Carter's Corner: Sumrall, Noteworthy Gators Sound Off On Day 1 of New Era

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The hire has been made. The introductory press conference is over. The balloons — hmm, I'm not sure where those orange-and-blue inflatables went that greeted new Gators head coach Jon Sumrall on Monday.

Maybe his kids got to take them back to New Orleans, where Sumrall is today preparing his Tulane team for Friday night's home game against North Texas in the American Conference Championship Game.

The buzz around the Gators rose to a level absent for too long on Monday when UF Athletic Director Scott Stricklin introduced Sumrall as the program's 31st head coach. Sumrall charmed the throng of media and UF boosters with his real-guy personality and fired-up presence over his new job.

"We're going to win," he said. "Just give me a shot. Believe in me."

Jon Sumrall Introductory Press Conference 12-1-25 https://t.co/41vTwFOXBe
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) December 1, 2025

Sumrall won Stricklin over, which is why he was on campus as the fresh face of Florida Football.

He made strong impressions on former UF coaches Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer, and he impressed 1996 Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel, who was on the UF search committee, from the start.

A lot was said on Monday, some from Sumrall's own mouth, and much more from others. These are 10 quotes that made my ears perk up and offer insight into the mood of Florida insiders about Sumrall's hiring:

"No two people are the same, okay. Coach Meyer, you coached G5 football, right? Curt Cignetti coached G5, I think. I actually coached against Curt some. Judge me for who I am. I'm a winner." — Sumrall to critics who have compared him to former UF coach Billy Napier, who was hired from Group of 5 program Louisiana

"Jon was the first guy that I talked to, the only thing he talked to me about was the strength coach, Tuesday practices and the offseason — sounded familiar. I think he's a rugged guy. Really enjoyed our conversation. There's different ways of being rugged. Steve Spurrier was a rugged (coach) — that was a rugged team. Check those defensive players they had. It might look different, but at the end of the day, rugged wins. That's what I see in Jon. I liked the fact that he gets pissed off a little bit. It's okay to be that way." — Urban Meyer on his initial discussion with Jon Sumrall

"You're not going to eliminate a pool of candidates because they fit a certain narrative that coincidentally lines up with somebody else. Just listen to him. He's a unique individual himself — the energy, the fire." – Scott Stricklin refuting any concerns over Jon Sumrall's career path

"He ended up calling him for me, and he called me after he talked to him, and he's like, 'I think you need to go hire that guy, that guy's a winner, that guy's going to get it done.' So, I think just having that kind of affirmation, I think, from guys who have done it is pretty helpful. I mean, he's a Hall of Famer. You're going to listen to him." — Scott Stricklin on Urban Meyer's input after he requested the former UF coach give Jon Sumrall a call

Jon Sumrall Arrival — Gators head coach **Jon Sumrall** and his family at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium early Monday evening. (Photo: **Hannah White**/UAA Communications)

"This guy hates losing. You can tell that, right? Jon's got that energy and enthusiasm. The guys will play their hearts out. It'll be a different sort of atmosphere, I think." — Steve Spurrier on Jon Sumrall's passion for the game

"He's a fascinating guy, and I respect his decision. I don't know why he made the decision he did, but I would say we had productive conversations. Once we kind of got a sense that he might not be coming our way, we understood that there was going to be a line out the door for Jon Sumrall." — Scott Stricklin on discussions with former Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin

"I do want to be very direct on one thing, and you may or may not appreciate this, but Lane Kiffin and I have been going through the same thing. We've talked a lot. We were both in agreement that I was the right man for this job. So, he co-signed on that. Lane is a dear friend, and I have to poke a little fun at him." — Jon Sumrall on Lane Kiffin's odyssey during the coaching search

"I'm really excited. I was very honored when Scott asked me to be part of the whole process. I went to every interview, every Zoom, and on every trip. I felt like a CIA agent, hiding on airplanes and sneaking through bushes and trying to get to people's houses without them knowing. It was quite a fascinating experience. I'm shocked by many things, including the massive, massive amount of misinformation that spread around, which makes me sad, in particular, our leader Scott Stricklin has gotten a lot of bad press on things that I can tell you straight out that are completely – not only are they not true, it's like the opposite. I love the process that we ran, and it led us to Jon Sumrall. What you saw in the press conference today is what we saw." — Danny Wuerffel on serving on the search committee

"You get a certain allotment of rev share that you have to stay under based off your budget. Then you have your additional funds, your NIL and your third-party deals. So, I think that all kinds of come together and we're trying to figure out what our actual pool, all-inclusive, is for all that money for our players." – General manager David Caldwell on the task of building team payroll

"The SEC is a different league. It's the closest thing you get to the National Football League. That's why I wanted to come. I crave that challenge. It invigorates me. It gets me a little bit fired up. This is what I've wanted to do my entire life. When I was my [12-year-old] son's age, this is what I dreamed about doing." — Jon Sumrall on taking over the Gators

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Carter's Corner: Sumrall, Noteworthy Gators Sound Off On Day 1 of New Era

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Carter's Corner: Sumrall, Noteworthy Gators Sound Off On Day 1 of New Era

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