Paul Finebaum: Florida doesn't feel like the best place for Jon Sumrall

Jon Sumrall is to be the next head coach at Florida following his announced hire by the Gators on Sunday. However, Paul Finebaum thinks he’s at the wrong program in the SEC.

Finebaum reacted to Sumrall’s hiring in Gainesville yesterday while on ‘McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning’ on Monday. His initial reaction is that he’s the wrong fit for that team in the conference, with him suggesting that Florida and Auburn should have swapped hires between Sumrall and Alex Golesh. Still, this may have been the best the Gators could have done after how their own pursuit went with Lane Kiffin, with Finebaum now hoping that they’re sure about this considering the recent history of coaches down in The Swamp.

“I mean, I think Sumrall is at the wrong school. I think he ‘ought to be at Auburn, but he’s at Florida,” said Finebaum. “It will be fascinating to see if, this time, they get it right down there. And, by the way, for all the criticism of Auburn and Sumrall, there’s equal criticism to Scott Stricklin in letting Lane Kiffin get away from a place that almost everybody thought he was going to go on day one.”

“I mean, in some ways, if you flip-flop Golesh and Sumrall, it might make a little more sense. But, I think problem is that Florida tried to save face, in my estimation. They lost Kiffin, and they did not want to look bad so they took somebody away from somebody else,” Finebaum continued. “A lot of Florida’s mistakes have been made from the administration. First of all, I mean, keeping (Billy) Napier was a catastrophic mistake that they’ll pay for in the end. But, I just, I think there’s no guarantee at Florida. I mean, I’ve seen big coaches go to Florida and lose. I mean, Dan Mullen was an outstanding coach on the day he was hired. Jim McElwain, I thought, was going to be a big success there. Sometimes, that program down there eats its own.”

Among the candidates out there this cycle, Sumrall was one of the hottest names out there. That’s with a resumé that includes a record so far of 42-11 (.792), with him having won at least nine-plus games, three of those being ten-plus win finishes, in each of his four seasons as a head coach at Troy and Tulane. He has also made his team’s conference title game in every year of his career, with the Trojans winning consecutive appearances in the Sun Belt Championship and the Green Wave now appearing for the second straight year, with a win on Friday over North Texas likely sending them to the College Football Playoff, in the American Championship.

With that, Sumrall has long been an option for a power-level job, specifically so in the Southeastern Conference. His name came up with all of the previously opens jobs in the SEC with Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, LSU, and, had things progressed more quickly in their respective processes, he likely would’ve been a candidate as well for either Kentucky or Ole Miss. Instead, though, Sumrall ends up with the Gators, signing on a six-year deal worth an average salary of $7.5 million per year, even though the initial reaction is uncertainty at best from either his fanbase or here by Finebaum.

Sumrall has the background to justify being the hire by Florida. Finebaum just doesn’t yet know if it’ll work because, from there start as of yesterday, he doesn’t know if it’s an exact match for him with the Gators.

“I think Sumrall is the best of this group. But, it just doesn’t feel like that’s the best place,” said Finebaum.