After new Florida head coach Jon Sumrall made his opening statement, he opened the field for questions.
Sumrall spent the better part of his introductory press conference talking with the media, addressing concerns Gator Nation has regarding the team's disappointing decline and his plans for the future. One thing Sumrall made clear is that he plans to win, and fast.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHe admitted that a full assessment of the team has not been done, but Sumrall has identified that Billy Napier left a considerable amount of talent on the roster. Fine-tuning the coaching staff and player personnel could mean immediate results.
Sumrall dove into his past, both in reference to the Gators and his own development as a coach.
Here's everything he said:
Is it daunting/challenging following in the footsteps of Spurrier, Meyer
"Yeah, it's a challenge I embrace. It's an exhilarating challenge. That's probably a better word. I don't know that I can measure myself to Coach Spurrier or Coach Meyer, anytime soon. Got a long way to go. I look forward to leaning on them, asking their opinion and advice. I feel very privileged to have two great resources like them that are a phone call away.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"I got a chance to speak with both of them before getting here, and, as a coach, I admire coaches and really good ones. I got two great ones here. And so for me, I feel like I'm the luckiest guy in the world to have a phone-a-friend in those two.
A little giddy when you first met them?
Sumrall: Yeah, it's kind of cool. I'm not going to do my Coach Spurrier impersonation, but I'll give it to you at some point. Coach Spurrier, you were good, man.
Spurrier: Just win the whole thing.
Sumrall: We're going to do that.
With SEC experience, is it simply a philosophical adjustment coaching?
"Yeah, I think there's a couple things in there. I think every place is different. You know, Troy was different than Tulane — as a school, what type of student athlete I could attract, who I could get in school was a little bit different. The type of kid that attracted. Tulane's a really high academic institution, like we have here.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"So both places were very different, and year to year, your roster is so different in college football, and I think you have to... The trick as a head coach is trying to figure out how do we formulate each team's opportunity to have success. No two teams are alike. To be quite honest with you, no two games are alike, right?
"And so in our league the last few years at Tulane, you may play Army one week and Navy the next, and those are option or wing-t teams. And then the next week you might play North Texas, which we're getting ready to play, and we played them last year.
"We played South Florida last year, where it's like they're just looking to go fast and don't always know what the play could look like, but they're going to go fast, and then we'll play a pro-style team, which was like maybe Memphis.
"And so the types of things you see are different. I think you have to always identify, you know, what your team is best at. And there's a formula for every team to give themselves the best chance to win games. I don't care what level you're at.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"I do think this is a unique environment because I'm going to have an opportunity to recruit the best players in the country. Like there's no reason why we shouldn't attract the very top end of the talent coming out of high school, and that excites me. I've had great players. I shared with the guys on the team meeting some of the names they've never heard of were no-star and two-star recruits. I've helped get to the NFL at Troy and Tulane.
"Man, I what do I get to do with some nine stars? Watch out. It's going to be a lot of fun. The SEC is a different league. It's the closest thing you get to the National Football League. That's why I wanted to come. I crave that challenge. It invigorates me. It gets me a little bit fired up.
"I know what we're in for. Like I said earlier, I'm built for it. This is where I've wanted to do my entire life. When I was my son's age, this is what I dreamed about doing."
What kind of influence did Rich Brooks, Mark Stoops have on you?
"Yeah, man. Rich Brooks is like an uncle to me. Coach Brooks, you know, 2003, he came into the University of Kentucky. It was my third year in college, and 2004, I started every — I started in 2003, a couple games for him at linebacker —2004 I started every game for him at linebacker.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"I kid around him all the time, having to start guys like me almost getting fired, right? Because I somehow tricked somebody to let me play in the SEC. I don't know if my talent really met that threshold.
"Coach Brooks is who gave me a start coaching. I had a career-ending neck injury my junior year. My junior year, I led our team in tackles — 2004. Most of those tackles were like trips. I was like swiping people's ankles because I wasn't fast enough to catch him.
"Coach Brooks immediately created a GA job for me just a couple days after the news of my injury being what it was. So, this is my 21st year coaching college football, and wrapping that up next year will be 22. Coach Brooks gave me my start and really my foundation.
