With Florida legends on hand, new Gators coach Jon Sumrall promises to ‘just win a whole bunch’
GAINESVILLE Fla AP With legends Urban Meyer and Steve Spurrier sitting a minimal feet away and dozens of players lining the back of the room new Florida coach Jon Sumrall took center stage Monday wearing a suit with orange and blue sneakers He crushed the fit in more means than one The Gators introduced their fifth head coach since Meyer stepped down in with much less fanfare than Lane Kiffin s arrival would have created But the -year-old Sumrall might just be better suited for a undertaking in need of short-term success and long-term stability It s a challenge I embrace It s an exhilarating challenge Sumrall explained I don t know that I can measure myself to Coach Spurrier or Coach Meyer anytime soon I ve 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 information like them that are a phone call away I feel like I m the luckiest guy in the world to have a phone-a-friend in those two Athletic director Scott Stricklin turned to Meyer Spurrier and Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel to help land Sumrall who signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday to leave Tulane and take over a Florida plan that went - in four seasons before firing Billy Napier in mid-October Sumrall joked that he has a pretty decent Spurrier impression but he saved that for another day This was more about selling hope and Sumrall did just that Just win a whole bunch Spurrier chimed in from the third row Sumrall laughed stepped back from the microphone clapped his hands and rolled his fist through the air We re going to do that he added An undersized linebacker at Kentucky - whose playing career ended with a neck injury Sumrall returned to his alma mater for a three-year assistant stint before becoming Troy s head coach in He won consecutive Sun Belt championships in two seasons with the Trojans and then enjoyed similar success at Tulane Sumrall is - in two years in New Orleans and led the Green Wave to the American championship match both seasons So he has made four league title games in four years as a head coach The Gators believe he could be Meyer This much is certain He sounded nothing like Napier We just need him to win Spurrier mentioned And he can do it You got to have that mindset You can tell his mindset is different than various of these coaches we ve had here in the past Kiffin was Florida s top target for months but Stricklin shifted to Sumrall after getting lukewarm feelings about the chances of landing the Ole Miss coach with a history of drama specific of which manifested up in latest days There s a lot of false information a lot of twisted information and a lot of people trying to create narratives that benefit themselves Stricklin revealed I respect the decision he made at the end of the day He s a fascinating guy Declining to discuss where negotiations went wrong between Florida and Kiffin Stricklin quipped I love where we are Sumrall finalized a six-year million contract that will pay him million annually The deal also includes million for his entire staff as well as postseason incentives that include million for winning the College Football Playoff He was further down the road in negotiations with Auburn but spurned his wife s alma mater when the Gators called He embraced enormous maybe even unrealistic expectations and the challenge of getting Florida back to national prominence in a state filled with rivals and outside programs trying to poach talent That passion and enthusiasm the fire that s part of what attracted me here because I m wired the same way Sumrall revealed The standard here is championships That s why I came I m built for this job I was made for this job Winners win I m a winner We re going to win He tried to allay concerns about being another Group of Five coach from Louisiana Napier came from Louisiana-Lafayette by asking Meyer if he ever coached G football Everyone knew the answer of module with Meyer winning at Bowling Green and Utah before landing in Gainesville No two people are the same Sumrall declared Judge me for who I am I m a winner We re going to win Just give me a shot Sumrall thanked countless people who helped him get to this point and dropped one name scant expected I may be a defensive guy but I want to be more of a defensive guy like Bob Stoops Sumrall explained I want the scoreboard to light up That would be the ultimate fit for Florida Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top throughout the season Sign up here and here AP News mobile app AP college football https apnews com hub ap-top- -college-football-poll and https apnews com hub college-football Source
