Florida has hired Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall as its next head coach, the school announced Sunday.

Sumrall, 43, became a top target as the Gators faded in the competition to land Lane Kiffin. Sumrall replaces Billy Napier, who was fired in October midway through his fourth season.

Sumrall has a 42-11 record in successful runs at a pair of Group of 5 programs; he has led his team to the conference championship game in each of his four seasons as a head coach. This year, he has No. 24 Tulane (10-2) in next week’s American Conference championship game with a chance to earn a College Football Playoff bid if it beats North Texas.

Sumrall is expected to coach Tulane in the Playoff if it makes the field.

Before taking over the Green Wave two years ago, he inherited a Troy program that was 10-13 in the two seasons before his arrival. He won 23 of his 27 games with two Sun Belt titles.

Sumrall has deep roots in the SEC and Southeast. He grew up in Huntsville, Ala. — which explains why he was also a candidate in Auburn’s coaching search. He played linebacker at Kentucky and was a position coach at Ole Miss and the Wildcats. He was Mark Stoops’ co-defensive coordinator in 2021 when Kentucky upset No. 10 Florida.

Sumrall will try to revitalize a Florida program that has underachieved for most of the last 15 years. Napier’s 22-23 record through three and a half seasons was the worst by a Gators head coach in 75 years (excluding interims). He was the fourth consecutive coach who failed to last four full seasons, following Dan Mullen, Jim McElwain and Will Muschamp. The job, however, has improved. After lagging behind in facilities, Florida opened its $85 million football-only complex in 2022 and allowed Napier to build one of the largest support staffs in the country. The Gators finished this season 4-8 after defeating Florida State on Saturday.

One of Sumrall’s first jobs will be to win over a skeptical fan base. Although LSU and Ole Miss also wanted to get (or keep) Kiffin, the pull felt deeper with the Gators. Kiffin’s ability to field high-scoring offenses and needle opponents with his quips made him the modern-day version of Gators legend Steve Spurrier. Instead of hiring the top candidate in the coaching carousel who felt like a match, Florida got another Group of 5 coach from the state of Louisiana.

History provides a silver lining of sorts for Florida. Eight years ago, the Gators looked into a pair of other high-profile, in-demand coaches. They got neither. Former Oregon/NFL head coach Chip Kelly took the UCLA job, and UCF’s Scott Frost chose a homecoming at Nebraska. Florida hired Mullen, who felt like a No. 3 option but outperformed Kelly and Frost by going 34-15 with three appearances in New Year’s Six bowl games.

It’s the second consecutive time the Gators have hired a Group of 5 coach still vying for a conference title. Florida allowed Napier to keep coaching Louisiana for another week as he started recruiting and building his new staff. It’s unclear what Sumrall and the Gators will do this time with the Green Wave.

This story will be updated.