Jon Sumrall demands a visceral reaction to defeat, leveraging the "gut punch" of losing to fuel a championship culture and transform Florida into an unwavering SEC powerhouse.
Despite taking over a program that finished 4-8 last season, Jon Sumrall didn't shy away from believing Florida would win immediately in his first season with the program.
Sumrall admitted he needed to recruit better players for the Gators to win the College Football Playoff national championship. However, he'd be extremely disappointed if UF didn't make a bowl game after the regular season.
Sumrall is known as an intense head coach. He told Richard Johnson of CBS Sports that he wants to feel "nauseous" if he loses games this season.
"I really want the losses to make me nauseous," Sumrall said. "I want it to make me sick. I want to taste it fully. And so that way, it makes my desire to pursue what it takes to win even greater."
When defeated, Sumrall rolls with the punches. He recounted a story from his first season at Troy when his team was defeated by Appalachian State 32-28. The loss motivated his players to win out and finish the season ranked.
"My third game as head coach, we throw an interception, first play of the game against App State. I go on the headset, and I go 'Good. I don't want to watch our offense right now anyway.' Everybody said, 'What the hell is wrong with you?' And then we lose the game on a Hail Mary: good, we weren't ready to win a game like that.
"We need to get punched in the mouth and have the gut punch of losing on a Hail Mary. And then that team went on to win 11 straight games after that, finished 19th in the country in all of college football, went 12-2. You have to be unwavering, and you can't let the best of the best distract you, and you can't let the worst, the worst, rattle you."
This season could be a gut-wrenching season for Sumrall and the Gators. UF has serious questions with the offensive line and at quarterback.
However, the team will have an opportunity to be a surprise in the SEC if they buy into Sumrall's program in Week 1. He has a track record of getting Troy and Tulane ready to win a game right away.