Jon Sumrall has not coached a snap for Florida yet, but CBS Sports already has him slotted in the middle of the SEC pack.
Brad Crawford’s latest ranking of the conference’s head coaches put Sumrall at No. 10, a notable placement for a first-year Gators coach who arrived in Gainesville in December with a résumé that turned heads. The list is topped by Kirby Smart at No. 1 in the SEC and No. 2 nationally, with Texas’ Steve Sarkisian at No.
- Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer comes in at No.
3, LSU’s Lane Kiffin at No. 4 and Texas A&M’s Mike Elko at No. 5.
Tennessee’s Josh Heupel is No. 6, Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz No.
7, Oklahoma’s Brent Venables No. 8 and Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea No. 9.
Right behind Sumrall are South Carolina’s Shane Beamer at No. 11, Auburn’s Alex Golesh at No.
12, Ole Miss’ Pete Golding at No. 13, Arkansas’ Ryan Silverfield at No.
14, Mississippi State’s Jeff Lebby at No. 15 and Kentucky’s Will Stein at No. 16.
The ranking reflects the buzz Sumrall has built in a short time. Before landing at Florida, he spent four years as a head coach and won consecutive Sun Belt Conference championships at Troy.
He then took over at Tulane and kept the winning rolling, guiding the Green Wave to back-to-back appearances in the American Athletic Conference championship game. Tulane won it in 2025 and earned a College Football Playoff berth as one of two Group of Five teams.
That run also made Sumrall the first-ever FBS coach to reach the conference title game in each of his first four seasons as a head coach at two different schools.
At Florida, he inherits a program coming off a four-win season under Billy Napier, and the expectations around the Gators are still measured. Even so, Sumrall has had a strong offseason, both on the recruiting trail and during his appearance at the SEC’s annual Media Days, which kept him in the spotlight before his debut.
No SEC first-year coach has drawn more offseason praise than Sumrall, and there’s a clear reason for it. He arrives with a reputation for toughness, accountability and getting the most out of his roster, and Florida has backed him with several home-run hires to help smooth the transition.
The Gators open the Sumrall era on Sept. 5 against Florida Atlantic. If his Tulane identity carries over quickly, Florida could climb fast in 2026.
Crawford’s ranking suggests Sumrall has already earned some respect. The next step is proving it on the field.
In Other News...
Florida Linebackers Face Early Pressure In Jon Sumralls Defensive Reset
Floridas linebacker room is suddenly one of the most important parts of Jon Sumralls defensive reset, with the Gators leaning into a 3-4 look that puts extra weight on that position group. Under Sumrall and defensive coordinator Brad White, the goal is to build a defense that gets its best play from the middle of the field, and that means the next wave of Florida linebackers has to develop fast with the 2026 season in mind.
Myles Graham, Jaden Robinson and Aaron Chiles are expected to be at the center of that push, but the depth chart also has names worth watching behind them. Ty Jackson, Myles Johnson and incoming freshman Malik Morris give Florida some options, yet the bigger question is how quickly that entire group can adapt to a scheme that asks linebackers to do plenty of the heavy lifting. The Gators are clearly treating this as a position that can shape the defenses ceiling, not just fill it. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Gets An Early Reality Check In Jon Sumrall Era
Florida opens a new chapter this fall under Jon Sumrall after the program moved on from Billy Napier, and the preseason picture around the Gators has been a reminder that a reset does not automatically come with instant respect. Florida checked in at No. 17 in the preseason US LBM Coaches Top 25, while the preseason All-SEC media poll pegged the Gators to finish ninth in the league, a spot that reflects both the skepticism outside Gainesville and the work still ahead in a rugged conference.
There is still enough talent here to make the conversation interesting. Florida returns five starters on each side of the ball, and a handful of players picked up preseason All-SEC recognition, which gives Sumrall a base to build from even in a year that begins with tempered expectations. The challenge now is turning that mix of returning pieces and preseason praise into something more convincing once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
5 Games Florida Fans Can Watch While Waiting On Gators Kickoff
Fall camp is getting underway this week in Gainesville, which means the long wait for Floridas season opener against FAU on Sept. 5 is finally starting to shrink. Until then, there are a handful of games worth keeping an eye on for Gators fans looking to scratch the football itch, from the Hall of Fame Game to early preseason action and even a high school matchup tied to a Florida recruit.
Among the most interesting is the NFL preseason game involving Anthony Richardson, along with a high school game featuring recruit Braxton Rein and a college game that puts former Florida coach Dan Mullen back in the spotlight. They are all different in setting, but each gives Gators fans a reason to stay plugged in while the real countdown to kickoff continues. [Read more 🡒]