Todd Golden Gives Thoughts on Jon Sumrall's Early Tenure with Florida Gators

Todd Golden knows what it takes to build a national championship program at Florida. Can Jon Sumrall do the same?

Florida Gators head coach Jon Sumrall is entering his first season with the program. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

If anyone knows how to build a national championship-winning program with the Florida Gators, it's men's basketball coach Todd Golden, who won the program's first title in nearly 20 years in just his third season leading the program.

As he builds a sustainable basketball program, newly-hired football coach Jon Sumrall will look to do the same for a program that has had four losing seasons in five years. While Sumrall has yet to coach a game, Golden is impressed with the early offseason work Sumrall's done.

"I just love everything about him so far," Golden said during a recent appearance on SEC This Morning on Sirius XM. "Just his mentality. Just the way he's approached becoming Florida's head coach."

Todd Golden on Jon Sumrall pic.twitter.com/Z8xSlgvh5Z

— David Soderquist (@HightopDave) January 14, 2026

Throughout the early portion of his tenure with the Gators, Sumrall has made it no secret that he wants to win immediately at Florida and that not doing so is a failure, even if the program is in the midst of a rebuild. Games won't be played for another eight months, but for now, Sumrall is aiming to win the offseason.

It's safe to say he is doing so, at least in Golden's eyes.

"I think a lot of people here are really excited about what he's trying to do and how intentional he's been and the attitude. He's coming in, being competitive," Golden said. "He wants to light a fire under everybody, and his whole mentality of, 'Hey you either want to be here and compete to try to be great, or you can move on,' I think that's refreshing for a lot of people following the Florida football program."

Specifically, Sumrall signed nearly all of the existing high school recruiting class, hired a strong staff headlined by star offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, attacked the transfer portal and retained many key contributors such as running back Jadan Baugh, linebacker Myles Graham, edge rusher Jayden Woods and receivers Dallas Wilson and Vernell Brown III.

Those offseason wins garnered praise from Golden, but one area garnered the most praise.

"Most importantly, I think he deserves for the retention piece. Getting (Jadan) Baugh back, getting (Jayden) Woods, Myles Graham, (Vernell Brown III), Dallas Wilson. We got the guys back that we needed to get back," Golden said. "The guys that are difference makers and playmakers."

Had to meet the man of the hour 🤝 pic.twitter.com/qyqsZaMVj2

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) December 1, 2025

Another area of praise Sumrall has received this offseason, a reflection of his win-now mentality, is his admission of Florida's previous interest in now-LSU head coach Lane Kiffin and his apparent lack of concern. He even cracked a joke about the situation in the opening statement of his introductory press conference, saying that he and Kiffin both agreed he was better suited for the Florida job.

Sumrall also admitted that while Florida "had to choose" him and his family, they chose Florida back. Those statements impressed Golden.

"Obviously, a bunch of people were talking about Kiffin, and he's like, 'I don't care, I'm gonna come in here and win. Whether they wanted him first or not, I'm just gonna come in here and win ball games and figure out the rest,'" he said.

That win-now mindset combined with many intentional changes in the offseason is also reminiscent of other successful coaches at Florida, including Golden. Taking over a program that had not won a national title in nearly 20 years, an SEC title in nearly 10 years and was becoming a traditional one-and-done team in the NCAA Tournament, Golden took Florida to the SEC Tournament Championship Game in his second season before winning both the SEC and NCAA Tournaments in his third season.

Those who have had success at Florida in other sports see similarities to themselves in Sumrall.

"I think Jon brings a similar energy," athletic director Scott Stricklin said during a recent appearance on the Another Dooley Noted Podcast. "It's interesting. Some of the former coaches, you've heard from Coach (Steve) Spurrier and Coach (Urban) Meyer on the day Jon was hired and their interactions to this point, they were very positive about him. But even other coaches I've run into who have been at UF in the past and know what it takes to be successful here who know Jon or have run into Jon, they've been very excited because he does bring that energy.

"The term is 'juice' maybe. He talks about winning a lot, and that is so important. What you talk about and focus on, your players tend to realize is important. Coaches who win a lot tend to talk about winning a lot."