Florida was one of the many SEC schools who has already hired a new head coach since the regular season came to an end. The Gators opted to hire former Tulane head coach Jon Surmall which is about as good of a hire as they could have expected to make.
Sumrall will finish his season with Tulane, but he has already begun some of his duties as Florida's new head coach. One of the things he has already done is send a message to Florida's fanbase on social media, and Georgia fans likely will hear a similar phrase in this video because Sumrall quoted Kirby Smart's "fire, passion and energy" message that he has been using all season.
Welcome to Gator Nation @CoachJonSumrall!!! 🐊 pic.twitter.com/RzgzkNgi8T
— Danny Wuerffel (@DannyWuerffel) November 30, 2025
Florida head coach Jon Sumrall is using Kirby Smart's No. 1 message
Sumrall has a difficult task in front of him because Florida fans will expect him to take them back to the top of the SEC and college football world. In order for him to do that he is going to have to find an answer for the Gators' struggles against Georgia, so what better way to do that then mimic Smart and what he preaches to his team?
It's unlikely that Sumrall used Smart's phrase on purpose, but it is quite funny to see him already copying him even if it was unintentional.
Georgia has won eight of the last nine matchups against Florida which includes each of the last five years. Since Georgia is the gold standard in the SEC Sumrall will likely be very focused on taking down Georgia as he looks to get Florida's program back on track.
But if recent history tells anyone anything it's that a new coach at Florida won't change a thing. UGA will likely keep winning and it's probably just a matter of time until Florida is looking for a new head coach again.