Tulane’s head coach, Jon Sumrall, was popular in the college football coaching carousel. Many schools have seen his success with the Tulane Green Wave and hope to hire him to coach at a Power Four program. But Sumrall has surprised many with his decision to stay at Tulane, agreeing to a contract extension. Schools like North Carolina and Kentucky were reportedly eyeing Sumrall as a hot commodity for their head coach position, but Jon Sumrall is now staying at Tulane. This season, he coached the Green Wave to a 9-4 record, losing in the American Athletic Conference Championship to Army. Tulane will face the Florida Gators in the Gasparilla Bowl.
Jon Sumrall’s Coaching History
Tulane hired Jon Sumrall at the end of the 2023 season. In his first year, the Green Wave only lost three regular-season games and the American Athletic Conference Championship. However, Tulane’s season did not get off to a great start. Sumrall’s squad lost two of their first three games of the season to Oklahoma and Kansas State. These teams were ranked when they played Tulane, but the losses did not help their cause. Still, Tulane followed those losses with an eight-game win streak. They were undefeated in conference play and had an outside shot at making the College Football Playoff. The Green Wave had an explosive offense that was not just winning, they were dominating.
That dominance lasted until the final game of the regular season, where Tulane was defeated by Memphis. This loss eliminated them from College Football Playoff contention. Jon Sumrall’s defense could not stop the Tigers’ rushing attack and lost 34-24. This loss was a bit of a prelude to the American Athletic Conference Championship Game. Army is a team that almost exclusively runs the ball, and Tulane could not stop them. The Army offense only threw two passes in the entire game, running their option attack down Tulane’s throats for a dominant 35-14 win.
Before joining Tulane, Jon Sumrall was the head coach at Troy for two seasons. In those two seasons, Sumrall coached the Trojans to a 23-4 record. Sumrall led them to back-to-back Sun Belt Conference Championships and bowl appearances. In his first year, Troy defeated UTSA in the Cure Bowl to finish the year ranked #19 in the AP Poll. The following year, Troy went to the Birmingham Bowl. However, Jon Sumrall left before the bowl game because he had accepted the Tulane head coaching job. Before his time at Troy, Sumrall was an assistant coach at Kentucky, his alma mater.
Jon Sumrall’s Extension
Many expected Jon Sumrall to take a new job at the end of this season. He has a proven track record, and with multiple head coach openings in Power Four conferences, many thought he would jump at the opportunity. One of the popular destinations for Sumrall was his old alma mater, Kentucky. Sumrall went to Kentucky and had been an assistant coach there, so many thought he would take the job with the Wildcats. Another Power Four school that was in the conversation was North Carolina. The North Carolina head coaching job has been a topic of conversation with rumors of Bill Belichick showing interest.
But Jon Sumrall is not taking either of these jobs. It was reported that he informed Tulane officials that he would not be pursuing other coaching jobs. Then, it was later confirmed that Sumrall had signed a contract extension to remain the head coach of the Green Wave for another season. With Jon Sumrall staying, Tulane will look to compete for another American Athletic Conference Championship. If they are successful, then Sumrall will still be a hot commodity for head coach openings in the future.
