← Josh Pate's College Football Show
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- [00:00]
Podcast Host
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:02]
Jennifer Coolidge
Guaranteed Human thy ticket, lady Jennifer of Coolidge.
- [00:07]
Discover Card Spokesperson
Well, many thanks, good sir. Here is my Discover card.
- [00:13]
Podcast Host
They accept Discover at Renaissance Fairs?
- [00:15]
Discover Card Spokesperson
Yeah, they do. Here. Discover is accepted at the places I love to shop. Get it with the times.
- [00:22]
John Sumrall
With the times.
- [00:23]
Vintage Store Shopper
You're playing the lute.
- [00:26]
Discover Card Spokesperson
Yeah, and it sounds pretty good, right?
- [00:28]
Discover Card Announcer
Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide, based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.
- [00:35]
Julian Edelman
This is Julian Edelman from Dudes on Dudes with Gronk and Jewels. All right, real quick, take a look at yourself right now.
- [00:41]
Podcast Guest (Jack)
Why? What's wrong?
- [00:42]
Julian Edelman
Nothing's wrong. You look like a guy running on three hours of sleep and vibes.
- [00:47]
Podcast Guest (Jack)
Okay, yeah, I'm tired, kind of cranky and very thirsty.
- [00:51]
Julian Edelman
Congrats. Those are some of the potential signs of mild dehydration. And I bet your last bathroom break showed you another sign your body might be throwing you a penalty flag.
- [01:03]
Podcast Guest (Jack)
So what's the play?
- [01:04]
Julian Edelman
Call Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier. One stick in water helps hydrate faster than water alone.
- [01:12]
Podcast Guest (Jack)
Okay, but where's the proof?
- [01:14]
Julian Edelman
Liquid IV's clinical studies. Not just a guy I know real science. Results you can trust.
- [01:22]
Podcast Guest (Jack)
Well, take a look at me now. Liquid IV is officially part of my daily hydration routine. Past the firecracker popsicle flavor.
- [01:30]
Julian Edelman
Stay hydrated like a pro, not like Jack. Before this. Stock up on Liquid IV hydration multiplier@liquid-iv.com and use the promo code nuthouse for 20 off your first purchase.
- [01:47]
Public Investing Announcer
Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year. You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public
- [02:33]
Public Investing Legal Disclaimer
Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice.
- [02:44]
Public Investing Announcer
Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures this
- [02:47]
Jacob Goldstein
is Jacob Goldstein from what's yous Problem?
- [02:50]
Jennifer Coolidge
Business software is expensive and when you
- [02:53]
Jacob Goldstein
buy software from lots of different companies, it's not only expensive, it gets confusing. Slow to use, hard to integrate.
- [03:00]
Jennifer Coolidge
Odoo solves that because all Odoo software
- [03:03]
Jacob Goldstein
is connected on a single affordable platform. Save money without missing out on the features you need. Odoo has no hidden costs and no limit on features or data.
- [03:12]
Jennifer Coolidge
Odoo has over 60 apps available for
- [03:15]
Jacob Goldstein
any needs your business might have, all at no additional charge. Everything from websites to sales to inventory to accounting. All linked and talking to each other.
- [03:25]
Jennifer Coolidge
Check out Odoo at o d o o.com that's O-O-O.com.
- [03:44]
Josh (Interviewer)
Last year was crazy. I mean there was a lot of mid season guys are getting fired. That means mid season guys names are all over the hot seat conversations and the hiring pot conversation. So your name was in there. You had experienced that before, a couple of cycles actually, but it became pretty apparent last year. Like this is probably the year it's going to happen. But like go back to Halloween, go back to October. If I showed you a fast forward, it's going to be Florida, how realistic or believable would that have been to you?
- [04:15]
John Sumrall
Not very believable. Yeah, I, I, you know, right, wrong or indifferent. I've been really fortunate to be in this position essentially every year as a head coach where your name's brought up, that means you have a good football team with a good staff and you're winning, which is a positive. I knew there would be opportunities, didn't know exactly what all would or wouldn't be available to me, but I didn't think Florida was maybe going to be the right fit or the right timing for whatever reason. As the process unfolded, the more that became clear to me what this thing looked like here and maybe what the fit looked like. For me it really became more transparent that this is where I felt led and where I felt like I fit the best.
- [05:00]
Josh (Interviewer)
I think anybody watching this chances are they've never been up for one of these jobs. So they look around the sec, for example, and you got your Florida and your Auburn, Bama, Georgia. There's just a bunch of big jobs. But to them the main difference is how different the stadium looks, how different the jersey looks and they've got the tradition and whatnot, but they don't really ever get to See under the hood. So when you start to, like, vet a job, as the job's vetting you and you're talking about fit, what specifically does that mean to you? What do you need to see somewhere?
