NEW ORLEANS — Less than a week after Willie Fritz took the head coaching job at the University of Houston, recently-named Director of Athletics David Harris officially introduced Jon Sumrall as the Green Wave's 42nd head football coach during a press conference at Yulman Stadium on Monday, Dec. 11.
Prior to the Tulane opening, Sumrall's name was previously associated with coaching searches at both Texas A&M and Mississippi State.
"When the position came open just a short week ago, we knew that we needed to move quickly, but most importantly for us, we wanted to make the right choice," said Harris. "We needed to get this right. Get it right for our student-athletes, get it right for our university, get it right for all of you that support our football program."
This would not be the first stint in Uptown for Sumrall, the former assistant coach at Kentucky and Ole Miss, served as a co-defensive coordinator with the Wave from 2012 to 2014.
"Our vision here is, we are going to win conference championships, we are going to win bowl games," Sumrall stated. "I'm telling you right now, I'm speaking it into existence, we are going to make the College Football Playoffs, and we are going to win it."
The 41-year-old Sumrall coached Troy to back-to-back Sun Belt Conference championships, and is 23-4 in his two years at the school, which is the exact same record former Wave head coach Willie Fritz compiled in his final two seasons at Tulane before leaving to become the head coach at the University of Houston.
"I'm honored to be the head coach at Tulane University," Sumrall opened the presser.
"Why Tulane? An opportunity to coach at a world-class academic institution that pursues excellence in all things including football.
"It resides in the city of New Orleans in Uptown," he continued. "It's got a vibrant culture and it's full of life. You know, if you are juiceless you're useless, and this city has a lot of juice."
The commitment to football has been made very clear, and I believe in what lies ahead is big."
Sumrall shared his family's personal connection with the university and the city by talking about the birth of his two daughters, now 10, in New Orleans.
"They were born at Ochsner," Sumrall said. "And I'll never forget coaching here at Tulane and them being in my office as infants coming to visit for lunch on a Sunday after church so I could see them for a few minutes."
When asked about the timeline moving forward in regards to staffing, recruiting and negotiating in the transfer portal, Sumrall explained his takeover process.
"I'm reaching out to all the young men that have entered the portal," Sumrall said. "I would like to sit down and have a conversation with all of them, doesn't mean they are all going to stay, but I think when they find out what we are going to be about here as a program, if they want to be loved, and pushed, and developed to be there best, we will have a shot to keep some of them. So, the guys who want to be here are going to win championships.
"We'll put a staff together," he continued. "When I met with the leadership team here, I told them when I hire people, I measure twice and cut once ... I'd rather get it done right than get it done fast."
Watch the full press conference in the media player below:
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