Jon Gruden, Liam Cohen, Jon Sumrall and Urban Meyer pose before beginning the 2026 Florida Coaches Clinic.
Sumrall Welcomes Football Royalty at Clinic
Friday, March 27, 2026 | Football, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – He got his first job in the NFL in 1990 when Jon Gruden was hired as an offensive assistant for Bill Walsh with the San Francisco 49ers.
That was the same year the University of Florida hired Steve Spurrier.
As Gruden's career ascended during the 1990s, Spurrier's Gators absolutely dominated the Southeastern Conference, at one point winning four consecutive league titles and the 1996 national championship. In 2002, Gruden left his head-coaching post with the Oakland Raiders to become head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who he guided to a Super Bowl title in his first season. He was there, just two hours south of Florida Field, when Urban Meyer took the SEC and college football by storm a few years later.
"I have a lot of respect for this program. Steve Spurrier is one of my good friends and I know Urban Meyer. I also know the potential here – the expectation here – and know what this is," Gruden said Friday. "This is Florida."
And, in the opinion of one of game's most recognized faces, Florida has a high place in the college football pecking order and believes new coach Jon Sumrall is the guy to get them back there.
"There have been a lot of great things that have happened here. I'm not talking about good years, I'm talking about great ones," Gruden said. "Everybody is bitching about college football and the direction it's headed, but Indiana figured it out. So, I just think it's really cool what's happening here now. We need to get Florida back to where it was and I think Jon Sumrall is the kind of coach that can waken up this giant."
Gruden was invited to town to be a keynote speaker at the 2026 Gators Coaching Clinic, a day-long event held Friday at the Heavener Football Complex and Condron Family Indoor Facility. The event was attended close to 500 coaches from across the country, with two -- get this -- coming from China.
Bird's-eye view of the Gators Coaching Clinic Friday afternoon.
Headlining the feature presentations were Gruden, Meyer and Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen. As if there wasn't enough football royalty on the grounds, Tom Coughlin, two-time Super Bowl-winning coach with the New York Giants, also checked in.
"The things these guys have not seen are probably easier to define than what they have seen," Sumrall said of the who's-who on hand. "All are very accomplished. We have these guys right here and to get the team exposed to what they're all about, it's just a cool touch to add to spring practice, but also the coaches clinic."
After the morning practice, both Gruden and Meyer addressed the team on the field.
Gruden spoke about leading the country in effort and enthusiasm; about players bringing a sense of urgency and turning up their A-game.
Translation: Wake up the beast!
Meyer leaned into his time on the Gators sideline, where he went a 65-15 over six seasons. He talked about a team's best players needing to be its greatest warriors and leaders. He recounted a couple anecdotes from the Tebow, Spikes and Pouncey days, when the culture of winning policed itself in the locker room and on the field.
"Your best players need to be dogs," Meyer said. "They don't put up with [stuff] and they jump people's ass. It can't always be up to the coaches."
A couple hours later, Sumrall, Gruden, Meyer and Coen took center stage for their individual presentations, followed by breakout sessions with UF coordinators Buster Faulkner (offense), Brad White (defense) and Johnathan Calante (special teams), as well as positional chalk talks with other assistants.
Sumrall kept his chat short, preferring instead to listen to the heavy-hitters and later immersed himself in brain-picking with coaches from all levels.
"Over the years, it's funny, I think I've learned as much from high school coaches as from NFL coaches," Sumrall said. "You can learn from anybody. You're always evaluating, always sharpening yourself and trying to improve on the details and how you do things, whether that's schematically or operationally or with team-building."
He inherited a program that needs to be better in all those phases (and more), what with a combined 29-34 record (just 14-26 in SEC play) over the previous five years and four losing seasons. Sumrall went a combined 43-12 in two seasons at Troy and two at Tulane, winning conference championships all four years and guiding the Green Wave to the 2025 College Football Playoff.
Sumrall was coaching Tulane when he met Gruden at the Manning Quarterback Camp in Thibodaux, Louisiana, two years ago. They two bonded instantly. Given their personalities, not a surprise.
What an awesome box opening inside the Florida Gators facility!
"I think he's wired like I am," Gruden said. "I like Sumrall, man. I don't know him like my best friend, but I can tell by those few days I was hanging out with him that … yeah … I'd ride with that guy."
And vice versa.
They rode together Friday, if only for a few hours, all to the buzz of an orange-and-blue wake-up call.
"It was beautiful message and Urban kind of followed that up with what it all looked like and what it means to get this thing jump-started," Sumrall said. "I thought it was great for our guys to hear their perspective on what that looked like. This is a sleeping giant right now. We've got to wake it up."
