Florida Gators' GM Leaves Program, Follows Napier to James Madison

Changes are coming to the Florida Gators' front office after Jon Sumrall's hiring.

Changes are coming to the Florida Gators' front office after Jon Sumrall's hiring. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Changes are coming to the Florida Gators' front office.

After former head coach Billy Napier was hired as the head coach at James Madison, UF General Manager for Player Personnel Jacob LaFrance will join him as the Dukes' Associate AD for Football Personnel, according to CBS' Sports Chris Hummer.

James Madison plans to hire Florida GM Jacob LaFrance as Associate AD for Football Personnel, a source tells @CBSSports.

UF signed back-to-back top 10 classes in '24 & '25 under LaFrance’s direction. Also helped Louisiana sign three No. 1 classes in the Sun Belt from 2019-21. pic.twitter.com/zrN2WyDuwI

— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) December 6, 2025

LaFrance rejoins Napier after spending the last four seasons with the Gators and three of Napier's four seasons at Louisiana. His exit is the first major change for Florida's front office after the program hired former Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell as the new GM.

LaFrance was one of two GMs for Florida's football program last season alongside Nick Polk. LaFrance was primarily led Florida's recruiting and scouting departments, while Polk handled coaching contracts and revenue share efforts.

It's unclear if Polk will remain in his role after Caldwell's hiring, although Caldwell praised Polk on Monday after being introduced as the program's new GM.

Alongside Caldwell, Tulane GM Cole Heard is expected to join Sumrall's front office at Florida, but a role has yet to be announced.

At his introductory press conference on Monday, Sumrall explained his organization would have a mix of existing staffers, staffers he brings with him from Tulane or those he has worked with previously and those he has never worked with before.

"I don't hire a staff off of who are my buddies," he said. "I hire a staff based upon what is the absolute best group of people we can put together to serve and develop our players and win championships at that place."

Former Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell enters his first season running the Florida Gators' front office. | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

On the field, Sumrall has already hired his two coordinators with former Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White leading the defense and former Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner leading the offense. No position coaches have been announced, although there is a chance a few existing on-field coaches remain.

Defensive line coach Gerald Chatman, who was at Sumrall's first press conference, as well as receivers coach and former interim head coach Billy Gonzales and running backs coach Jabbar Juluke are popular names to potentially stay on Sumrall's staff.

"When I walk into a new place, the first thing I do is I assess what's there," Sumrall explained. "There will be some folks that stay. Then I may bring a few that have been around me. There's going to be some people that haven't been here and haven't been with me that need to be added to help us get the best group of people together to win championships and serve our players."

Meanwhile, Caldwell, a longtime NFL front office executive and staffer, sees similarities between the NFL and today's college football as he steps into his new role with the Gators.

"I believe it's really a support system, and it's there to serve the coaches and the players and make sure that they have all the tools necessary to have success," he explained. "And anything we could do to help Coach Sumrall and his staff, whether it's procuring players and getting players to come in through recruitment, through the portal, making sure our players are signed, taking care of our players' contracts, all the things where he can focus on the team and help us be the best team that we can be."