Florida Expected to Hire Tulane HC Jon Sumrall

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The Florida Gators have reportedly found its next head football coach. Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall, who recently became the leading target, is expected to be named the program's 25th permanent head coach.

He is finalizing a six-year deal with an average of nearly $7.5 million per year, with significant College Football Playoff incentives, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Sumrall is currently in his second season at Tulane, where he has led the Green Wave to a 10-2 record, an upcoming appearance in the American Conference championship and a contender as the Group of Five team in the CFP.

He is expected to coach in the American title game versus North Texas, according to On3.

Sources: Florida is finalizing a six-year deal to make Tulane’s Jon Sumrall the head coach at an average of nearly $7.5 million per year, with significant incentives tied to the College Football Playoff. Sumrall is 42-11 in four seasons as a head coach. pic.twitter.com/woryZCvedm
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 30, 2025

Sumrall was originally considered a favorite to land the Auburn job as Florida chased after Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin. However, the Gators reportedly pivoted away from Kiffin in recent days in favor of Sumrall after LSU appeared poised to land Kiffin.

Kiffin is expected to coach at LSU next season, while Auburn hired USF head coach Alex Golesh.

While Kiffin was the top target, Sumrall was still a major candidate. A meeting between Sumrall and UF last week was leaked and promptly cancelled, with follow-up reports indicating Sumrall was pulling himself out of the candidates pool.

However, Florida, as well as former head coach Urban Meyer, still met with Sumrall since then.

Sumrall is 42-11 across his four years as a head coach with a 23-4 record across two years at Troy (2022-23), during which he won two Sun Belt titles, and a 19-7 record in two seasons at Tulane, which included an American Conference runner-up finish a year ago.

Last year, the Green Wave went 9-5 with a loss in the Gasparilla Bowl, ironically, to Florida and his predecessor, Billy Napier. Napier was fired on Oct. 19 with a 22-23 record in just under four full seasons as the head coach.

While a head coach in the Group of Five for just four seasons, Sumrall has a history playing and coaching in the SEC.

He played linebacker at Kentucky for three seasons (2002-04) before eventually joining Ole Miss as the linebackers coach in 2018. He returned to Kentucky as the inside linebackers coach in 2019 before being elevated to co-defensive coordinator in 2021.

Sumrall also made stops as an assistant at San Diego (2007-11) and Troy (2015-17) and as a coordinator at Tulane (2012-14).

Florida is expected to announce Sumrall's hiring shortly with plans for an introductory press conference. It remains to be seen if Sumrall will remain with the Green Wave through the rest of the season, should they make the CFP.

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