Jon Sumrall is walking into Florida with a different mindset than the one he had when he first took over as a head coach.
That much was clear Wednesday, when Sumrall explained that the biggest shift in his approach has been learning how to hand more of the day-to-day work to the people around him. After winning 12 games at Troy and nine at Tulane, he’s now heading into his fifth season as a college football head coach and his first with the Gators with a better feel for how to run a staff.
"The biggest change I've made is I've probably, from year one to year five (is to) delegate a touch more, or quite a bit more, to be quite honest," Sumrall said, via USA Today. "My first year as a head coach, I probably micromanaged everybody to a fault, because I wanted everything to just be absolutely perfect.
"Now I still want us to chase perfection, but I think, as you grow and you understand, you have to hire great people and let them do their jobs. It's my job to hold everybody to the highest standard and extremely accountable for how we do things."
He said that early in his head coaching run at Troy, he was so locked in on the defense and special teams that he barely had time to show up for offensive meetings. That’s not where he is now. Sumrall described himself as more fully connected to every part of practice and every group on the field.
Florida’s setup should make that easier. The Gators gave him the resources to build a strong staff, and Sumrall said that kind of support makes it easier to trust the people around him. He still wants everyone aligned, but he’s not hovering over them.
"I think just trusting people to do their job well and then, when it's maybe not meeting the standard we need, then calling it out - but not holding their hand all the time," Sumrall said.
At Florida, the head coach’s job will ask more of him on the executive side than he had to manage at Troy and Tulane. That makes how his staff handles its responsibilities a major piece of the puzzle for the Gators this season.
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Floridas training camp has become less about polishing an already settled roster and more about sorting through the kind of position battles that can define an entire fall. After last seasons 4-8 finish, the Gators enter this year with a clear need for steadiness, and head coach Sumrall has made it just as clear that consistency, improvement and effort have to show up across the board, especially up front and at the other spots still waiting for answers.
There has been some encouraging physical progress during summer workouts, and Florida does at least have two tune-up games to keep evaluating before the SEC grind begins. Still, the bigger concern lingers in plain sight: until the Gators turn those camp competitions into reliable answers, the questions around the roster could follow them straight into league play. [Read more 🡒]
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Steve Spurrier Still Defines Floridas Most Feared Era
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What made Spurrier so enduringly aggravating for opponents was never just the scoreboard. The jabber, the sideline barbs and the unmistakable sense that he enjoyed every bit of it all helped make him a symbol of one of the sports most feared eras. For Florida fans, it was the kind of domination that still defines an identity. For everybody else in the SEC, it was a reminder that some coaches win, and some coaches win while making sure you never forget who did the winning. [Read more 🡒]