- [05:30]
John Sumrall
Well, I just think, does the place believe in your vision for what you want to do and how you want to do it? And I think it's important to know that the administration is fully behind the direction you want to take the program. And there's no utopia. Right. Like, I don't care. Every place, every job has strengths and weaknesses, but at the end of the day, you want to know that the people that you're working for, they got your back and they believe in what you're about.
- [06:01]
Josh (Interviewer)
What kind of questions? If I'm an athletic director and you're really like, interviewing for a job, but you're feeling me out, too, to know that that box is checked for you, like, how thorough does it have to get? What do you need to know from me before you know, man, I think I can win there.
- [06:16]
John Sumrall
Well, I think the questions maybe are organic and they are in the back and forth in conversation. So it's not, hey, it's my turn to ask questions. I've got these seven questions. You're, as you go through the process, in those conversations, yeah, you're asking about rev share and nil. Because in this world, that matters. And it's not the end all be all, though there's also a component of. Do you feel like. Like I hit on a minute ago, does that university, does that administration, do they believe in what you want to do and how you want to do it? You gather that maybe just by asking simple questions, whether it be about how you recruit, how you build the staff, how you build or structure practice, how you entertain or engage with fans and donors and those sort of things, and just making sure that you know you're going to have maybe alignment that gives you comfort that they believe in what you're trying to get done.
- [07:22]
Josh (Interviewer)
You knew, because you're not stupid, that the last guy who had been the head coach here, the whole book on him was, man, that's a G5 coach. We tried, it didn't work. And then there were names rumored here, and then those names don't work out. And then they're going to go to me, kind of a lazy route. But the route, the narrative is we're just going to go another G5 coach now. You're aware of that?
- [07:47]
John Sumrall
Yeah.
- [07:47]
Josh (Interviewer)
So I got to. I got to imagine even on the plane flight over here, you Know that you're about to take the podium, you're about to do media for the next several months with the understanding that, all right, that's what a certain chunk of this fan base believes about me. That's how they view me. And now it's up to me to change their mind. How much does that matter to you?
- [08:05]
John Sumrall
You know, it doesn't really matter to me a whole lot. I'm unapologetically myself. I'm not naive. I'm aware to maybe the environment or the landscape that was out in front of me. And so after my first conversation with the administration here and the search committee here, I remember thinking, man, University of Florida, like, wow, that would be awesome. And I also really quickly remember thinking, they're not going to hire another G5 coach from Louisiana. No chance. Like, zero percent. Not. Because I'm the same as what was here. And I have a ton of respect for Billy. Not knocking who Billy is. I think he's been really successful, but we're not the same guy. And I think he did a lot of things here that I think will allow us to hopefully have some success, that he invested a lot of sweat equity into this program. But I do think it's a lazy take to think just because somebody maybe had come from a similar level, that we're the same guy. The thing I will tell you, too, is had I come here, or any SEC job for that matter, after my second year, first year at Troy, I probably would not have been ready. I needed a step in between, like I did. I'm not saying everybody else does. I did. That's why when, after the 23 season, and we, you know, went. Got done at Troy and we had gone 23 and four, I think, in two years and won two conference championships, and there were other jobs open than Tulane that year. As I evaluate the landscape of the open jobs that year, the one that attracted me the most was Tulane for several reasons. One, I felt like we could win. Two, my family liked the place and knew the place. And three, professionally, I felt like it was a gradual step towards larger infrastructure, more resourcing, different type of recruiting, maybe different scope of what you can maybe accomplish at that place year in, year out, without maybe having to take such a big leap that I was going to maybe get lost in some of the things you have to be good at. So it gave me a little bit better training on how to manage some things that I have to manage here. That was a gradual step instead of the big jump.
- [10:27]
Josh (Interviewer)
I remember also watching you go From Troy to Tulane, thinking, man, that's pretty good hire for Tulane. But on the flip side, it was the first time someone really observed you on a bigger stage and how you took a new job. And specifically from the hiring perspective, like, you've been really public about this since then in that just because you're my buddy, just because I like you doesn't mean you're necessarily coming with me. And I remember watching that and I remember thinking, man, there's some guys that are still a Troy, or maybe some guys that weren't retained or added to his new roster that are just going elsewhere. That, that's a. That's really separating business and personal right there. And then you've really exclamated that with how you took the Florida job. But that's not normal. Like, that's not an easy thing to do. The comfort level would be, I got a new job, let me bring all my boys with me. And you've, you've talked publicly, but I'd like for you to talk about it again, how you got it. Totally separate that when it comes time to put a staff together.
