Tulane AD David Harris always knew head football coach Jon Sumrall would draw the attention of power conference programs. But neither he nor the rest of the college football world could have anticipated the chaos the coaching carousel would cause for the Green Wave and the other schools in the College Football Playoff hunt this year.
Sumrall announced he would leave No. 11 Tulane for Florida on Sunday, Nov. 30. It was the day after the Green Wave’s final regular-season game, one week before the conference championship, and three weeks before their anticipated CFP first-round matchup.
Sumrall will still lead the Green Wave against Ole Miss on Saturday in the Playoff. When the run ends, offensive coordinator Will Hall will replace Sumrall as head coach, and Sumrall will move to Gainesville.
At least half of the programs in this year’s CFP have lost, or will lose, at least one assistant or head coach at the end of the season. Like Tulane, JMU coach Bob Chesney has signed a new contract with UCLA, but he will stay on to coach the Dukes through the postseason. Tulane’s opponent, Ole Miss, was at the center of arguably the most high-profile coaching shake-up this year when Lane Kiffin left abruptly for LSU; the Rebels chose defensive coordinator Pete Golding to replace him.
Ahead of Saturday’s game, Sumrall has been working two jobs, recruiting for Florida while drawing up plans for Tulane’s first-round matchup against Ole Miss. The assistant coaching carousel is spinning as Hall builds his staff and Sumrall potentially takes some coaches with him to Florida. The transfer portal window is looming.
Meanwhile, the Green Wave will try to become the first Group of 6 program to advance through the first round of the CFP.
Going into this season, Sumrall had already received interest from other programs—what Harris describes as “overtures”—but he opted to stay in New Orleans for 2025–26.
The two met one-on-one every other Tuesday, with Sumrall updating Harris on when he had conversations with other schools and how seriously he was taking them. “He was always very transparent about wanting to be at Tulane, enjoying his time, really being focused on helping us to have a successful season, and winning a championship,” Harris tells Front Office Sports. But Sumrall still looped him in when appropriate.
Even though Harris knew Sumrall was at risk of being poached, he still tried to keep Sumrall in New Orleans: Harris confirmed to FOS the university presented Sumrall’s agent with a written offer. Ultimately, Sumrall decided to take the job at Florida.
Sumrall told Harris before the final regular-season game against Charlotte that he was “in a position” to take another job. But it was “a dealbreaker” to Sumrall if a school wouldn’t let him continue to coach the Green Wave through the postseason.
Sumrall outlined a plan, which Harris took to university president Michael Fitts. “Ultimately, our goal was what puts us in the best position to be able to win a championship, what puts us in the best position [in the CFP], and what was in the best interest of our student-athletes,” Harris says.
Sumrall announced he would take the job at Florida the Sunday after that Charlotte game; then, Tulane announced he would stay through the Playoff.
All the while, Tulane was working on a coaching search of its own. By the time Sumrall officially gave Harris the word he was leaving, the university already hired search firm CSA Search and Consulting. On Sunday, Nov. 30—the same day as the Florida announcement—Tulane officials held a Zoom meeting about potential candidates, which did initially include current Tulane offensive coordinator Will Hall.
The announcement that Hall would take over was met with some criticism from fans, who wondered why the Green Wave didn’t land a bigger name. But Harris said: “Sitting down in front of [Hall], much the same way we sat down in front of Jon Sumrall a couple years ago, he impressed us with his knowledge, with his experience, but also his passion, his love of the student-athletes, as well as his plan for how he felt like we could move forward.” Harris added that both current players and Sumrall himself endorsed Hall to take over.
“I know I wasn’t the first choice for some people in here,” Hall said during his introductory press conference. “But I can promise you this: I am the best choice and the right choice for this place at this time.”
In fact, Sumrall endorsed Hall—and Tulane’s future in general—with a $100,000 donation (Sumrall had planned the donation before he took the job at Florida but decided to honor the commitment).
And whether Tulane fans are happy, they’ve opened their wallets: Between Nov. 17 and Dec. 16, 519 donors have given $1.68 million to the athletic department as a whole—a 373% increase over the same period last year. (The number includes Sumrall’s donation.)
They want to ensure that Hall’s future squad succeeds in 2026.
Next season is not the immediate priority, however.
Since the Florida announcement, Sumrall has been trekking back and forth between Gainesville and New Orleans. He reportedly hasn’t slept much, is carrying around two phones, and is putting together both the coaching staff and the roster for the Gators in 2026 while simultaneously prepping Tulane’s matchup in Oxford.
Tulane has in front of it a task no Group of 6 program has accomplished in the decade-long history of the CFP: advancing past the first round. In its way is a No. 6 Ole Miss program that pummelled Tulane earlier this season.
One thing is certain: Most fans don’t expect Tulane to beat Ole Miss on Saturday. In fact, some pundits have lamented the fact that two Group of 6 programs made it into the CFP at all, especially after formidable programs including Notre Dame, BYU, and Vanderbilt were left out altogether.
“For those who are critical of us … and feel that we don’t belong in that setting, I think that’s ridiculous,” he says. “I think they couldn’t be more wrong.”
