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Tired: Did you see what Lane tweeted? Wired: Jon Sumrall is bringing the heat at Day Three of SEC Media Days. We know this might sound crazy, but Lane may face his biggest challenge in Talkin’ Season: new Florida Gator Head Coach Jon Sumrall. Kiffin is a media darling; well, at least he used to be before he turned his back on a CFB Playoff run in Oxford for promises from the Governor of Louisiana to be the new King of Baton Rouge.
Sumrall has used his bully pulpit to become the SEC’s new media darling this offseason. He famously canceled a trip to Italy for his and his wife’s anniversary because he was just too busy building a roster in Gainesville. While we wouldn’t recommend that action for our married readers, Gator fans have a coach that they can identify with. Sumrall and his barbs at SEC Media Days on Wednesday had to send plenty of reminders of the OBC, Steve Spurrier. He never found a microphone he didn’t like. Of course, Spurrier and the Gators backed it up on the field. It remains to be seen if Sumrall will do the same.
But that is a conversation left to be decided during football season. For now, we are worried about Talkin’ Season. So, we apologize to Alabama, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M. Sumrall didn’t give you a chance to win the day.
Jon Sumrall Wins Day Three of SEC Media Days
Florida has been looking for an identity. They had it in the 90s with Spurrier and in the 2000s with Urban Meyer. The coaches who have followed have failed to meet the standard Gainesville has come to expect from its football squad. We have four quotes from SEC Media Days that suggest Sumrall may be just what the Gators have wanted and needed to return to the top of the SEC elite.
No Cellphones
“You’d be kicked out of our team meeting…You’re lucky I’m not gonna throw this freakin’ podium.”
Someone had the audacity not to put their phone on silent during Sumrall’s opening remarks on Wednesday. The coach showed his fire. Listening to Sumrall this offseason, you can tell he has a standard. No, this wasn’t being cute like whatever happened in Boulder and comparing players to high-end luggage.
Sumrall has brought respect to the Gators. He had a meeting with incumbent quarterback DJ Lagaway, and there are reports that the meeting did not meet the standard, hence why Lagaway was with Baylor a couple of weeks ago at the Monster Big 12 Media Days.
It wasn’t that long ago that the Gators missed out on a spot in the SEC Championship and a possible spot in the CFB Playoff when an opponent’s shoe was thrown by a Gator. Regardless, the Gators need a standard and need to know where the line is. Sumrall seems ready to show them (hopefully without throwing a podium).
No Sugar Coating
“We played them the first time at Tulane, and they beat the sh t out of us. We played them the second time, with a different head coach, and they still beat the sh*t out of us.” *
Sumrall is not one to mince words. He was asked on Wednesday about the difference between playing Ole Miss in the regular season and in the opening round of the College Football Playoff. Sumrall knew better than to take the cheese and instead kept the focus on himself. Sure, it would be easy to send a barb toward Lane or Pete Golding, but that isn’t what he gave the media. The two games were mirror images of each other. The Rebels won 45-10 in New Orleans and 41-10 in Oxford in the playoffs.
The real question concerned the similar circumstances Sumrall and Kiffin faced. Sumrall was clear about the difference between his and Kiffin’s situation. Both head coaches navigated high-profile job changes during the coaching carousel while their respective teams qualified for the College Football Playoff. Where Kiffin shrank and was the heel of the coaching carousel, Sumrall made sure there was a clear distinction between the two. And when he swung…he did not miss.
“Lane said we’re going through the same thing. I said no, we’re not. You’re leaving an SEC school. I’m leaving Tulane. If any university said I couldn’t coach in the playoff, I don’t think I would have taken the job.”
No Whining
“I’m not going to whine and complain about being an SEC head football coach.”
There has been plenty of belly-aching on social media and from some SEC Coaches about the SEC’s move to a nine-game conference schedule. We will not go into further details or poke fun at the head coach in CoMo, but Sumrall’s response once again shows he understands the assignment of being the Gators’ head football coach and an SEC program’s head coach. If the conference is going to reverse the fortunes of the B1G’s three straight national championships and reclaim the It Just Means More mantra, the SEC will need more guys like Sumrall leading the way.
Main Image: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
