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Jon Sumrall
NEW ORLEANS — Newly hired Tulane coach Jon Sumrall held a green and white parasol as he walked to the beat of a brass band toward a podium for his formal introduction to a crowd of boosters and university officials in Yulman Stadium’s Glazer Club.
For the 41-year-old Sumrall, who was an assistant coach at Tulane a decade ago and can still rattle off the names of his favorite Mardi Gras parades, the experience on Monday was hardly unfamiliar. But it was “surreal,” he said.
Sumrall took a liking to the “vibrant culture” he found in New Orleans, a place he describes as “full of life.”
“If you’re juiceless, you’re useless — and this city’s got a lot of juice,” Sumrall said, inducing laughter from those on hand.
But culture and fond memories of the city where his first two children were born were not going to be enough on their own to bring Sumrall back from Troy, where he’d won 23 games and two Sun Belt Conference titles in the past two seasons.
He also needed to feel inspired by Tulane’s vision for a football program that had struggled for years before its recent resurrection under Willie Fritz, who left on Dec. 3 to become Houston’s head coach.
“To hear what they wanted this place to be really stirred up an emotion and passion in me that made me more aware that this was the right opportunity at the right time,” Sumrall said, referring to his meetings with newly hired Tulane Athletic Director David Harris and university President Michael A. Fitts.
“The commitment to football has been made very clear,” Sumrall continued. “I believe what lies ahead is big.”
Tulane, currently ranked 23rd in the AP Top 25 Poll, also has won 23 games in the past two seasons, including the 2022 American Athletic Conference title and last season’s Cotton Bowl.
“They’ve had great momentum…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/tulane-welcomes-jon-sumrall-ex-161251060.html
Author : NBC Sports
Publish date : 2023-12-12 16:12:51
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