Florida hires Jon Sumrall: Urban Meyer endorses Gators' next coach, praises his winning record

Florida's hiring of Jon Sumrall has gotten plenty of praise, and it now has the endorsement of legendary Gators coach Urban Meyer. After the news broke, Meyer posted his seal of approval on social media.

Meyer praised Sumrall for his ability to win everywhere he's been. In four seasons, split evenly between Troy and Tulane, Sumrall has compiled a career record of 42-11 with two Sun Belt Conference championships. He can add an American Conference title to his resume this weekend.

"What a special day for Gator Nation," Meyer said. "Welcome head football coach Jon Sumrall, one of the top five coaches in winning percentage in college football. I've studied coach Sumrall. I got to spend some time with him over the last few months. His teams are tough, they're physical and he creates a competitive environment. If he wins the conference championship this year, it'll be the third conference championship over the past four years."

Meyer knows what it takes to win in Gainesville. He put together a 65-15 record at Florida, which included two SEC championships and two national championships. Throughout his 17-year coaching career at the college level, Meyer went 187-32 with seven conference championships and three national titles.

Since Meyer stepped down at Florida following the 2010 season, the Gators have struggled to regain their status as national championship contenders. Florida hasn't won more than eight games since 2019, and Sumrall will be the program's fifth coach since Meyer's departure.

One of the team's biggest issues in recent years has been the lack of explosiveness on offense, a staple of Florida football under coaches like Meyer and Steve Spurrier. In his first statement as the Gators' next head coach, Sumrall said it's "mandatory" for the program to have a high-powered offense.