Urban Meyer Backs Major Head Coach to Revive College Football Powerhouse

The three-time national champion put this SEC program ninth on his list of best-positioned programs and admitted the pick was not exactly neutral

Former head coach Urban Meyer is viewing this school with some optimism after the program brought in a new head coach. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Former Florida head coach Urban Meyer ranked the 10 college football programs he thinks are best built to win on this week's episode of The Triple Option. He put his old school ninth and told everyone up front why.

"No. 9 is a little bit of a homer in me," Meyer said. "I got the University of Florida Gators."

Urban Meyer puts Florida at No. 9 in his top 10

Meyer coached the Gators from 2005 through 2010 and won national titles in 2006 and 2008. Nobody has won one in Gainesville since. When he argues Florida should be winning, he is describing the last time it happened.

"I think they poked the tiger finally. I think Jon Sumrall's going to turn it," Meyer said. "Might take a year, but how in the world, once again, recruiting, elite. Administration, I think that's to be determined. I like Scott Stricklin, the AD. They just won it in basketball. How do you not win there in football?"

Co-host Rob Stone filled in the rest. "You know you got the fan base, and you know you've got history courtesy of you," Stone said, before adding, "Man, that swamp is nasty. It is nasty good."

Jon Sumrall's record at Troy and Tulane before Florida

Florida head coach Jon Sumrall is 43-12 in four seasons as a head coach. He went 12-2 in his first year at Troy and won back-to-back Sun Belt titles there. At Tulane he went 9-5 in 2024, then 11-3 in 2025 with an American Conference title, a 34-21 win over North Texas in the league championship game and a 41-10 first-round playoff loss at Ole Miss.

Florida landed him after Lane Kiffin picked LSU. The Huntsville, Alabama native signed a six-year deal worth $44.7 million. He has never been a head coach in a power conference.

What Florida's 2026 roster looks like

Billy Napier was fired seven games into last season at 3-4, Billy Gonzales finished the year and the Gators went 4-8. Quarterback DJ Lagway transferred out to Baylor in December after throwing 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

Florida running back Jadan Baugh (13) during spring practice at Sanders Practice Fields in Gainesville, FL. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The rebuild is close to total. Florida's roster includes 50 new players, 30 of them transfers. Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo is competing with Tramell Jones Jr. at quarterback, and Philo already knows offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner's system from Atlanta. Running back Jadan Baugh anchors the offense and made the preseason All-SEC teams along with receiver Vernell Brown III.

Jon Sumrall's staff, front office look different from Billy Napier's

The clearest break from the last four years is who Sumrall hired around him. Defensive coordinator Brad White arrives with 12 years of Power Four and NFL experience. Napier's first defensive coordinator in 2022, Patrick Toney, had none. Faulkner brings six years of Power Four experience to the offense. Offensive line coach Phil Trautwein has eight, well past the three that Rob Sale had in the same job.

Defensive Coordinator Brad White keeps an eye on the defensive workout during the first day of Florida Spring football practice. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Florida also hired former Jacksonville Jaguars general manager David Caldwell to run personnel. That gives Sumrall a decision-maker on roster building who has done it in the NFL, which is a piece Napier never had in Gainesville.

What a good first season looks like for Florida in 2026

Florida chased scheme fits and depth instead of the highest-rated names available, then added speed with receiver Eric Singleton Jr. and pass rush help with Emmanuel Oyebadejo. The linebacker room, led by Myles Graham, is the strongest group on the defense. Cornerbacks Dijon Johnson and Cormani McClain both return as starters.

The hard part is the calendar. Four of Florida's nine conference opponents were picked to finish ahead of the Gators, including the top three teams in the league (Ole Miss, Texas and Georgia). Entering last season's American Conference title game, Sumrall was 2-6 against ranked opponents in his head coaching career. He now plays a schedule where ranked opponents are most of the fall.

Florida Gators head coach Jon Sumrall speaks to the press during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day at the Tampa Marriott. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"I wasn't in the room when those conversations were had. I wasn't in this league yet. We're gonna play anybody, anywhere, anytime," Sumrall said at SEC Media Days. "Whoever they put on our schedule, we're gonna play. I'm not gonna whine and complain about being an SEC head football coach."

SEC media picked Florida 9th out of 16. The Gators open Sept. 5 against Florida Atlantic at 7:45 p.m. ET, start conference play at Auburn on Sept. 19 in their first trip there since 2011 and play Georgia in Atlanta on Oct. 31.