Leading a historic turnaround from last year’s losing record, Florida's Jon Sumrall was recently honored.
After a dominant 4-0 start to the 2026 season, it felt like a no-brainer to see Florida Gators Jon Sumrall be named the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Month for September.
The sky is the limit for Sumrall and this team, and he could very well win this award in back-to-back months if the team is able to knock off both No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Georgia.
Obviously, all eyes are first on No. 25 Missouri, a team that is down a few key defensive players heading into this ranked matchup.
The question is, can Sumrall become the first Gators head coach to win the yearly award?
Sumrall has exceeded expectations
In no world does this look like the same team that went 4-8 (2-6) a year ago. The Gators are already 4-0 (1-0) and are the favorites on the road against Mizzou.
They'll likely be the favorites against every team they face this year not named the Longhorns or Bulldogs, but even those games seem like they're going to be much closer than originally expected.
Throughout their first four games with the team, no coach has scored more points (214) or had a larger scoring differential (+123).
To say Sumrall is making history would be an understatement; it's just a matter of whether or not this team is a true College Football Playoff contender or if they're just peaking early in the year.
While yes, last year Indiana's Curt Cignetti won this award, Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman won it the year prior, and Florida State's Mike Norvell won it in 2023, so it's not like it's National Championship or bust if Sumrall wants to be the Gators' first-ever Dodd Trophy Coach of the Year winner.
Gators haven't started 5-0 since 2019
Not only have the Gators not started 4-0 since 2019, but that also marks the last year when they got off to a 5-0 start.
The Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask era saw Florida go 6-0 before dropping a game at No. 5 LSU, 42-28.
With South Carolina looming after the Tigers showdown, there's no reason to believe that this Gators squad can't replicate that 6-0 start.
Things will get interesting at Texas and then in a neutral-site game against Georgia, but those are two games that will dictate just how good this team truly is and whether or not Sumrall could win the yearly award, which was established in 1976.
Other notable winners include: Brian Kelly, Kirk Ferentz, Nick Saban, and Dabo Swinney, among many others.
