How Jon Sumrall is balancing Tulane's season and the coaching carousel - ESPN

NEW ORLEANS — In July, Tulane coach Jon Sumrall put together a Wednesday speaker series for his team, bringing in people from various leadership positions who could deliver customized messages.

Kellen Moore, the new coach of the New Orleans Saints, went first, followed by a financial planner and then an NFL player agent. The last speaker was Sumrall himself. On that day, though, he didn't address his team like he normally would.

He spoke as a coach who had changed jobs before, and could do so again; who had been placed on candidate lists, and might again appear if Tulane had success that fall. He polled players about who had agents and saw about half the hands go up. He explained that he, too, had an agent who handled his contract and filtered overtures from other programs, as did most of Tulane's assistant coaches. Sumrall relayed that he and some assistants had rebuffed Power 4 moves to stay with Tulane for the 2025 season.

He also acknowledged that the players had the same opportunities and the same speculation swirling around them. The reality was the Tulane team gathered that day could look very different after the season.

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«Last year, I didn't say s---, and I probably should have,» Sumrall told ESPN. «I just kind of put my head down and kept working and hoped everybody else would do the same. What I didn't take into account is, man, players are doing the same stuff coaches are doing. Last year, I dropped the ball, to be honest. I screwed up.»

In 2024 Tulane started 9-2 before dropping its final three games. Sumrall stayed while star quarterback Darian Mensah, top running back Makhi Hughes and others