Florida is officially in a new era and Jon Sumrall didn’t waste time reshaping things. He brought in more than 20 additions through the transfer portal but not everyone’s impressed. According to reporting from The Athletic, several staffers around the country questioned the Gators’ haul. 

“Maybe Florida. With a new coach coming in, I thought they would bring in a larger talent influx with the resources they have,” one G5 staffer said. 

“I don’t know what Florida did.” another SEC staffer said. “Their biggest thing was trying to hold on to their guys, I guess.”

Inside the building, Florida’s 2026 class ranks top 15 nationally by On3 and features record-setting QB Aaron Philo. The Gators also brought in Auburn WR Eric Singleton Jr. and Jacksonville State edge Emmanuel Oyebadejo as Jon Sumrall and GM Dave Caldwell prioritized accountability and scheme fits over star-chasing.

The annual Orange and Blue spring game hits April 11 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. And that’s when fans will start judging results instead of labels. Soon we’ll find out if Florida hired another G5 guy or the right one in Jon Sumrall.