Jon Sumrall nearly ended up at Auburn. Now, he'll coach against Tigers at Florida - USA Today
This weekend, Auburn football will aim to continue its undefeated start under first-year head coach Alex Golesh when it hosts Florida on Saturday, Sept. 19.
For the Tigers, it will be more than just its SEC opener. It will be a look at what might have been.
While Auburn is off to a strong start under Golesh, it will be facing off Saturday against a coach, Jon Sumrall, to whom it was tied during its search to replace Hugh Freeze. That connection will add a level of intrigue to what was already going to be a fascinating matchup between two decorated programs with first-year head coaches.
What went into the Tigers’ search last season? And how did it involve Sumrall? Here’s a closer look:
When Auburn fired Freeze on Nov. 2, 2025, nine games into the third season of an ill-fated tenure at the school, no shortage of names emerged as potential saviors to bring the program back to SEC and national championship contention.
Among those replacements, one name began popping up more frequently than others.
Over the previous four years, Sumrall had established himself as one of the best coaches from outside the Power Four conferences. After going 23-4 in two seasons at Troy, where he won a pair of Sun Belt championships, he went to Tulane, where he went 20-8 and led the Green Wave to an appearance in the College Football Playoff in 2025.
His appeal to Auburn went beyond just wins and losses: He had experience in the SEC, having served as an assistant at Kentucky and Mississippi. He had roots in the state, growing up in Huntsville and having coached at Troy (the latter of which is about 75 miles southwest of Auburn). His wife, Ginny, is an Auburn graduate.
There were more than just superficial connections between Sumrall and the Tigers.
In mid-November, about three weeks after Freeze was fired, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Sumrall “has been a prime candidate and target from the start of that job” during an appearance on “The Paul Finebaum Show.”
Auburn wasn’t alone in vying for his services, though, particularly in the SEC. There was an opening at Arkansas. LSU had come open after biting the $54 million bullet to fire Brian Kelly. Then, of course, there was Florida, which was fighting with LSU for Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss.
By Nov. 29, what once seemed like an ideal candidate for Auburn was off the board, with multiple outlets reporting that Sumrall had withdrawn his name from the Tigers’ search. One day later, he was hired by Florida, which had lost out to LSU in the Kiffin sweepstakes.
Auburn pivoted, hiring Golesh on Nov. 30. The move was reported within minutes of Florida’s hiring of Sumrall.
Golesh had done remarkable work at South Florida, where he went 23-15 in three seasons after inheriting a program that had gone 4-29 in the four seasons before he arrived. His final team went 9-3 and finished fifth in the FBS in scoring offense, at 40.5 points per game, giving the Tigers much of the dynamic offensive identity they were promised under Freeze, but seldom received.
Another point that made Golesh stand out to Auburn was his history against Alabama: He was the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach for Tennessee football in 2022 when they beat the Crimson Tide for the first time since 2006. At South Florida, his Bulls continued to give the Tide fits in 2023 and 2024, losing 17-3 and 42-16 in games closer than the scores would suggest.
Sumrall signed a six-year contract with Florida that will total $44.7 million in salary. He’s set to make $7.45 million in his first year as the Gators’ coach.
Golesh, meanwhile, signed a nearly identical contract in terms of the basic financials, agreeing to a six-year deal that pays $44.25 million in total salary at Auburn.