"Then, Coach Stoops, I worked for only for offensive head coaches from Coach Brooks for the next 18, 19 years or whatever it was to coach, Stoops. And so, I worked for Coach Stoops again, and really, I thought I was ready to be a head coach when I was at Ole Miss. Looking back, I wasn't. I was probably still a little bit, maybe unprepared in certain areas.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"I thought going to work for Coach Stoops gave me the refinement and the polish I needed to be prepared to take on a head coaching opportunity. But both guys have been very pivotal, to to where I'm at."
What's the approach to signing day, 2026 class?
"I'll pull back the curtain. I zoomed with my signees or my committed at Tulane, and I told him to sign at Tulane, because I don't I'm not trying to poach their class. I want those guys to go play there.
"I zoomed with the guys who have been committed here. I can't reference names. I've got to be careful here. That's always the challenge. But I zoom with those guys yesterday evening and their families. First, I thanked them for, you know, there haven't been a whole lot of decommitments, which is really powerful.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"It speaks a lot about what this place is. It also speaks a lot about a number of people that are still in the building, still here, working day to day right now. And so I thanked them for staying committed and not making a fast decision. I told them to give me an opportunity. I'd love to coach them all. They chose Florida for a reason. It was bigger than maybe one person.
"Any time there's uncertainty, I get that you may look around and figure out, hey, is this really right? I think we got a lot of great players, and I think we really got high character in that class. I think that the staff did a good job, and, I'm going to fight like heck to hold on to them. I Facetimed with as many as I could last night. Until I fell asleep.
"I'll Facetime with the rest of them tonight and get them all knocked out and make sure they know I can't wait to coach you. I'd love to coach you."
How will the new structure, with a GM help balance things at the start?
"Yeah. Dave and I have never worked together or anything. I've got a lot of respect for Dave. He's obviously been an NFL general manager. It's a pretty big title, big role. Impressive resume. I had several people that know Dave and have worked with Dave or encountered Dave professionally, and all the feedback I got was off the charts good.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"We got a chance to visit over a couple hours through this process of me deciding to do this, and I was really encouraged. I think with the model we're in now, you know, it's not going to be a deal where Dave just goes out and gets players. I hope it works out. We' get 've got good players. I'm going to be very involved. We're going to be a partnership, and we're going to be in lockstep on how we put together our roster.
"I also think as a head football coach you get pulled a lot of different directions. Now, my number one job — and I have this sign in my office at Tulane. It wasn't there when I got there. I had them put it up, but I have a sign as I walk out. I've got basically a show office and a real office in the back where I work. In the real office in the back, when I walk out of that door, I have a sign up that says "Coach the Team."
"My number one job is to coach the team. So while maybe future Gators matter to me, current Gators matter more. I'm going to give more to the guys in the back of the room that are on our football team than I'm going to give anybody that could become on our team.
"I'll recruit with my hair on fire, like I'll recruit all the time. Like I said, I FaceTimed 10-11 guys last night. I'm going to FaceTime the rest of them tonight. I'm constantly recruiting, but at the same time, man, the lives I have the opportunity to impact the most of the ones are on our team.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"Having someone like Dave, who's got his experience, his expertise, his knowledge, his skill set, it fires me up because it allows me to be the best I can be at my main job, which is coach the team."
How do you feel about the current (coaching) model?
"Yeah, I shared this with my team yesterday when I gave the news I was coming here. The NFL like, their rules kind of make sense. They do this thing called football season, okay. Then after football season, a coach can leave and take a job and they have free agency in the draft. That's player movement.
"Then they have OTAs and mini camp and training camp. You know what they do then? They play football season, and then there's coach movement again and player movement again. They have contracts are kind of binding. We have contracts that are like, I don't know what they are. You know, it's just piece of paper. They probably put it in a bonfire.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"What I'm getting at is our models are not perfect, clearly. I'm trying to do the best I can. The way I explained to my team yesterday is the decision I'm making is about which team I want to coach in 2026, not in 2025.
"Right now I'm wearing two hats, but I will not coach Florida's football team at all in 2025. I'll start to develop relationships and get to know these guys stories and what makes them who they are. But our calendar is definitely, imperfect and could use some attention."
What is wrong with Florida football? How fast do you feel you can win big here?
