On Oct. 19, the Florida Gators fired head coach Billy Napier midway through his fourth season with the program. He finished with a record of 22-23 during his tenure.
On Sunday, Florida announced their next head coach, hiring Tulane Green Wave HC Jon Sumrall to a six-year, $44.7 million deal. He was officially introduced by the university on Monday.
In attendance for his introductory press conference were Florida legends, Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer, both widely regarded as the best coaches in program history
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Spurrier had a strong reaction to Sumrall’s hiring, offering what appeared to be full support.
“I think his attitude, his emotion… you know, teams take on the characteristics of their coaches. I guarantee you this guy hates losing—you can tell that. So you find me a guy who hates losing, he doesn’t lose too much, it seems like,” Spurrier said. “Yeah, Jon’s a guy that’s got that energy and enthusiasm. The guy’s going to play their hearts out, I really believe that.”
Spurrier coached the Gators from 1990 to 2001, never losing more than nine games in a season. He won the 1996 national championship and captured six SEC titles during his tenure.
He left the program after the 2001 season to pursue an opportunity in the NFL but returned to the collegiate level in 2005 to coach at South Carolina, where he remained until retiring in 2015.
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