Florida HC Jon Sumrall Lets Rip on Current CFB Climate — ‘We Are All Pros Here’

Florida coach Jon Sumrall hit the ground running when he was appointed the Gators’ coach in November last year. Sumrall succeeded Billy Napier, who was fired midway through an underwhelming season that ultimately finished 4-8.

Sumrall took advantage of the January transfer portal, replenishing the Florida roster with 30 new players, ranking the team No. 8 in the country.

Jon Sumrall Details Tough Approach to Players in NIL Era

During a Tuesday interview with Danny Kanell on Sirius XM, Sumrall revealed how he deals with players in the new NIL environment, where players are paid employees of the programs that they represent.

“Like, if a guy wants to act like some sort of way about doing something tough, I’m like, you make money. Shut up, bro,” Sumrall said. “Like, you’re getting paid dawg. Put the work in.

“So I think some coaches with this new world of transfer portal, NIL have gotten softer, I’ve probably gotten crazier. Like, don’t tell me this is too hard, we’re all pros here. Be a pro.”

College football is in uncertain times as the novel NIL era has collided with freer player movement, leading to players easily transferring between programs via the transfer portal.

Sumrall’s Tough Stance Gets Urban Meyer Backing

On Jan. 25, Sumrall revealed that he had initiated a cultural rebuild in Gainesville by removing the Gators logo from his players, who would have to earn back the Florida badge on their uniforms. Sumrall’s tough stance on the Florida standards received the backing of former Gators coach Urban Meyer during a segment of the “Triple Option” podcast.

“I love it,” Meyer said. “I agree with it, and I did it at a couple of stops. Bowling Green, I did it, but we didn’t have gear. We didn’t have enough money to buy gear. Utah, we did it to a degree. I’m just a firm believer that you have to earn it. Once you earn it, you really get rewarded. That’s the way I was brought up, and that’s what I believe in.

“At Florida, we took everything away and I wanted to prove a point. The expectations are a National Championship caliber team and that’s what Steve Spurrier did. If you’re not doing that, you’re going to hear it. I expect that out of this staff and out of the players. They weren’t allowed to wear Florida gear, and you earned it back.”

Sumrall compiled a 43-12 overall record in four seasons in charge of the Troy Trojans and the Tulane Green Wave. He firmly established himself as one of the most coveted coaches during last year’s coaching carousel after leading the Green Wave to the American Athletic Conference championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff.