JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars and the Florida Gators football program have long been intertwined, and that doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon.
The Gators have made a pair of decisions with steps that can trace back to the Jaguars in recent days, hiring Jon Sumrall as their new head coach and reportedly coming to terms with former Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell as their new general manager.
Jaguars Ties
The most obvious connection is, of course, Caldwell, who was the Jaguars’ general manager for eight seasons. Hired by Jaguars owner Shad Khan in 2013, Caldwell worked alongside Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley for four seasons before the Jaguars hired Doug Marrone as head coach and Tom Coughlin as executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin.
The Jaguars went to the playoffs and won the AFC South in 2017, the first year of the new leadership union, but back-to-back losing seasons and a consistent churn of player drama and discontent led to Coughlin’s firing in 2019. Caldwell and Marrone each stayed on for the 2020 season before being fired.
Oct 28, 2018; London, United Kingdom; Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell (left) speaks Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howard Roseman (right) before their game an NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
While Caldwell was general manager, the Jaguars made several investments in Gators products such as Dante Fowler, CJ Henderson, and Taven Bryan. Since his departure from Jacksonville, Caldwell has been a key piece of the Philadelphia Eagles’ front office, and now his new office will be roughly 90 minutes away from his old one. We will see what this could mean for the Jaguars-Gators relationship, which is Jacksonville’s strongest with any college program.
As for Sumrall, he has never been a part of the Jaguars’ organization but he has been a close friend of Jaguars head coach Liam Coen after serving on the same Kentucky staff. That relationship likely played a large role in the Jaguars’ drafting of Tulane product Caleb Ransaw. Now, the two chief stewards of the program are two coaches with plenty of experience with one another.
Aug 30, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Tulane Green Wave head coach Jon Sumrall looks on against Northwestern Wildcats during the first half at Yulman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
“I’ve got so much respect for Jon Sumrall as a coach, as a man, as a leader of people, of men, of players, of a building. He’s got so much passion and competitiveness,” Coen said on Monday. “He’s a guy that’s obviously been a defensive coach for a long time, but he sees the game through a b
ig picture lens in all three phases. He understands good football, he can recruit his tail off. I bought his house in Lexington in 2021. Him and his family are just perfect fits. They are SEC all the way and I can’t say enough good things about Summy. He’s one of the guys I look up to actually in this profession have a lot of respect for. And any chance I get to talk to Summy, it’ll be cool to have him here as a is a close by neighbor.”
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