- [11:19]
John Sumrall
Yeah. When I took the job at Troy, my first head coaching job in December 2021, there were several of my friends that probably thought they were going to get a call to come. You don't just hire your friends. You hire the people that fit in the place that can help you have success. It doesn't mean your friends can't do that. But that's not the number one criteria on selecting your staff. Each place is unique and different. Troy's not Tulane. Tulane's not Florida. All pieces don't always fit in the same exact spot. I did bring a significant number of guys with me from Troy to Tulane. Not everybody, but a significant number. And then once again, I brought a significant number from Tulane here. But as you make moves, you have to evaluate. My number one job as the head coach is to put together the absolute best eff I can for where I'm at, not for where I was. Okay. And so when I took this job, both coordinators came. You know, Joe Craddock and Greg Gasparado have both done great jobs for me the last couple years. Yeah, I hired Brad White and Buster Faulkner to be the coordinators here. And Joe and Gas are in those rooms with those guys. I want as many coordinator type thinkers as I can have. I want people around me that make me better, that challenge me as a head coach. I'm not looking for yes men. I'm looking for people that sharpen me and challenge me and that man. We can have critical conversation to make each other better. And, you know, within that too, every time you hire a staff, I want that staff to grow. I want the individuals on staff to grow. There are several guys that aren't here at Florida that are still at Tulane, that are with me that I would love to have here right now. Some of them are like little brothers to me. Taylor Polk was my linebacker coach and co DC at Tulane. He'd be. He's ready to be a big time coach at this level too. But he had the opportunity to stay at Tulane and become the defensive coordinator. Now he's calling the shots. He's maybe cutting his teeth in a different way than he would just being a position coach here. And so I think as a head coach, you're tasked with doing the best you can for the place you're at while simultaneously helping everybody on your staff grow to become the best they can be. And sometimes that means them staying where you were or taking jobs at other places that aren't where you're going because every fit looks a little bit different.
- [13:57]
Josh (Interviewer)
This concept you talked about of maybe taking steps up the ladder professionally instead of leaps and bounds up the ladder and talking about how there were things probably you needed to learn that you learned at Tulane that you would have been completely out in left field on had you taken an SEC job immediately. What are one or two of those things that come to mind specifically?
- [14:18]
John Sumrall
Yeah, so Nil and Rev share would be big ones, you know, my collective at Troy, I essentially gathered some people in the local community to start the collective. A big part of our collective was CPAP machines, sleep apnea disorders. I mean, it was like mom and pop type issues. I get around that. You know, Part of my Nil packages at Troy were Chick fil A sandwiches, right? Like, that's not a bad package. Not a bad package. I love Chick Fil A, but not exactly high dollar compensation. We had a budget. I was on the ground floor of creating the collective for Troy. Even though I couldn't necessarily be the operator because of my role, I tasked people locally like, hey, we need your help to win football games here. Here's what that looks like. And those people, those local people in Troy, Alabama, who are still dear friends of mine to this day and will be for my entire life, they stepped up and answered the call. Now you leave a place like Troy and you go to Tulane. Now all of a sudden there is a different level of resourcing for the G5 level that is A elevated number on the nil rev share. It's not the top one or two in the American, like Tulane. We're probably fourth or fifth in that league. But we. We at least had significantly more resources than we had at Troy in a city to recruit to and a different city. The other thing I liked about leaving Troy to go to Tulane was this. Troy is southeast rural Alabama. I fit in really good. There's. It's a teacher's college, man.
- [16:02]
Josh (Interviewer)
It's.
- [16:03]
John Sumrall
It's a small college town. It's right wing conservative, and then you go to Tulane, which is interstate New Orleans. All right? It is not a small college town. It's a city. It's a really big. It's a really. I call it a really small, big town or a really small, big city. Right? Like, it's not a huge city. It's not New York, Atlanta, but it's. It's a city. It's urban to some degree. It's got law school, it's got medical school. It's got all these other academic endeavors that are maybe a different type of academic environment and a little bit different pace, a little bit different style of living. So part of me wanted to take what we did at Troy and go, hey, I want to try this over here and see if it still works. You know, you think, like, proof of concept. It worked here. Will it work there? And so that kind of gave me a little bit of, like, a new life, a little bit of an invigoration to like, let's test this somewhere else and see does our model work.