"That's a good question. You know, I think there's a lot right. I've got to diagnose all of it. It'll take some time. I'll say this. When I went to Troy, they had been 5-7, 5-6 and 5-7 for three straight years. And I'm not saying this is Troy. I know it's different.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"That job was actually an easier rebuild (than Tulane) because the players, the locker room, there's a bunch of good players. Kimani Vidal, who's the starting running back for the Chargers. Jake Andrews, who's the starting center for the Houston Texans. Dell Petus, who's on the Patriots. I'm missing a couple more. Javon Solomon, who's with the Buffalo Bills. Like I walked into a football team that had some good players. They just hadn't been winning.
"There needed to be maybe some cultural things we had to give some attention to, maybe some detail, maybe some toughness, maybe a little bit of edge, maybe a little bit of fire and passion. That's what that needed.
"I went to Tulane, and they''ve'd been winning. I got in the house at Tulane. I turned the light switch on, and it was like an abandoned house. There's cockroaches running everywhere. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, I need your players. Like, hold on, don't leave.
"Winning at Tulane, actually, from building a roster was harder, even though there was already success happening. I think we've got some good football players. I watched that game Saturday before I went and played Saturday, and I'm like, hey, can I give the ball the No. 13 10 more times? Because like, if an offensive coordinator didn't know what to do, that's a pretty good choice.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"We've got some good young receivers here. There's a lot. I watched the defense, man. We got some dudes on defense. Like we got some killers.So I'm fired up to coach those guys, and I think we're closer. We're going to do everything we can to win fast.
"I have a plan for how we can win long-term, but I want to win tomorrow and today and every day. I already referenced my son. He's 12. We play basketball in the backyard. He gets his butt kicked because I want to win. I'm not very patient.
"I respect the Florida fanbase, is not patient. They want to win right now, too. You got the right coach. I'm wired that way. I'm not comfortable having a plan to win in eight years. I want to win tomorrow. "
How do you strike a balance while hiring the coaching staff?
"Well, I don't hire my friends. Honestly, when I took my first head coaching job, I lost some friends maybe, or at least for a little while. They were like, you know, I thought we were buddies. And I was like, we are. That doesn't mean you're the right fit here.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"My job ever anywhere I'm at a place, and I want to be at Florida for a long time. I didn't say that about (other places). I'd like to coach here forever. I took this job because, man, this is the job I want to be at for a long time, but I don't hire staff off of who are my buddies. I hire 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. Every place is different.
"When I walk into a new place, the first thing I do is I assess what's there. There will be some folks that stay, then I may bring a few that have been around me, and 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."
What did Florida offer that other jobs didn't?
"I mean, alignment matters, and then believing in my vision matters. I'm unapologetically who I am, and I want to be able to do things with my vision. Now, I'm not saying I want them to just submit to every vision I have, but I want them to believe in my vision for how we are going to win and the processes we're going to put in place to win.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"I felt very confident as I interacted with Scott and the rest of the people here that they believed in how I've done things. That doesn't mean we're going to do things the exact same as where I've been. There are certain things, like David, we are going to add that they're going to make us better. You're constantly evolving and adapting to how you can build the best program you can. But I felt the belief in my vision and when I asked questions, they had answers. That mattered to me, to give me belief that I could be very comfortable in my own skin and be the head football coach here. "
On career-long admiration of Florida
"Man, I've played in The Swamp. I've coached against Florida. You know, 2021 — I'm not trying to rip up any wounds — but like at Kentucky, we beat Florida, and I was like, oh my gosh, we just beat Florida. Like, holy cow. Like, what a big deal. It's the Florida freaking Gators, man. I got one of the best jobs in the world.
"I'll get emotional because — on the plane, I'm thinking about this — I'm like, golly, I got to pinch myself. This is surreal. This has been a dream of mine, and to be able to be the head football coach here, man, it is special to me because this place loves football. It eats, sleeps, breathes, drinks, football. So do I. So we're yoked the right way together. "
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhat's the message to the fanbase to prove that you're the right guy?
"No two people are the same. Coach Meyer, you coached G5 football, I think, right? Yeah. Curt Cignetti coached G5. I think I actually coached against Kurt some. No two people are the same. Just because you're a reporter, I may have had an interaction with another reporter and didn't like it, but I'm not going to judge you that way. Judge me for who I am.
