By Bruce Feldman, Sam Khan Jr., Kyle Tucker and Chris Vannini
Tulane hired Troy coach Jon Sumrall to become its next coach, the program announced Friday. Sumrall has spent the past two seasons leading Troy to a 23-4 record, securing back-to-back Sun Belt championships, as well as a victory in the 2022 Cure Bowl against UTSA, earning him Sun Belt Coach of the Year.
Welcome back to Uptown Jon Sumrall!
Join us in welcoming @CoachJonSumrall as the 42nd Head Coach of Tulane Football!
🔗 https://t.co/aV0OfUxChA#NOLABuilt pic.twitter.com/C4pdyiQoBS
— Tulane Football (@GreenWaveFB) December 8, 2023
The 41-year-old Sumrall spent time as Tulane’s Co-defensive coordinator, defensive line and linebackers coach from 2012-14 before taking Troy’s assistant head coaching job in 2015.
Troy will play Duke, on Dec. 23 at Protective Stadium in the seventeenth annual Birmingham Bowl.
Tulane has an opening after Willie Fritz left this offseason to take the coaching job at Houston.
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What this means for the Green Wave
Replacing Fritz, who took Tulane to a 23-4 record in the last two years, consecutive AAC title game appearances, a conference title and a New Year’s Six bowl victory, wasn’t going to be easy. But landing Sumrall would be a home run for Tulane. He’s one of the best young coaches in the sport and has shown it by what he accomplished in a short time at Troy, winning consecutive Sun Belt titles. He also is familiar with what he would be getting into, having spent three seasons as a co-defensive coordinator at Tulane in the mid-2010s.
An administrator at a Power 5 program recently told The Athletic that Sumrall was “the best Group of 5 coach in the country.” Troy’s 23 wins under Sumrall in the last two years are tied for third-most in the FBS behind only Georgia, Michigan and Washington. Landing Sumrall would show the Green Wave are serious about continuing the positive momentum it has built of late. — Sam Khan Jr., senior writer
Sumrall’s Kentucky connections
Sumrall played and later coached linebackers at Kentucky, where he was beloved by the players and considered an elite SEC recruiter. He pulled players UK previously had not shot at landing, out of the deep South, like top-100 prospect Trevin Wallace from Georgia, who has become a star for the Wildcats. When it looked like Mark Stoops might be headed to Texas A&M on the last night of the regular season, Sumrall was the most obvious and popular candidate to replace him. When Stoops ultimately stayed put, some fans feared that it meant a less seamless succession plan in the future, because surely some other Power 5 program would snatch up Sumrall before the day Stoops really does leave.
In that way, Sumrall to Tulane could be perfect for UK. It’s a step up for him, but it’s not a can’t-leave gig, so if Kentucky is in the market for a coach in the next two or three years, he could still be gettable. — Kyle Tucker, Kentucky beat writer
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What does this mean for Troy?
It’s a tough loss for the Trojans to lose such a successful coach to another Group of 5 job, but Tulane paid up big to get Sumrall. Troy remains a very strong job. It’s won eight Sun Belt championships since 2006, opened a new end zone facility in 2018 and just this past Sunday announced plans for an indoor practice facility. This is all coming off the highest average attendance in school history. It’s a place with high expectations and strong fan support.
Potential names to watch for the job include Troy offensive coordinator Joe Craddock, Troy interim head coach Greg Gasparato, Florida State offensive coordinator Alex Atkins, former UAB head coach Bill Clark, LSU quarterbacks coach Joe Sloan and Baltimore Ravens quarterbacks coach Tee Martin. — Chris Vannini, college football senior writer
Required reading
(Photo: Brandon Sumrall / Getty Images)