Shortly after losing in the American Athletic Conference Championship to SMU which cost it a return trip to the New Year’s Six, Tulane suffered an even bigger gut-punch.
Coach Willie Fritz, the architect behind the most successful era in the program’s modern history, left to become the head coach at Houston. While losing Fritz hurts, that pain was eased significantly with what looks like a home-run replacement hire.
The Green Wave wooed Troy’s Jon Sumrall away, and it landed a coach who went 23-4 and won two conference championships in his two years with the Trojans. A former assistant at Ole Miss and Kentucky, Sumrall also brings SEC ties to his new job in New Orleans.
Sumrall has big shoes to fill. He replaces a coach in Fritz who has also won 23 games in the past two seasons and led the Green Wave to their first double-digit win season since Tommy Bowden went 12-0 in 1998.
However, Sumrall made the expectations clear right out of the gate by issuing a bold prediction in his introductory press conference: Not only will Tulane make the College Football Playoff under his leadership — it will also win a national championship.
“I’m telling you right now we’re going to make the College Football Playoff and we’re gonna win it.”
This energy from new Tulane football HC Jon Sumrall 🔥 pic.twitter.com/QINy4RC3wN
— Boot Krewe Media (@BootKreweMedia) December 11, 2023
It’s certainly a tall order, but it’s a feat that will become at least slightly more attainable next season when the playoff expands to 12 teams with a spot guaranteed to the highest-ranking Group of Five team.
Under the four-team format, only one team from the G5 ranks made it to the CFP, Cincinnati in 2021.
But with a reported six-year contract in tow, Tulane will hope Sumrall is around for the long haul as he seeks to make his prediction a reality.
