Hours before he stepped to the podium in the big room at SEC media days on Wednesday, Jon Sumrall had already said a mouthful.
His blunt response to a question about the challenge of playing a nine-game SEC schedule in the conference’s new format — “I’m not going to whine and complain about being an SEC head coach” — probably didn’t endear him to many of his peers in the league, several of whom have already groused about playing one more tough game than in years past. But it definitely resonated with many other folks in the sport.
Florida’s Jon Sumrall asked about the challenge of playing a 9-game schedule: “I’m not going to whine & complain about being an SEC head football coach.”
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 22, 2026
Sumrall, though, was just getting warmed up. Whether it was at the big stage in Tampa, where he detailed why he’s so optimistic about the growth he’s seen from the Gators this offseason as they’ve embraced accountability and ramped up their energy, or afterward when he was on the SEC Network set across from Nick Saban, it was impossible not to feel the 44-year-old coach’s energy. Including when a reporter’s cell phone alarm sounded while Sumrall was mid-sentence.
“That drives me crazy,” Sumrall said through a smile, adding that if the same thing occurred with a player in a team meeting, he would have been kicked out. “You’re lucky I’m not going to throw this freaking podium right now.”
But don’t get it twisted: Sumrall is not some tone-deaf, power-hungry football coach. If you’ve followed his career closely or talked to him for a bit, you probably know that he excels at connecting with people. At the end of the day, coaching is messaging, Sumrall understands messaging better than most of these guys, and that was very evident to anyone watching his performance at SEC media days.
“I think Jon Sumrall is very, very impressive,” Saban gushed on SEC Network. “That guy has the right stuff. He talks about the right things in terms of intangibles to build a program and a culture that’s going to sustain, and Florida, I think, is a sleeping giant.”
Since Urban Meyer burned out in Gainesville shortly after leading the Gators to their second national title in three seasons, Florida has tried all sorts of personalities to get back on top, ping-ponging from Will Muschamp to Jim McElwain to Dan Mullen to Billy Napier. All had positive attributes but also some glaring shortcomings that derailed them and the program. Since 2010, the Gators have had more losing seasons in SEC play (seven) than winning seasons (six).
I’m convinced they finally hired the right guy to change that. Sumrall is the best thing to happen to Florida football in almost 20 years.
“I think you have to have a great attitude in what you do,” Sumrall said after being asked about trying to inject a new energy into the program. “I define attitude as demeanor, drive and desire. Demeanor is your body language. Drive and desire is the mindset (that) if you never arrive, you can always get better. I am a firm believer that the only disability in life is a bad attitude. I ain’t going to have a bad attitude. When things go bad, I am still going to have a positive attitude.
“When adversity hits, I don’t change. Attitude and adversity were a focus, talking about how that’s exactly what lands you what you want and where you need to be. I think this team is going to be all about doing the things that require no talent.”
I became a believer in Sumrall before he was a head coach. I’d talk to him every so often about the SEC and quickly realized he had become one of my best interviews for my NFL Draft prep. He had remarkable insight and detail into players and schemes, as good as any college coach I’ve ever talked to in that regard. Again, the messaging and the details are a great window into how someone processes and thinks, especially when it comes to creating a vision and helping keep 18- to 22-year-olds on that path, staying bought in at a time when it is harder than ever to get that done in college football.
In 2022, Sumrall returned to his home state of Alabama to take over a struggling Troy program that was coming off three consecutive losing seasons. He promptly led the Trojans to back-to-back Sun Belt titles, going 23-4 and finishing his debut season ranked No. 19 in the AP poll. Then he took the took job at Tulane and won the American Conference in his second season, leading the Green Wave into the College Football Playoff.
Now he’s at Florida taking over a proud program that went 4-8 in 2025. The Gators, though, have quite a bit of talent, with a bunch of legit difference makers including running back Jadan Baugh, wideout Dallas Wilson and edge rusher Jayden Woods. Those players could’ve gone anywhere after things crumbled last year, but they opted to stay at Florida with Sumrall.
Over the past few years, there were times when I’d be on the phone with Sumrall and the call would get interrupted. He’d be out and about on campus or in the town and run into a player or a fan. I’d overhear how he talked to them and noticed how easily he connects with people. I’m not surprised that he’s thrived as a head coach or that those top players decided to stay with the new guy. I’ll be stunned if he doesn’t win big in Gainesville.
