SerpApi.Org
Florida head coach Jon Sumrall seems to be taking a page out of his last few predecessors' book by getting heated at the media and letting the media get heated at him early on.
During his appearance at SEC Media Days, Sumrall scolded a reporter who allowed their phone to ring while he was at the podium. He declared that person would be thrown out of a team meeting if they were a player and said that phones ringing while he's talking drive him crazy.
"You would be kicked out of our team meeting. I swear. You're lucky I'm not gonna throw this freaking podium right now. That drives me crazy."
Too much?
College football fans didn't seem all that impressed by Sumrall's efforts to act like a tough guy in that moment. Many believe it shows that he has a short fuse or even has bad leadership qualities.
"It takes a man of high character to successfully lead other men. He went out of his way to intentionally try to embarrass this person. Showing very low character before a single snap has been played. He will have a short tenure at Florida," one user on X predicted.
"What a clown. Maybe if he had this much passion for his prep against OM his Tulane squad wouldn't have gotten wiped across the floor," wrote another.
"Season hasn't even started and he can't [conceal] his agitation at a podium. This man will not finish his first contract at Florida," a third wrote.
Sumrall has the unenviable task of bringing Florida out of the doldrums and back into upper echelon of just the SEC, let alone college football, that the team enjoyed in the Urban Meyer days.
But with each coach that comes and goes without delivering, patience in Gainesville gets thinner and thinner.
Florida gave Sumrall a six-year contract back in November, but not a single coach since Meyer has managed to last more than four years at Florida without getting the boot.
Sumrall had better come out the gate storming if he wants to make it halfway through his contract, let alone get an extension.
