NEW ORLEANS — The Tulane officially announced the hiring of Troy's Jon Sumrall as the Green Wave's next head coach on Friday.
Shortly before noon, college football writer Ross Dellenger posted on X that a source had told Yahoo Sports that Tulane was expected to hire Sumrall by the end of the day.
Prior to the Tulane opening, Sumrall's name was previously associated with coaching searches at both Texas A&M and Mississippi State.
This would not be the first stint Uptown for Sumrall, the former assistant coach at Kentucky and Ole Miss, served as a co-defensive coordinator with the Wave from 2012-2014.
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.
Fritz led the Green Wave to five bowl games under his helm. He was named Tulane’s head coach in 2016, and in his eight years at Tulane University, he led the program to 54-47 overall record, four bowl games, and a 12-2 record with a Cotton Bowl win over USC last season.
The Green Wave were in the running for a second consecutive New Year’s Six bowl game until their loss to SMU in the American Athletic Conference championship game last Saturday.
Last year, Fritz was in the running to become Georgia Tech’s head coach but ultimately returned to Tulane.
With Fritz gone, Tulane appointed offensive coordinator Slade Nagle as the team's interim head coach. Nagle will lead the team in the 2023 Military Bowl against Virginia Tech (6-6) on Dec. 27.
Roster in Flux
Leading receiver Chris Brazzell II entered the portal, as did fellow freshman Carson Haggard, a 6-foot, 165-pound quarterback from Gulliver Prep in Miami.
The 6-5, 195-pound Brazzell from Midland, Texas, led the Wave with 44 receptions for 711 yards (16.2-yard average). He was also tied for second in touchdown receptions (5) with tight end Alex Bauman – two behind Lawrence Keys III.
Defensive back DJ Douglas, a redshirt junior, has also entered the portal, according to 247 Sports. Douglas had 3 interceptions and 54 tackles this season.
Also reported to enter the portal is sophomore quarterback Kai Horton, who went 31 of 62 for 485 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in a season that saw the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder from Carthage, Texas, start two games during starter Michael Pratt's absence due to a knee injury suffered in the Wave's season opener.
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