Florida land $45million head coach as championship chasing ‘u-turn’ ends Gators search for Billy Napier replacement

The major pieces of the college football coaching puzzle are falling into place.

LSU and Florida have been the powerhouse schools waiting to make their mark after the departures of Brian Kelly at Baton Rouge, and Billy Napier for the Gators.

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With the regular season now in the rear view mirror, LSU look set to lure Lane Kiffin away from Ole Miss, and Florida – who were in the running have turned their attention to Tulane

ESPN’s Pete Thame reports that Green Wave HC Jon Sumrall is the name the Gators have decided on, handing the 43-year-old a significant payrise and one of the premier coaching positions in the country.

Sumrall was making $3 million as Tulane’s head coach, while Florida’s former coach, Billy Napier, who was fired a few weeks ago, was earning over double that at $7.4 million.

Thame reports that Florida and Sumrall have agreed to terms on a six-year contract worth a reported $7.5million a year.

It comes just a week after it was reported by On3’s Pete Nakos that Sumrall had withdrawn his name from consideration in Gainsville, cancelling a scheduled meeting with Florida officials.

Whether it was a move to focus on Tulane’s final game of the season against Charlotte, or to up the ante in talks with both the Gators and Auburn Tigers, it is a move that has landed Sumrall the biggest coaching position of his career.

After two years in Troy he guided the Trojans to consecutive Sun Belt championships, he has enjoyed two stellar seasons in New Orleans.

Since taking over at Tulane, Sumrall is 19-6 over two seasons and his stock is at an all-time high with Auburn also credited with a serious interest and LSU before they settled on Kiffin.

Last year, he led the Green Wave to a 9-5 record, culminating in a Gasparilla Bowl appearance against, ironically, Florida, which ended in a 33-8 loss.

This year with a 10-2 record they will host North Texas Mean Green in the AAC Conference Championship game.

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He currently has Tulane ranked #24 in the College Football Playoff standings, making them the highest-ranked Group of Five team – and in the hunt for a first appearance in the expanded 12-team Playoff.

The CFP committee has the right to drop teams a couple of places in the rankings in the advent of player and coaching availability – and with Sumrall bound for Florida, Tuesday’s penultimate rankings will be awaited in Louisiana.

However Thame is reporting that Sumrall will see out the season in Tulane with the hope of a championship and a possible CFP appearance.

Tulane will be action next weekend, when they play in their fourth straight AAC title game, having won the title in 2022 they have lost in each of the last two seasons.

The biggest domino to fall is Kiffin and his six-year spell with Ole Miss looks to be over with the Rebels poised to feature in the College Football Playoff.

However they could find their current ranking of seventh under threat from the committee who could deem the impact of Kiffin’s departure as significant enough to affect their rankings.

The wording of CFP protocol does give them room for manoeuvre stating “other relevant factors such as unavailability of key players and coaches that may have affected a team’s performance during the season or likely will affect its postseason performance.” 

The fifth ranking of the season will be released on Tuesday, with the final rankings coming after Championship weekend.

But for Florida and Sumrall, attention switches to next season, leaving the Green Wave to begin their own search.

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