That’s life for Sumrall, who might be the busiest, most sleep-deprived man in college football. While preparing to lead Tulane into its first-ever playoff appearance this week, he’s also busy assembling a staff and handling the duties of his new job at Florida<\/a>, one of the biggest programs in the sport.<\/p>\n “There’s no official end of the day,” Sumrall says over the phone. “You work as long as you can until you pass out.”<\/p>\n That has meant nights of just two to four hours of sleep. On Friday, Sumrall splurged, allowing himself seven full hours before Tulane returned from final exams to begin a full week of practices. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind for the 43-year-old, who is effectively serving as the CEO of two football programs at once in a rare arrangement approved by both Tulane and Florida.<\/p>\n “It became clear it was the right decision to make,” says Tulane athletics director David Harris. “It gave us the best chance to win, and it felt like it was the right thing to do for everyone involved.”<\/p>\n Sumrall accepted Florida’s job offer the Sunday after the regular season ended. He informed his Tulane players before practice that morning. He coached another practice Monday morning, then boarded a plane to Gainesville, where he addressed the Gators’ roster and was formally introduced at a press conference later that day.<\/p>\n That night, he flew back to New Orleans, landing at 8:30 p.m. He set his alarm for 4:45 a.m. Tuesday and resumed his routine: a 5 a.m. workout at Tulane’s facility, special teams meetings at 7 a.m., position meetings at 7:30 a.m. and practice at 9:45 a.m.<\/p>\n “He’s Roll Waving while he’s here. You don’t have to worry bout that,” says offensive coordinator Will Hall, who has been tabbed to replace Sumrall as Tulane’s head coach.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Don’t expect College Football Playoff first-round blowouts like last year. Format tweaks should even the field<\/p>\n \n Shehan Jeyarajah <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Sumrall navigated Early Signing Day for two programs, securing 18 players at Florida and 14 at Tulane. He even found time to flip four-star safety Dylan Purter from LSU<\/a> to the Gators.<\/p>\n Forty-eight hours later, Tulane defeated North Texas<\/a> to win the American Conference championship and clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff.<\/p>\n The celebration was brief. The work was beginning.<\/p>\n “Tulane gave me an opportunity to finish this the right way with our team,” says Sumrall. “I’m forever indebted because, man, these opportunities to play in this type of situation — are you kidding me? You get an opportunity to be one of 12 teams still pursuing the main goal at the end of the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I’m also ridiculously grateful to Florida. They’re not asking me to leave this place the wrong way. They’ve been awesome.”<\/p>\n Sumrall now carries two phones. One number he knows by heart after 13 years. The other is new, a phone given to him by Florida, with a number he hasn’t quite yet committed to memory.\u00a0<\/p>\n “My wife knows the phone is constantly hot,” Sumrall says. “I don’t think I’ve had an off hour for two weeks. I don’t think I will for a while. I’d like to keep working two jobs longer. This is kinda fun.”<\/p>\n Winning helps. Sumrall has advanced to conference championship games in all four seasons as a head coach, winning three titles. He’s 43-11 at Troy<\/a> and Tulane with three 11-win seasons.<\/p>\n That r\u00e9sum\u00e9 sparked weeks of discussions with Auburn<\/a>, including an in-home visit in New Orleans. The two seemed destined to reach an agreement, but negotiations cooled late in the regular season as Florida pivoted toward Sumrall once it became clear Ole Miss<\/a>‘ Lane Kiffin — the hottest name on the market — was headed to LSU.<\/p>\n “Not many coaches win big at two different non-Power programs, and even fewer do it as quickly as Jon has done it,” Florida athletics director Scott Stricklin said in November.<\/p>\n Sumrall is a fast-talking, charismatic, blue-collar grinder with a laser focus. He embodies a mix of the traits that best define legendary SEC leaders Steve Spurrier and Kirby Smart. Sumrall grew up in Huntsville, Alabama, and played linebacker at Kentucky<\/a> in the early 2000s, where he later began his coaching career as a graduate assistant, leading to stops as an assistant at Tulane, Troy and Ole Miss before landing back at Kentucky as Mark Stoops’ linebackers coach. He coached alongside offensive mastermind Neal Brown at Kentucky, then followed his path to Troy, where he became head coach in 2022 and promptly won back-to-back Sun Belt titles.\u00a0<\/p>\n He then followed WIllie Fritz, his former boss, at Tulane and has appeared in back-to-back American title games.\u00a0<\/p>\n Simply put, wherever Sumrall goes, winning tends to follow.<\/p>\n “We’ll get the job done the right way in Florida. I’m very confident in that. We’re gonna do a great job at the University of Florida,” says Sumrall.<\/p>\n![\"Don't](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ole-miss-vs-tulane.jpg\")
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