{"id":211299,"date":"2026-03-30T04:47:05","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T04:47:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/211299\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T04:47:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T04:47:05","slug":"sumrall-welcomes-football-royalty-at-clinic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/211299\/","title":{"rendered":"Sumrall Welcomes Football Royalty at Clinic"},"content":{"rendered":"

GAINESVILLE, Fla.\u00a0\u2014 He got his first job in the NFL in 1990 when Jon Gruden was hired as an offensive assistant for Bill Walsh with the San Francisco 49ers.\u00a0
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\nThat was the same year the University of Florida hired Steve Spurrier<\/a>.\u00a0
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\nAs Gruden’s career ascended during the 1990s, Spurrier’s Gators absolutely dominated the Southeastern Conference, at one point winning four consecutive league titles and the 1996 national championship. In 2002, Gruden left his head-coaching post with the Oakland Raiders to become head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, whom he guided to a Super Bowl title in his first season. He was there, just two hours south of Florida Field, when Urban Meyer took the SEC and college football by storm a few years later.\u00a0
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\n“I have a lot of respect for this program. Steve Spurrier<\/a> is one of my good friends, and I know Urban Meyer. I also know the potential here \u2013 the expectation here \u2013 and know what this is,” Gruden said Friday. “This is Florida.”\u00a0
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\nAnd, in the opinion of one of the game’s most recognized faces, Florida has a high place in the college football pecking order and believes new coach Jon Sumrall<\/a> is the guy to get them back there.
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\n“There have been a lot of great things that have happened here. I’m not talking about good years, I’m talking about great ones,” Gruden said. “Everybody is bitching about college football and the direction it’s headed, but Indiana figured it out. So, I just think it’s really cool what’s happening here now. We need to get Florida back to where it was, and I think Jon Sumrall<\/a> is the kind of coach that can wake up this giant.”
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\nGruden was invited to town to be a keynote speaker at the 2026 Gators Coaching Clinic, a day-long event held Friday at the Heavener Football Complex and Condron Family Indoor Facility. The event was attended by close to 500 coaches from across the country, with two — get this — coming from China.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\nBird’s-eye view of the Gators Coaching Clinic Friday afternoon. <\/p>\n

Headlining the feature presentations were Gruden, Meyer and Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen. As if there wasn’t enough football royalty on the grounds, Tom Coughlin, two-time Super Bowl-winning coach with the New York Giants, also checked in.\u00a0
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\n“The things these guys have not seen are probably easier to define than what they have seen,” Sumrall said of the who’s-who on hand. “All are very accomplished. We have these guys right here and to get the team exposed to what they’re all about, it’s just a cool touch to add to spring practice, but also the coaches clinic.”<\/p>\n

After the morning practice, both Gruden and Meyer addressed the team on the field.\u00a0

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\nGruden spoke about leading the country in effort and enthusiasm; about players bringing a sense of urgency and turning up their A-game.\u00a0

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\nTranslation: Wake up the beast!\u00a0

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\nMeyer leaned into his time on the Gators sideline, where he went a 65-15 over six seasons. He talked about a team’s best players needing to be its greatest warriors and leaders. He recounted a couple anecdotes from the Tebow, Spikes and Pouncey days, when the culture of winning policed itself in the locker room and on the field.\u00a0

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\n“Your best players need to be dogs,” Meyer said. “They don’t put up with [stuff] and they jump people’s ass. It can’t always be up to the coaches.”

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Greatness in the house today \ud83e\udee1 pic.twitter.com\/N9fvllKd2f<\/a><\/p>\n


\n\u2014 Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) March 27, 2026<\/a>
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\nA couple hours later, Sumrall, Gruden, Meyer and Coen took center stage for their individual presentations, followed by breakout sessions with UF coordinators Buster Faulkner<\/a> (offense), Brad White<\/a> (defense) and Johnathan Galante<\/a> (special teams), as well as positional chalk talks with other assistants.
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\nSumrall kept his chat short, preferring instead to listen to the heavy-hitters and later immersed himself in brain-picking with coaches from all levels.\u00a0
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\n“Over the years, it’s funny, I think I’ve learned as much from high school coaches as from NFL coaches,” Sumrall said. “You can learn from anybody. You’re always evaluating, always sharpening yourself and trying to improve on the details and how you do things, whether that’s schematically or operationally or with team-building.”
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\nHe inherited a program that needs to be better in all those phases (and more), what with a combined 29-34 record (just 14-26 in SEC play) over the previous five years and four losing seasons. Sumrall went a combined 43-12 in two seasons at Troy and two at Tulane, winning conference championships all four years and guiding the Green Wave to the 2025 College Football Playoff.
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\nSumrall was coaching Tulane when he met Gruden at the Manning Quarterback Camp in Thibodaux, Louisiana, two years ago. They two bonded instantly. Given their personalities, not a surprise.\u00a0
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\n <\/p>\n

What an awesome box opening inside the Florida Gators facility!<\/p>\n

Getting to spend the day here was awesome!!<\/p>\n

Thank you Coach Sumrall and everyone at @GatorsFB<\/a>!! pic.twitter.com\/DAMu2kH0Vh<\/a><\/p>\n


\n\u2014 Jon Gruden (@BarstoolGruden) March 27, 2026<\/a>
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\n“I think he’s wired like I am,” Gruden said. “I like Sumrall, man. I don’t know him like my best friend, but I can tell by those few days I was hanging out with him that \u2026 yeah \u2026 I’d ride with that guy.”
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\nAnd vice versa.\u00a0
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\nThey rode together Friday, if only for a few hours, all to the buzz of an orange-and-blue wake-up call.\u00a0
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\n“It was a beautiful message and Urban kind of followed that up with what it all looked like and what it means to get this thing jump-started,” Sumrall said. “I thought it was great for our guys to hear their perspective on what that looked like. This\u00a0is\u00a0a sleeping giant right now. We’ve got to wake it up.”
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\nEmail senior writer\u00a0Chris Harry<\/a> at\u00a0chrish@gators.ufl.edu<\/a>.\u00a0Find his story archives\u00a0here<\/a>.\u00a0