Tulane Green Wave’s Jon Sumrall Addresses Coaching Rumors After Loss
After Tulane lost to Army West Point, 35-14, in the American Athletic Conference title game in West Point, N.Y., coach Jon Sumrall was asked about his plans after the game — specifically if he had any interviews for any potential head-coaching openings.
Still stinging from the loss, he said there was nothing that he was aware of.
"I don't have anything set up that I'm aware of,” he said to reporters. “Could there be any time ever with anybody ever? I don't know, but I've got nothing.”
His comments were reported by the New Orleans Times-Picayune, among others.
After that, he went on to detail what his plans were on Saturday.
"What I've got on my schedule is to get back on the plane with the team and get home and then I'll wake up tomorrow, go watch this tape and kind of work through what we'll look like Sunday,” he said.
Sunday is when the Green Wave (9-4) will learn which bowl game they will play in.
Sumrall has emerged as one of the most talked-about head coaches during this year’s hiring cycle. Most notably, his name has been connected to the North Carolina opening, where Mack Brown is stepping aside. The Tar Heels have reportedly interviewed NFL legend Bill Belichick twice in the past few days.
It’s not clear if UNC has had any contact with Sumrall or his agent. The Times-Picayune reported that three schools, including UNC, had interest in him last week.
In most cases, agents will field inquiries from teams with openings because those teams would need permission to interview a sitting head coach and programs usually don’t give permission to do that until after the season is over.
In his first year as head coach at Tulane, he led them to a national ranking and a third straight appearance in the AAC title game. But, they fell short of an undefeated league slate after a Thanksgiving night loss to Memphis, followed by their 21-point loss to Army, which steamrolled them in the title game.
Sumrall replaced Willie Fritz, who left the Green Wave to take over at Houston. Sumrall was the head coach at Troy, where he led the Trojans to two straight Sun Belt championships before taking the Green Wave job.
It’s worth noting that Sumrall took the Tulane job before Troy played its bowl game last year.
Sumrall took the Green Wave job, in part, because he had been a Tulane defensive coach a decade ago.
