Fresh off a playoff run, Jon Sumrall identifies critical funding gaps and roster issues stalling the Gators. The new coach must now bridge a multi-million-dollar resource deficit.
New Florida Gators head coach Jon Sumrall is an eternal optimist.
Coming a 4-8 season, Sumrall believes he has the pieces to make a bowl game at minimum this fall. He wants to build a winner as soon as possible, but noted he needs time to bring in his own recruits before UF competes for the national championship.
Sumrall has a history of turning around Group of 6 programs. He won with Troy right away, and took Tulane to the College Football Playoff last season.
During an interview with Damien Harris of CBS Sports last week, Sumrall noted that he's been evaluating what is good and bad with the Florida program. He did say that there are thins with the program that "need attention."
"Every time you walk in new, you have to evaluate the landscape of what you're walking into," Sumrall said. "When I took the head job at Troy, I kept half the coaching staff off a team that had gone 5-7 three straight years. The next year, we went 12-2 and finished 19th in the country.
"Everything here is not completely broken. Are there things that need attention? Yes, and so when you walk into a new situation, you're evaluating what's going well (and) what's not going well."
One thing Sumrall wants is more investment in the program. He thinks Florida is well behind other SEC schools in terms of funding.
"I think there are certain teams that are, I would say, $15 million above us at minimum in college football right now and in our conference," Sumrall said to On3.
"For us to have championship expectations and standards year in and year out, we’ve got to make sure we’re pushing the envelope to get resources like that."
Sumrall knows he needs to prove to boosters that he can win at Florida before he gets the type of funding that wins championships.
UF invested heavily in head coach Billy Napier last season, and the money wasn't well spent. Sumrall is still dealing with the ramifications of brining some players into Gainesville that need extra motivation to succeed.
