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Jon Sumrall made quite an impression at SEC media day on Wednesday. The new Florida Gators head coach gave a fiery press conference and made it clear that all cell phones should be on airplane mode this season.
He also stopped by the SEC Network desk where he got to talk to Nick Saban. The legendary college football coach lives in Florida now and it sounds like he’s not going to stand for anything less than a complete turnaround of the Gators’ football program from the new coach.
MORE: Analyst predicts Florida Gators’ biggest change under Jon Sumrall
“I’m a Florida resident now and down there amongst the Gators,” said Saban. “Governor DeSantis is a good friend. You took our former president Stuart Bell who’s now a Gator and I want you to know I’m kind of a semi-Gator so if you don’t get your sh– together, I’m gonna be in the middle of it. I just want you to know that.”
Can Sumrall save Florida?
Florida started last season ranked No. 15 in the preseason polls. Then they lost South Florida in Week 2, followed by a nightmare of an SEC campaign. Billy Napier was fired after a 3-4 start with $20 million remaining on the $50 million contract he signed with the school in 2021.
Sumrall has his work cut out for him in one of the strongest conferences in college football, but Florida thinks he’s the answer. Sumrall won 20 games over the last two years at Tulane, but he had taken over a strong program there after Willie Fritz left for Houston. So, the Gators will need Sumrall to do the job he did at Troy when he took a team coming off three straight five-win seasons and went 23-4.
The Gators haven’t won double-digit games or a bowl game since 2019.
All Saban and his friends are asking is that Sumrall return the program to the glory days of Urban Meyer and Steve Spurrier. You know, when they were winning national championships and producing Heisman winners. No pressure.
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