VIDEO: Jon Sumrall first press conference as new Florida Gators head coach

New Florida Gators coach Jon Sumrall press conference | FULL

The Florida Gators have hired Tulane's Jon Sumrall to be its next football head coach.

New Florida Gators head coach Jon Sumrall listed a number of goals and expectations ahead of him during his first press conference on Monday:

- Coach the team

- Focus on the team's current players. Retention.

- Recruit. Recruit. Recruit.

- Build a winning program

- Championships

You can watch the full press conference above.

On family and life in Gainesville, Florida

"I can assure you our family is ‘all in’ to this university and all into this community. We will be connected, we will be engaged. We're excited to do life in Gainesville. We're excited to partner with everyone here. The only way we know how to do it is all in," he said.

On the Florida Gators football team

"My number one job is to coach the team. Maybe future Gators matter to me. Current Gators matter more. I'm going to give more to the guys in the back of the room that are on our football team."

Gators new head coach Jon Sumrall takes questions

After two seasons of serving as head coach for Tulane University, Jon Sumrall has been named by University of Florida as the 31st head coach in the program's history. With potentially a new era inbound for the Gators, Sumrall took questions live Monday afternoon after a press conference.

On recruiting

"I'll recruit with my hair on fire. I'll recruit all the time," he said. "I'm constantly recruiting."

On Gator Nation

"I love, love, love your passion and your enthusiasm. Eighteen straight sell-outs here in "the Swamp." That streaks not ending anytime soon. But that passion and enthusiasm, that fire, that's part of what attracted me here because I'm wired the same way. The standard here is championships. That's why I came. I'm built for this job. I was made for this job. Winners win. I'm a winner. We're gonna win."

Who is Jon Sumrall?

Jon Sumrall was hired to lead Tulane University's football team in December 2023 – the school's 42nd football head coach, according to his online bio.

Before that, he coached the team at Troy University. He also was the linebackers coach at Ole Miss in 2018. Before that, he was the co-defensive coordinator at Tulane.

He played football at the University of Kentucky as a linebacker. He was redshirted as a freshman, according to his online bio. He graduated with a degree in finance and served as a graduate assistant for the Wildcats during the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

Sumrall has several accomplishments under his belt. He led Troy University to a 23-4 record, two Sun Belt Conference championships, double-digital winning steaks, and was named Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year, according to his Tulane University bio.

Twice, he's been a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year.