Jon Sumrall is continuing to prepare his outgoing team, Tulane, for the program’s first-ever College Football Playoff berth while also assembling the staff of his incoming squad, the Florida Gators.

To that end, multiple sources on Friday told FootballScoop that Florida is finalizing a deal with veteran offensive line coach Phil Trautwein.

It’s viewed as a significant move for Sumrall and the Gators.

Trautwein, in recent years, has helped develop a number of Penn State offensive linemen into NFL Draft picks and NCAA All-America selections.

The Nittany Lions have boasted seven NFL Draft Picks this decade under Trautwein’s guidance and are projected to have more in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft. He’s coached more than 30 all-conference players since landing his first Power Conference job in 2019 at Boston College’s offensive line coach. 

Additionally, the move marks a homecoming for Trautwein, who’s a New Jersey native but played collegiately for the Florida Gators under legendary former coach Urban Meyer.

Sumrall also made a significant move in his ongoing transition when he nabbed reigning FootballScoop Offensive Coordinator of the Year Buster Faulkner away from Georgia Tech to direct the Gators’ offenses of the future.

But the Gators still need to land their running backs coach. Derrick Nix, the former top Auburn assistant, was in Gainesville, Florida, this week as he interviewed for the job. 

However, sources on Friday told FootballScoop that Nix has been mulling multiple options. The latest? Sources indicate that Nix is a potential candidate at Alabama, which has seen star wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard land the Oregon State head coaching post and also expected to have additional staff turnover, per sources.

There are a number of schools unsettled at the running backs coaching position at the moment. 

Current Ole Miss running backs coach Kevin Smith remains with the No. 6-seeded Rebels of Pete Golding as they prepare for their upcoming inaugural College Football Playoff appearance at home against Sumrall’s Tulane Green Wave.

But Smith also is a priority target for Lane Kiffin’s new LSU staff, sources told FootballScoop. Nix also had been viewed as a potential fit for Golding’s first full Ole Miss staff.

The duo worked together at Ole Miss in 2023, and Nix has spent all but the past two seasons of his coaching career in the state of Mississippi. He also played collegiately for Southern Miss.

In addition to having an opening at the running back position on the offensive side of the ball, the Gators also need a wide receivers coach after parting ways this week with multi-time Florida assistant Billy Gonzales, who also served as the team’s interim coach following the firing of Billy Napier midway through the 2025 season.Â