Jon Sumrall’s Tulane is fresh off losing 48-26 to UTSA on Thursday. The loss ended the Green Wave’s three-game winning streak as they fell to 6-2 in the 2025 season.
However, Sumrall’s potential at Tulane continues to grow. Some even believe he is ready to take on a head coaching role in the Southeastern Conference, where several programs are searching for new leaders following back-to-back firings.
Jon Sumrall Gets Linked to a Major SEC Vacancy
Head coaches like Indiana Hoosiers’ Curt Cignetti, Nebraska Cornhuskers’ Matt Rhule, and SMU Mustangs’ Rhett Lashlee all had plenty of suitors for jobs, but they all re-signed to stay with their programs.
As all these head coaches are out of the market, Fox insider Garland Gillen mentioned Sumrall as a target for open head coaching roles.
“There’s a coach in New Orleans who a lot of programs in America won,” Gillen said. “His name is Jon Sumrall. What is David Harris, the athletic director of Tulane, doing to keep him? You know, I see a lot of this venom on Twitter from Tulane fans about people propping up Jon Sumrall for a job.
“Like, maybe direct all that energy and all that hate toward figuring out how you gonna keep Jon Sumrall. Maybe ask David Harris what’s going on with keeping Jon Sumrall because everything I’ve heard, he’s not done much.”
Curt Cignetti, Matt Rhule, and Rhett Lashlee all had plenty of suitors for head coaching jobs, but they all re-signed to stay with their programs.
So what is Tulane AD David Harris doing to keep Jon Sumrall Uptown? My sources tell me not much.
It’s #GarlandontheAvenue pic.twitter.com/N4sX54z5Ry
— Garland Gillen (@garlandgillen) November 2, 2025
Meanwhile, Fox Sports’ Aaron Torres suggested Sumrall as Hugh Freeze’s successor at Auburn. The Tigers immediately announced defensive coordinator DJ Durkin as the interim head coach for the rest of the season after firing Freeze on Sunday.
“At the airport and just saw the Hugh Freeze news – wish him well in whatever is next, but it was time. More importantly, DJ Durkin deserves the opportunity to prove he deserves the job full time. My guess is the next Auburn coach is one of two people: Durkin or Jon Sumrall,” Torres tweeted.
Even SEC analyst Michael Bratton described Sumrall as the “perfect next Auburn coach” during last week’s appearance on “The Paul Finebaum Show.” Auburn is currently searching for its fourth head coach in seven seasons, and Sumrall’s coaching success makes him a potential candidate.
In his Tulane career, Sumrall has led the Green Wave to a 15-7 record. He had a 9-5 record in his first season with the Green Wave in 2024 and guided them to the American Conference championship game. His team is ranked 53rd in the PFSN CFB Playoff Meter.
Sumrall spent the first two of his head coaching seasons with the Troy Trojans and led them to the Sun Belt championship in each of his two seasons there.