Tulane expected to hire Jon Sumrall as new head coach

Jon Sumrall is moving on up. Tulane is expected to hire the former Kentucky player and assistant as its new head coach, per several reports. According to Ross Dellenger, the deal is expected to be finalized later today. Sumrall, the current head coach at Troy, was the co-defensive coordinator on Tulane’s staff from 2012-14.

Sumrall has led Troy to a 23-4 record and two Sun Belt Conference championships over the past two seasons. His name has been a popular one in the coaching carousel, and in the hours it appeared Mark Stoops was going to Texas A&M a few weeks ago, he was among the favorites to replace him.

Sumrall was a linebacker at Kentucky from 2002-04 and began his coaching career there as a graduate assistant. From there, he was an assistant at San Diego before joining Tulane’s staff in 2012. In 2014, he left for Troy, where he spent three seasons as the assistant head coach to Neal Brown. After a year at Ole Miss, Sumrall returned to Kentucky in 2019 to coach the inside linebackers. In 2021, he was promoted to co-defensive coordinator, a position he held for two seasons before leaving to take the head coaching job at Troy.

Sumrall was previously a candidate for the Duke coaching job, which went to Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz. Coincidentally, Troy plays Duke in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 23. The Trojans are the first Sun Belt team to face a Power 5 school in a bowl game ever, proof of what an incredible job Sumrall has done during his tenure.

Congrats to Sumrall. Ride that Green Wave until Mark Stoops rides off into the sunset.

UPDATE: Not so fast, says Pat Forde?

Update on Tulane and Jon Sumrall, per sources: deal not done, some work yet to do. Troy has made a “substantial commitment” to keep Sumrall. Expectation is that Tulane will either sew up the deal this afternoon or move on.

— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) December 8, 2023

UPDATE x 2: It’s official.

Welcome back to Uptown Jon Sumrall!

Join us in welcoming @CoachJonSumrall as the 42nd Head Coach of Tulane Football!

🔗 https://t.co/aV0OfUxChA#RollWave | #NOLABuilt pic.twitter.com/C4pdyiQoBS

— Tulane Football (@GreenWaveFB) December 8, 2023