- [17:04]
Vintage Store Shopper
Oh, could this vintage store be any cuter?
- [17:07]
Podcast Host
Right?
- [17:08]
Discover Card Spokesperson
And the best part, they accept Discover.
- [17:10]
Vintage Store Shopper
Except Discover in a little place like this. I don't think so, Jennifer.
- [17:14]
Discover Card Spokesperson
Oh, yeah.
- [17:15]
John Sumrall
Huh?
- [17:15]
Discover Card Spokesperson
Discover's accepted where I like to shop. Come on, baby, get with the times.
- [17:20]
Vintage Store Shopper
Right.
- [17:21]
John Sumrall
So we shouldn't get the parachute pants.
- [17:23]
Discover Card Spokesperson
These are making a comeback, I think.
- [17:27]
Discover Card Announcer
Discover is accepted at 99 of places that take credit cards nationwide. Based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.
- [17:34]
Julian Edelman
This is Julian Edelman from Dudes on Dudes with Gronk and Jules. All right, real quick, take a look at yourself right now.
- [17:41]
Podcast Guest (Jack)
Why? What's wrong?
- [17:42]
Julian Edelman
Nothing's wrong. You look like a guy running on three hours of sleep and vibes.
- [17:46]
Podcast Guest (Jack)
Okay, yeah, I'm tired, kind of cranky, and very thirsty.
- [17:51]
Julian Edelman
Congrats. Those are some of the potential signs of mild dehydration. And I bet your last bathroom break showed you another sign your body might be throwing you a penalty flag. So what's the play call Liquid IV hydration multiplier 1 stick in water helps hydrate faster than water alone. Okay, but where's the proof Liquid IV's clinical studies not just a guy I know real science results you can trust.
- [18:22]
Podcast Guest (Jack)
Well, take a look at me now. Liquid IV is officially part of my daily hydration routine. Past the firecracker popsicle flavor.
- [18:29]
Julian Edelman
Stay hydrated like a pro, not like Jack. Before this. Stock up on Liquid IV hydration multiplier@liquid-iv.com and use the promo code nuthouse for 20% off your first purchase.
- [18:46]
Public Investing Announcer
Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public
- [19:33]
Public Investing Legal Disclaimer
Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIP Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice.
- [19:44]
Public Investing Announcer
Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures this
- [19:47]
Jacob Goldstein
is Jacob Goldstein from what's yous Problem?
- [19:50]
Jennifer Coolidge
Business software is expensive and when you
- [19:52]
Jacob Goldstein
buy software from lots of different companies, it's not only expensive, it gets confusing. Slow to use, hard to integrate.
- [20:00]
Jennifer Coolidge
Odoo solves that because all Odoo software
- [20:02]
Jacob Goldstein
is connected on a single affordable platform. Save money without missing out on the features you need. Odoo has no hidden costs and no limit on features or data.
- [20:12]
Jennifer Coolidge
Odoo has over 60 apps available for
- [20:15]
Jacob Goldstein
any needs your business might have, all at no additional charge. Everything from websites to sales to inventory to accounting. All linked and talking to each other.
- [20:24]
Jennifer Coolidge
Check out Odoo at O D O o dot com. That's O D O o dot com
- [20:33]
Josh (Interviewer)
I've been down here every year the past several years, at least once, if not multiple times. Always struck me how ready Florida was from just a pure infrastructure standpoint, it looks no different here than if you walk in Ohio State or Alabama, Georgia, Texas, etc. The results on the field weren't always there. But I remember always, every time I would leave here, I would say they got so it feels like they got so many of the right people in the building. So then when the coaching transition happened, I didn't know you were going to get the job necessarily, but whoever was going to get the job, I was really curious how many of the off field, off camera support staff types is that person going to retain? And so you came in and I've seen a number of the faces around here that I saw the last couple of years. So, like, we'll get to what you wanted to change in a second, but how much of what you saw here, whether it be administratively or facilities, whatever, did you walk in and say, I like this. Fine, there's no reason to change this
- [21:30]
John Sumrall
a significant amount, you know. And going back to drawing upon past experiences, when I walked in at Troy and they had only won five games a year for three straight years, I kept half the staff and we flipped it fast. Well, were there some things here that I felt like needed to be recalibrated and adjusted? Yes. Were there a lot of things going right here that I think could create some synergy and help us have success also? Yes. Jake Sankel works in nutrition here. Jake's an absolute rock star. I didn't hire Jake Senkle. He was here when I got here. He'd worked for the Washington Commanders. The in what used to be the Cleveland Indians. I don't know their name now. I think they're called the Guardians or something. Yeah, I'm not real comfortable with all that all the way. But either way, the Jake is a strength coach by trade who went back and became a nutritionist. So we have a head nutrition guy who also is a strength coach.
