Tulane Green Wave Head Coach Has Compelling Case for Award Recognition
While many expected the Tulane Green Wave to be competitive in the American Athletic Conference after consecutive 10-win seasons leading into 2024, not many expected the program to be this good with first-year head coach Jon Sumrall.
Former head coach Willie Fritz brought the program back to relevancy, making five bowl games in his eight-year tenure, and Sumrall is making sure they stay there after clinching a spot in the conference championship game last week.
It has been a spectacular season for the program under Sumrall, and it has been one that could see the coach garner national recognition when all is said and done.
In a recent article for Bleacher Report, Morgan Moriarty made the case for the first-year coach and his chances at winning the 2024 Coach of the Year Award.
"Jon Sumrall wasted no time replacing head coach Willie Fritz," writes Moriarty. "In his first season as the Green Wave's head coach, Sumrall has Tulane at 8-2, and is set to take on Army in the AAC title game. But Tulane's season didn't get off to the smoothest start. The Green Wave dropped back-to-back out-of-conference losses to Oklahoma and Kansas State early in the season. But Tulane hasn't lost a game since."
While the Green Wave did drop two consecutive games early in the year, they came against Power Four opponents in the Kansas State Wildcats and the Oklahoma Sooners, who were both ranked at the time, and those two programs combined for a margin of victory of only 22 points.
Now at 9-2 overall on the year, with a 7-0 record in conference play, Tulane is ranked 20th in the AP, Coaches, and College Football Playoffs Rankings, with only one game left in the regular season before their conference championship showdown with the Army Black Knights.
It has been a year of dominance under Sumrall, something that he brought to the program from his time with the Troy Trojans, where he won the Sun Belt Title in both of his years there.
The Green Wave has outscored their opponents 445-187 while holding six opponents to 10 or fewer points and holding two opponents scoreless, including their latest victory over the Navy Midshipmen.
Tulane's 40.5 points per game ranks fifth in the nation, while their opponents' 17.0 points per game ranks 11th.
It has been a season of dominance for the Green Wave and head coach Jon Sumrall, and it could lead to the coach garnering award recognition at season's end.
