Jon Sumrall on why demeanor is different during Florida football losing streak
· Yahoo Sports
Florida football is facing its first adversity under first-year coach Jon Sumrall, and fans are searching for reasons why.
One idea floated on social media is that Sumrall was told by UF's administration to reign in his profanity and fiery sideline demeanor, and that the Florida Gators are feeding off that lack of energy. Florida (4-2, 2-2 SEC) has lost two straight this month by an average margin of 23.5 points after a 4-0 start.
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The 44-year-old Sumrall dispelled those rumors in his press conference on Monday, October 12, leading up to UF's next showdown on Saturday at No. 6 Texas (noon, ABC).
"When I took the job, the administration, I felt really strongly they wanted me to be me," Sumrall said. " Whether that be (assistant) Duke (Werner] or (AD) Scott Stricklin; (president) Stuart Bell wasn't here yet, but he's been around me enough. I think he's pretty comfortable with how direct and how vulgar I can be, maybe ...
"If anybody wanted me to act differently, I wouldn't have come here. So good luck trying to reel me in or tell me how to do it or whatever. My wife's tried, hasn't worked for her. I'm not very good at being reeled in."
Sumrall said his changed demeanor on the sideline this month is more of a result of him not wanting to show panic to a young team during adverse moments.
"When things are going good for our guys, I'm probably more of a maniac on everybody," Sumrall said. "When things aren't going good, I have to figure out how to calm down because we are still young, maybe at times immature, emotional bunch."
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Jon Sumrall on why demeanor is different during Florida football losing streak