Florida: Legendary Coach Jon Gruden Makes Appearance at Spring Football

The Florida Gators are building a lot of buzz during their 15 spring practices.

New head coach Jon Sumrall told reporters last week that they planned to bring in Urban Meyer to spend time with his coaching staff so his program could better learn how to develop talent.

Meyer got the best of his players during his time as a college football head coach. However, Meyer struggled bringing his football philosophy to the NFL.

Jon Gruden has never been a head coach in college football, but he won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Gruden, Meyer, and former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier were recently on scene together in Gainesville for the  2026 Gators Coaching Clinic.

Gruden thinks Florida will go back to competing for national championships with Sumrall.

"There have been a lot of great things that have happened here. I'm not talking about good years, I'm talking about great ones," Gruden said, via the Gators. "Everybody is bitching about college football and the direction it's headed, but Indiana figured it out. 

"So, I just think it's really cool what's happening here now. We need to get Florida back to where it was, and I think Jon Sumrall is the kind of coach that can wake up this giant."

Gruden and Sumrall both met in 2004 at the Manning Quarterback Camp and hit it off. Gruden, known for being a strong personality, thinks Sumrall is kind of like him.

"I think he's wired like I am," Gruden said. "I like Sumrall, man. I don't know him like my best friend, but I can tell by those few days I was hanging out with him that … yeah … I'd ride with that guy."

Florida is hoping that its new roster will ride with Sumrall this fall. Sumrall got the best out of his players at Tulane, as the Green Wave made it to the College Football Playoff last season.

It'll be interesting to see how the staff responds to learning from great football minds like Meyer, Gruden, and Spurrier. The Gators players should be the better for it.