- [22:27]
Josh (Interviewer)
This dude's like talking to an astronaut, basically.
- [22:29]
John Sumrall
He is pretty crazy. He's a rock star. Like, I'm in awe of his training and his knowledge and his approach, his level of detail. He was here. And so when I got to meet with him and learn who he was and what he was about, I'm like, all right, you're not allowed to leave. Like, you gotta stay. There were a ton of examples like that. Our life skills program, Gator Made man. Unbelievable. Like, we equip our players here in a way that blows my mind every day. To have exposures to real life things that help make them better for life after football, I was like, all right, I want this to sort of look the same to some degree. And so there were several areas in recruiting. I think our high school recruiting side here had been run at a really high level. I think we needed to change some things maybe on the other side the portal and be a little bit more aggressive in certain areas to flip this thing quicker. But there are a lot of people in house already here that I felt like, man, they may fit. And as you walk into new environments, I think the most important thing you do is you evaluate and you listen. It's not talk. I wanted to hear from some of the players. I met with the leaders here and I met with several of them one on one. And I said, hey, give me a couple things that you've liked that have been going on here. Give me a couple things you think need to be addressed. And I'm not saying I'm just going to do them because you bring them up, but it's my way of empowering the locker room because I want their voice to be heard. This is a player driven program. That's the way I run it. It. And so for me, there were certain people already here that I thought could help add to the equation.
- [24:10]
Josh (Interviewer)
So on the flip side of that, what were some of the most common answers you got from leadership on the team, from people inside the building, and then from your own observation, what were some of the first things you realized that. That. That we just got to address it?
- [24:24]
John Sumrall
Yeah. One that I think was something needed to be addressed that I was going to address either way because I have somebody that is my guy, if you will, is the weight room. I feel like just the alignment of head coach, weight room, athletic training room has to be really, really on point for you to have any opportunity to have success. And so I think, I think the culture of your weight, of your team is really established and developed in the weight room. The work ethic, the toughness, the mindset you want to have as a football team, man, it starts down there. And so that was a big area for me to make sure we've gotten the staff. Rusty Witt's been with me last four years, you know, going back to keeping people. Rusty was headstring coach at Troy when I took the job. I was firing Rusty when I took the Troy job. I already had a couple people in mind to replace him with. And I did my homework and I'm like, okay, this guy may fit now he's not allowed to leave. He. I won't let him out of the building now. But Rusty coming has been a big part of that for me. And then I would just say maybe the alignment with the coaching staff and the string staff being really cohesive is something I felt like needed to be maybe improved. And then from my perspective, as I got to know the people here, there were good coaches here. There were, but I just felt like maybe the staff being in sync together and maybe being on the same page and how I hire staff, I'm really strategic about how I put things together. I'm really thorough, I'm really detailed. I measure twice, I cut once. And so I had a lot of conversations about what the staff fit was going to look like and how we were going to build out a staff in all three phases of football so that we could elevate what we're doing on the field.
- [26:15]
Josh (Interviewer)
Give me a, give me a feel. Specifically offensive staff, what the year one out of the gate strategy was. The face of that is you hired Buster Faulkner. There are a lot of other guys in the building on that staff. But. But what was the overall vision there?
- [26:29]
John Sumrall
Well, I've known Buster for a while, a ton of respect for what he's done in his career. You know, Buster really, you know, played at Valdosta State, sort of groomed by Chris Hatcher, who's a Mike Leach disciple, so comes from that air raid type tree. Okay. And that's what he was as a young coach. He spent some time at Georgia working with the quarterbacks with Mike Bobo and Kirby Smart and was there coaching Stetson Bennett and was hands on during that time there in that quarterback room. And so really then became exposed a little bit more to probably a pro style type of offense. And then he goes to Georgia Tech. I interviewed Buster for the OC job at Troy when I took that job and just wasn't the right timing at that time for him or for me for him to move his family and do those sort of things. But we had had conversations when I took that job. He goes to Georgia Tech, has Haynes, King, and then once again, I think evolves again by what he does offensively to create an offensive package around a quarterback that's a run first player at times. And so I think multiplicity, flexibility, adapting to your personnel, those are the things that excited me about Buster. I think the ability to change tempos. You know, I'm not a big believer of just running tempo to say we're a tempo team. I'm also not a big believer in just saying, hey, we're going to get into a huddle and play like pro style, NFL team do. I think you have to embrace the college game and you have to build around your people. I think Buster does a great job of that. And I think one other thing that I think gave me real confidence in hiring Buster's the OC here was his approach to hiring an offensive staff. Because when I brought up to him, hey, Joe Craddock, my offensive coordinator, he's going with me wherever I go. Even if it's not as the offensive coordinator, he's coming. And Buster's like, hell yeah, he's coming. Like he's helped you get to where you are. Like he needs to be a part of that with us. And so that Evan McKissick had been my line coach at Tulane. He's coaching tight ends here. So there was a really cool blending of staffs and then adding some pieces that weren't with me or with Buster. Marcus Davis been the receivers coach at Auburn the last few years. Getting Marcus here is a big time get. A South Florida native who played in the SEC is coached in this league was not with Buster or myself. And so I think hearing Buster's vision for how to build the staff around him as well gave me more confidence. He was the right fit for me.