"I'm a winner. We're going to win and just give me a shot. Believe in me. Here's the deal. I need everybody pulling the rope the same direction. Because anybody is pulling the other direction it doesn't make the job easier. It makes it harder. We're all Gators, we all want to win. Let's do this together. You want to go fast? You want to go far? Go together. Let's go together."
What's the first month going to look like for you?
"Well, it starts with people. I use a phrase: humans over hardware. I got news for you. I walked into this weight room earlier. I've been sharing a weight room in the last two years with, like, six other sports. I walk in this weight room and I'm like, man, this is nice. Who else uses this weight room? They're like football only. I'm like, whoa, that's going to be cool. I can schedule lifting time any time I want?
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"I'm not knocking the last place I was. I love the place, but there were hurdles there. So I think it's about getting the right people here. Not trying to be cliche, but like Jon Gordon talks about in "The Energy Bus," get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off. Right, and get the bus going in the right direction.
"Well, we've got to get the right people on the bus. I think we got a lot of them here. I think we've got to get some new people here. Maybe we've got to get the bus going in the right direction. But it starts with the people, starts with the people."
What do you know about The Swamp?
"Yeah, man. It's electric. I'm telling you, when I've played here before and they've used "I Won't Back Down,"but as an opponent that gave me chills. I was like, 'This is freaking awesome.' Like, 'This is so cool.' You know, I remember the student section as a player. It's 2000. I don't know the exact year. It was either '03 or '04. We're playing here, and the student section was right behind our bench. I felt like I could touch them almost, or that close it.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"I started that game here. They kick the dog mess out of us. But I remember the students just going "Gator bait, Gator bait, Gator bait." I'm like, will these people just get away from me for a minute? And just the energy, man. This place is electric. So, that's what I remember from my experiences in the swamp. I can't wait to create some better ones for me."
What is your philosophy on defense?
"The most important stat is wins and losses. I've been a part of some really good defenses. I've been a part of some not-so-good defenses. I haven't studied what was done here really intimately yet, from a schematic or structure standpoint. I've been a part of some top-25, top-20 defenses. That's the goal.
"Sometimes the statistics matter, but I think how you play on all three phases can affect your defense, too. So I think offense affects defense. The kicking game affects both. Defense affects offense. Right? And so the stats are what they are. We'll work through how we improve pretty quickly, but I can't speak to great detail of what went on last year here."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn injury, the journey after that led to today.
"Yeah, it's a great question. So, yes, it was April 2005. In '04, I just led the team in tackles at Kentucky. I was really kind of a self-made player. God gifted me with some things, but elite physical talent wasn't the most gifted thing he gave me. I'd worked really hard to become a starter. Really, really hard. I can outwork people that are more talented than me.
"Led the team in tackles in '04, was on several watch lists for awards that were coming out that spring and summer. That spring I got the diagnosis. My arms were going numb for, not like a couple plays or even a couple of hours, but started going down like a couple of days where I couldn't, like, grab stuff, and I was in severe pain.
"So I'd been dealing with it for a couple of year, and hadn't said a whole lot about it because I was fearful they may tell me I had something more wrong with me than I wanted to hear. The diagnosis was what I probably thought it was. I was distraught, man. I've given this game everything I had to become the player I was, which was a pretty average player, but I made myself an average player.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"I was heartbroken because I invested so much in my own development. Truthfully, we got done with spring ball that year. Coach Brooks said, hey, do you want to stay on as a student coach? We got done with the spring semester. I graduated, and I drove to Destin, Florida. I probably tried to drink enough cold beer that I could not think about my injury for a couple days, because I was just I was crushed.
"Then, Coach Brooks' football ops guy at the time, Steve Hellier. I'm sitting on the beach. I have a flip phone that none of us recognizes now, and Steve Hellier says, Jon, what are you doing? I said I'm sitting on the beach drinking a beer. What are you doing?
"He goes, Coach Brooks wants to know if you come back and be a GA. I didn't immediately get my car because I wasn't in capacity to do so, but I went to the condo that night, packed my stuff up and left the next morning, and got back to Lexington, Kentucky to start coach the next day, start working youth camp.
"I haven't looked back and it's been the greatest blessing in my life to be a college football coach.'
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: New Florida football head coach Jon Sumrall questions from the media
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