Jon Sumrall Sets the Tone at Florida, While Cristobal Fires a Shot from Miami
Jon Sumrall may be the new guy in Gainesville, but he’s not easing into the job-he’s coming in with a purpose. The former Tulane head coach has taken over at Florida and is already putting his stamp on the program this offseason. And he’s doing it with a no-nonsense approach that echoes the early days of Urban Meyer’s tenure.
Sumrall has introduced a policy where players aren’t allowed to wear Gators logos until they’ve earned that right. It’s a symbolic move, sure, but also a clear message: nothing is given, everything is earned. For a Florida program that’s been trying to claw its way back into national relevance, especially with the College Football Playoff now the standard of success, this kind of culture reset could be exactly what’s needed.
But not everyone in the Sunshine State is rolling out the welcome mat for Sumrall.
Miami head coach Mario Cristobal, fresh off a season that saw the Hurricanes reach the CFP national championship game before falling to Indiana, made it clear he sees a difference between himself and the other head coaches in Florida. In an interview with JD PicKell, Cristobal didn’t hold back.
“Unless I’m crazy, I think I’m the only head coach in Florida, in terms of the programs, who actually played at the school he coaches at,” Cristobal said. “So at Miami, it’s very different.
It’s a whole different level of meaning. It’s a whole different level of purpose and intent.
Live and die a Hurricane, man.”
Cristobal’s pride in his alma mater is well documented, and he’s leaned heavily into that connection during his time at Miami. He’s made it clear that coaching the Hurricanes isn’t just a job-it’s personal. And in his view, that kind of emotional investment gives him an edge when it comes to building a winning culture.
Sumrall, meanwhile, is a Texas native who played his college ball at Kentucky. This is his first season on staff at Florida in any capacity. That lack of previous ties to the program didn’t stop the Gators from handing him the keys, and it certainly hasn’t stopped him from trying to instill a hard-nosed identity from day one.
Cristobal, for his part, insists Miami doesn’t engage in negative recruiting, even as he takes verbal jabs at rival programs.
“In recruiting, you always want to win your state,” Cristobal said. “We provide very tangible proof of the direction of our program, of what we’re doing.
We don’t get into negative recruiting, but people always negatively recruit us. And that’s fine.
No one should ever take that personally.”
Whether or not that claim holds water is up for debate, especially after his comments about other coaches lacking ties to their schools. But there’s no denying that Miami has had the upper hand recently-especially after the Hurricanes handled Florida 26-7 last September.
That win gave Cristobal a leg up on the recruiting trail and in the ever-intense battle for bragging rights within the state. But with Sumrall now in the mix and looking to reshape Florida from the inside out, the rivalry between these programs is only heating up.
Cristobal may have the momentum for now, but Sumrall’s building something-and he’s doing it brick by brick.