- [28:55]
Josh (Interviewer)
What was your impression of the roster you were just straight up inheriting when you walked in? Before you ever addressed recruiting portal? Just the guys, if we keep them, the guys that we're going to have here that I had no say in signing, but this is what I'm inheriting.
- [29:10]
John Sumrall
Yeah. I would say the hardest part of that, to be honest, Josh, was I was doing two jobs for about a month.
- [29:16]
Public Investing Announcer
Yep.
- [29:17]
Josh (Interviewer)
And so you had the audacity to make the playoff.
- [29:20]
John Sumrall
Yeah, yeah. Like maybe the stupidity, but. But yeah, we, we. I take this job officially the Sunday after the last regular season game. All right, We. Because we won the last regular season game, we were in the conference championship game that next week, which was a Friday night game. All right, we have a Sunday walkthrough because we were really like a Monday in a game week schedule. Then I have a. On Monday I have a Tuesday practice because it was a Tuesday. In the game week schedule, we have that practice that Monday morning. I fly right here for a press conference, all right, get off the plane, do the press conference, get back on the plane, fly back to New Orleans. On Tuesday we have a Wednesday practice, all right. On Wednesday we have a Thursday practice because the game's on Friday again. But we also have this thing called national signing day. All right? So I'm sitting in New Orleans, Louisiana and the staff that was here in place help us sign 18 players at the University of Florida, 16 of which were committed when I took the job. Which tells you a lot about this place because those kids still wanted to come here regardless of the head coaching change. We lost two D commitments through a head coaching change. We signed 14 players for two lane and Tulane has no head coach for 2026's team and we still signed 14 kids there. Go play a game on Friday night, win the conference championship, make the College Football Playoff. So then I'm extended a couple more weeks with doing two jobs. I was not sleeping just so after hours I could figure out who is on this football team. And there were some obvious knowns, like I knew who Jayden Ball was. Not real hard, like if you got a pulse, you know who Jaden Ball is. But there were some other players throughout the roster that I was really, really quickly having to assimilate with, like who are these guys? What are they about? And I was doing that between the hours of like 10pm and 2am and I was going to bed at about 2am, waking up at about 4:30 or 5 and going back to work for Tulane. And so for a while I was wearing multiple hats. I also don't think I'd have been able to do the job well of trying to retain the roster, you know, finish signing day without the help of so many people that were here and then someone that were added here, whether that be Katie Turner Decker, she's a rock star that works in our personnel side. She handles all of our recruiting operations stuff. She held the class together more than anybody. She, she, I mean she did it single handedly. But then on the roster retention side, Dave Caldwell, who's our gm, who's been an NFL GM and was with the Eagles several years after being the GM of the Jaguars. Dave was able to come in with me simultaneously and help me figure out the current roster here in place along with Nick Polk who had been here. And so really those people assisted me a great deal in quickly figuring out how do we roster build for 26 just to have a chance to be competitive immediately.
- [32:27]
Jennifer Coolidge
Thy ticket lady, Jennifer of Coolidge.
- [32:29]
Discover Card Spokesperson
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Podcast Host
They accept Discover at Renaissance Fairs?
- [32:37]
Discover Card Spokesperson
Yeah, they do here. Discover is accepted at the places I love to shop. Get it with the times.
- [32:44]
John Sumrall
With the times.
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Vintage Store Shopper
You're playing the loot. Yeah.
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Discover Card Spokesperson
And it sounds pretty good, right?
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- [32:57]
Julian Edelman
This is Julian Edelman from Dudes on Dudes with Gronk and Jewels. All right, real quick. Take a look at yourself right now.
