New Florida head coach Jon Sumrall is making key changes to how the team runs the program. Urban Meyer offered his thoughts in a recent podcast.
Florida head coach Jon Sumrall is setting the tone for his new program this offseason, and he's taking part of his playbook from Gators legend Urban Meyer.
Sumrall made sure logos were not provided to players on their team gear this offseason. Florida players have to earn the right to wear the Gator logo, and the head coach isn't sure when he'll let them wear it again.
"Gotta earn it. Gotta earn the logo," Sumrall said. "We ain't earned it yet. We haven't earned a damn thing. All we've got is our name. ... To wear the Florida Gator logo, to wear the Gators across your helmet, to wear the Gator head, you got to earn that."
Meyer did the same thing when he took over at Florida in 2005.
During Wednesday's episode of "The Triple Option" podcast, Meyer said he agreed with Sumrall's decision to take the logo away.
“I love it,” Meyer said, via a transcription from On3. “I agree with it, and I did it at a couple of stops. Bowling Green I did it, but we didn’t have gear. We didn’t have enough money to buy gear.
"Utah we did it to a degree... At Florida, we took everything away and I wanted to prove a point. The expectations are a National Championship caliber team and that’s what Steve Spurrier did. If you’re not doing that, you’re going to hear it."
Meyer didn't just set the standard with his players. He made sure his assistant coaches had an incentive, giving raises to certain assistants after the season.
“There was a time where coaches would get a raise as a staff," Meyer said. "I took that away. I said ‘we’re not doing that’. If you’re a great coach you get a bigger raise.
"If you’re not a great coach, you won’t get the raise. We don’t do it as a group. You do it as individuals. Same with the team. You don’t just earn it back, you earn it back if you bust your (expletive).”
Meyer called Florida a team to "watch" out for in 2026. He's buying stock for the program before Sumrall's coached a snap.
Maybe it's because Meyer sees a little of himself in Sumrall.