Florida football coach Jon Sumrall could always count on his father being there.
During Sumrall’s high school football playing career at Grissom High School in Huntsville, Alabama, George Sumrall was in the stands, often flying back from business trips to Arlington, Virginia, to make it in time for kickoff. That continued during Sumrall’s college career at Kentucky.
George Sumrall was there on Dec. 1, 2025, when Sumrall was introduced as Florida Gators football coach. But less than three weeks later, he died in his sleep at 77 on Dec. 19 after a lengthy illness.
Sumrall will face his first Father’s Day without his dad knowing that his last month was filled with high points. That included watching his son become an SEC coach and lead Tulane to a conference championship and CFP berth.
“Do a wish he was here to watch all this journey …yeah,” Sumrall said. “He’s watching it. He’s just got a different seat than the one he had. He’s still seeing it all just a different vantage point. Probably a better one.”
How George Sumrall shaped Florida football coach Jon Sumrall
George Sumrall played tight end and split end at Callaway High in Jackson, Mississippi and was set to attend Southern Mississippi on a football scholarship before his dad got sick.
“Instead of leaving home he went to Hines Community College,” Sumrall said. “Then he finished his college football career at SE Louisiana.”
From there, George Sumrall began his career in the U.S. Army as a civilian, working for the Department of Defense.
“At the end of his career he worked for a group called BRAC which is Base Realignment and Closure,” Sumrall said. “He also worked for a couple of different technology groups with weapons.”
That meant frequent trips to the Pentagon for George Sumrall. Sometimes, Jon would tag along and tour the 6.5 million square foot building filled with military secrets across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.
“Got behind the scenes access,” Sumrall said. “I got to go see the Secretary of Defense’s office when it was Donald Rumsfeld, years ago.”
Sumrall described his father as “encouraging but tough” as a dad who was proud of his son’s accomplishments on the football field. As a football dad, George Sumrall was devoted, not just to his son but everyone who played with him.
“One of the things he did when I was growing up that was unique he would take guys that maybe were either underprivileged or didn’t have enough family support to help them get them to places,” Sumrall said. “My dad would load up guys in 15 passenger vans and go do summer camps, workouts at places all over the south.”
The goal was to get players from the Huntsville and Birmingham area exposed to different summer camps for colleges throughout the Southeast.
“He would spend his own time and money, and load up guys and go take a week, go to Mississippi JUCOs, sometimes the FCS programs and maybe the lower FBS programs,” Sumrall said. “Western Kentucky is one I remember going to with him, Sam Houston State … my dad always tried to help others that maybe needed help.”
Why Florida football coach Jon Sumrall had ‘no time to grieve’
George Sumrall was buried on Dec. 23, 2025. A day later Sumrall and a contingent of Florida football coaches visited Jadan Baugh and his family in Atlanta in an attempt to convince the star running back to stay at UF.
“For him to bring his family to come see me and to say that his dad wanted to be here, that means the most to me, because that shows that you really, really care about your job,” Baugh said. “You really, really care about what’s going on with your players.”
Sumrall said his dad would have wanted him to get back to work quickly.
“As much as it you celebrate their life and you move forward, my dad doesn’t want me to grieve,” Sumrall said. “My dad wants me to work …
“That doesn’t mean that you don’t have moments where you get choked up, like occasionally when I talk about him, I will get emotional. He’s not interested in me feeling sorry for myself. He wants me to be active and get things done and move forward.”
What lessons Florida football coach Jon Sumrall is carrying over from his dad as a father
As a father to four children, Sumrall and his wife Ginny focus on quality family time together, even if the quantity of time often is in short supply. College football coaching is an all-encompassing job which includes days on the road recruiting, early mornings and long nights in the office. Sumrall is the dad to 12-year-old twins, Sam and Sadie, a nine-year-old daughter Stella and a seven-year-old daughter Selah.
“I try to be present, available when I’m there,” Sumrall said. “I put my phone down when I’m home. I try to not stay glued to my phone around the kids, and we are very strategic around how we plan trips and family events.”
That includes trips to a beach hideaway in Walton County, Florida, on the panhandle.
“Dune Allen beach,” Sumrall said. “We come here every summer as a family. We’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember, my wife we’ve been married 15 years in December and Dune Allen is sort of our go-to spot.”
At the dinner table, the Sumrall family stays engaged with the conversation starter “rose, bud, thorn” in which each in the family talks about his favorite part of the day, something he or she is excited about and the worst part of the day. It leads to chatter around the table and draws the family closer together during both good and bad times.
“My wife is a rock star,” Sumrall said. “I tell her that all the time. I feel like I’m a pretty good head coach, she’s an equal or better head coach’s wife. She’s an unbelievable mom; she’s a great wife.
“So I’m very fortunate, when I think you are in this profession it’s a family calling, it’s not just an individual calling, so it’s all hands on deck, we’re all in this thing together. That’s how it works.”
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida football coach Jon Sumrall finds strength in his father’s legacy
Reporting by Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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By Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun | USA TODAY Network