- [33:03]
Podcast Guest (Jack)
Why? What's wrong?
- [33:04]
Julian Edelman
Nothing's wrong. You look like a guy running on three hours of sleep and vibes.
- [33:09]
Podcast Guest (Jack)
Okay, yeah, I'm tired, kind of cranky and very thirsty.
- [33:13]
Julian Edelman
Congrats. Those are some of the potential signs of mild dehydration. And I bet your last bathroom break showed you another sign your body might be throwing you a penalty flag.
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Podcast Guest (Jack)
So what's the play?
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Julian Edelman
Call Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier. One stick in water helps hydrate faster than water alone.
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Podcast Guest (Jack)
Okay, but where's the proof?
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Julian Edelman
Liquid IV's clinical studies. Not just a guy I know real science results you can trust.
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Podcast Guest (Jack)
Well, take a look at me now. Liquid IV is officially part of my daily hydration routine. Pass the firecracker Popsicle flavor.
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Julian Edelman
Stay hydrated like a pro, not like Jack. Before this. Stock up on Liquid IV hydration multiplier@liquid-iv.com and use the promo code nuthouse for 20 off your first purchase.
- [34:09]
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Public Investing Legal Disclaimer
Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice.
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Public Investing Announcer
Complete disclosure is available at public.com disclosures
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Jacob Goldstein
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- [35:55]
Josh (Interviewer)
Let's say you're here now. You got a job. Congrats. Everybody claps. And then this upcoming season, inevitably some other big jobs are going to come open. So let's say I'm a head coach, comparable to the position you were in last year. I know my name's going to be involved in a lot of searches and I hit you up. It's like late September. Guys are getting fired. My name's starting to circulate. I hit you up and say, you went through this last year. I need any advice that you got. What are you telling me?
- [36:24]
John Sumrall
Be transparent with your team. Number one, I met with my team. I didn't wait till September. I met with my team last July. I did a guest speaker series where I had Kellen Moore, the head coach of the Saints, and Michael Parrington, the director of pro personnel with the Saints, come talk to our team. I had a financial planner come talk to our team. I had an NFL agent come talk to our team. At the end of the summer, the last guest speaker was me. I got up in front of the team and I said, guys, here's the deal. It's late July. I want to make the College Football Playoff. I think you all do too, right? Yeah, we all do. At the end of the year, y' all will have this thing called the transfer portal if you want to leave. I'd grown very comfortable with losing players because I couldn't afford to keep some of the players we had developed. And I said, you're going to have an opportunity to leave. And if it's right for you to leave and somebody wants to triple what you make or quadruple what you make, or in Darian Mintz's case, 10 times what you make, I'll high five you out the door. I may have opportunities. When we have success, you're going to hear my name floated. That's a credit to everybody in the building, not just me. I'm going to do this with y'. All. I'm going to finish to the last game. Ask everybody else in the room. Finish to the last game. If it's time for you to leave after the last game, move on. And so I think getting out in front of that and being transparent is really important, number one, because I think it maybe removes this ambiguous cloud of, like, what if coach leaves or what if this happens? I was brutally honest with our guys, almost to a fault, probably. Like, I pulled back the curtain for them so they could see what really goes on in the show. And so I would start there. So I'd say, if they're calling in September, they're a little late. I learned that having been through the process enough times now, because my name had been brought up enough times, I was like, don't wait till the season. Do it in front of the season. I would also tell them, man, bigger isn't always better. I would tell them things happen for a reason. Trust God's timing, not your own. And I would tell them, man, if any school wants you to ever maybe not finish the season out the way you want to on your terms, you don't have to take the job. Or if it's not the right fit, you don't have to take the job, it's okay to say no. It's okay to also say yes, but handle it the right way. I think it's really important to leave a place the right way. Just as important as to start the right way. How you finish matters. And if any school had wanted me to, to maybe do things on terms different than the terms I was comfortable with on my way out the door at Tulane, it was a hard and fast no. Like, I wasn't anybody that said, hey, we're not sure if you can coach the playoffs or we want you to fly back and forth every day while coaching your team at Tulane for the cfp. Can't do it. I'm not going to shortchange those kids because they had given me everything I asked of them. I was going to give them everything back in return and finish the job the right way.
- [39:21]
Josh (Interviewer)
Wasn't it always also, like a blessing that, hey, if. If the worst case situation is I'm just going to stay at two lane, that's like a really blessed position.
- [39:30]
John Sumrall
Yeah.
- [39:31]
Josh (Interviewer)
So not like you're jobless on the street. It's either I get the Florida job or I'm unemployed. So you can kind of. Not that it shouldn't always be that way. Especially when you're blessed enough to be sitting in a really, really nice seat to begin with. You can kind of make sure it's on your terms or it's just not going to happen.
- [39:47]
John Sumrall
Yeah. After the 2024 season, not going to name names, but I turned down a job or two that were P.4 jobs to stay at Tulane through the 2025 process of jobs popping up, I made decisions completely separate from Florida on other schools that, you know what? Before I take that job, I think I'm just going to stay at two lane. And so. And. And I don't care what league you're in, what power forward, what conference, didn't matter to me if it wasn't right. It wasn't right. And I had no problem staying at Tulane forever. I love the place. I love the people. I love my job. I love who I worked with. If I'd have been the head coach at Tulane for 25 years, I would have been really pleased with my career. I had a blast there. As you go through that process, though, and things present, you do have to look at each situation, and I think being in a place you're really comfortable and happy allows you to be patient and make the right decision on what you do next.
- [40:47]
Josh (Interviewer)
When you were trying to retain however big a chunk of your roster you had to fight to retain, I don't know how big the chunk was, but, like, if guys are sort of on the fence, maybe I'm going to go in the portal, but maybe I want to stay, but I just want to feel you out, and I want to make sure I fit here. I want to play for you, for the guys on the fence. What were those conversations like? Like, what did you try and sell them on?
- [41:07]
John Sumrall
Yeah, I just told them I'm going to love them. I'm going to treat them as my own. I don't care who recruited you. If you play at the University of Florida, to, you're my guy. Like, I. I don't draw the line of, like, previous staff recruit, new staff recruit. Like, hey, and I tell them all, like, you're going to get coached extremely hard, and if you like getting coached and you like doing things with passion and energy and fire, you're going to love being a part of what we do. I. I tell everybody in the recruiting process and the retention process, when I was new here, if you're tough and you love football, you're going to love being a Florida Gator. If you're not tough, you don't love football, you should probably leave because I'm going to coach you like a maniac, and our whole staff will. That's. That's the expectation here. The standard at the University of Florida is to be the Best. And so as we went through that process, I just tried to help guys understand what's this going to look like? What's my personal relationship with you going to look like? I'm not some head coach that likes to like sit off on the side, not interact with the guys. I'm very relational. Every player, team, almost every day at practice gets some sort of interaction with me. Not always good, not always bad, but they're going to get some sort of interaction. And so I just try to help them maybe understand what the vision of what this is going to look like would be. And if that was something they were excited about, that meant they loved football. That meant like they believed in the place and they were comfortable doing this with us. I wasn't going to beg guys to stay, but I wasn't going to push anybody out the door either. Nobody was, was asked to leave here. Nobody was begged to stay either.
- [42:37]
Josh (Interviewer)
All right, I'm going to get you out of here on this. You're halfway, maybe through spring ball, roughly.
- [42:42]
John Sumrall
Yeah, yeah.
- [42:42]
Josh (Interviewer)
So you've gotten half a springs look at your team. When I look at them, I think, man, that receiver room looks pretty impressive. That running back room looks pretty impressive. That's my opinion of Florida right now. You get to see him every day. You're in the weeds with them every day. What is your just overall impression of the team you have here so far?
- [42:58]
John Sumrall
Yeah, I think you're probably pretty accurate on both those rooms. I'm excited about what we have on the offensive skill positions in particular. There's a lot of unknowns. You know, we lost 14 or 15 returning starters off of last year's team. We had, I think, double digit combine invites. So there's a lot of good players that are going to the NFL that are on a team last year that maybe didn't have the type of on field success people wanted to have. But there were still a lot of good players that are no longer here that played significant snaps last year. We are very much a work in progress. Every day we're challenging this team. They've been eager, they've done what we've asked them to do. How far can the 20, 26 team go? That's in the hands of our players. Like I tell them all the time, man, good teams can be coach led. Great teams have to be player led. As quick as this team, they take ownership of it being their team. That's how far we can go. And I'm excited about it. The work's been fun, the guys have been fun. Every day. The energy's been right. They've been receptive. We have a long way to go. A really long way to go. This is a challenging league. Are we built to win it? Right now? I don't know. We're going to give everything we got.
- [44:08]
Josh (Interviewer)
Let's not take up any more time talking. John Sumrall, I appreciate it man.
- [44:11]
John Sumrall
Thank you, Josh. Appreciate you.
- [44:27]
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John Sumrall
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- [47:20]
John Sumrall
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