Troy's Jon Sumrall addresses job rumors head-on

Troy’s Jon Sumrall addresses job rumors head-on

A week after saying he’d not been contacted regarding any other head-coaching openings, Troy’s Jon Sumrall was asked Monday about how he’s dealing with ongoing rumors regarding where he might be working next season.

Sumrall is 20-4 in two seasons with the Trojans, with a Sun Belt Conference championship last season and West Division titles both years. Troy is 9-2 overall and 6-1 in the Sun Belt headed into Saturday’s regular-season finale at Southern Miss, and would likely lock up an opportunity to host the Dec. 2 conference title game with a win.

A former assistant coach at Ole Miss and Kentucky with a background on both special teams and defense, the 41-year-old Sumrall’s name has been mentioned in connection with the opening at Mississippi State, as well as other jobs that might come open in the next few weeks. The Bulldogs fired first-year coach Zach Arnett last Monday.

Sumrall, a former Kentucky linebacker, answered the question Monday like he does most everything — head on.

“I told our team last week, ‘I’m right where my feet are,’” Sumrall said. “Any time you have success as a program, they’re gonna talk about, ‘where’s the head coach gonna go next?’ Anytime you don’t do well as a program, they’re talking about ‘how can they get rid of you?’ So they want you to leave one way or the other. They don’t want you to be happy where you are.

“And I’m really happy right where I’m at, in Troy, Alabama, coaching where I’m coaching. Am I gonna die here? I don’t know that, but I’m really happy doing what I’m doing and I like where I’m at, love what I get to do, love the people I do it with. I’m very focused on right where I’m at. So that attention that it may come my way has very little to do with me and a lot to do with the people around me and the players on our team.”

Last week, when asked if he’d been contacted for any other jobs, Sumrall quipped, “Yeah, I was contacted by Troy about showing up to work today, so I was here at 5:30 this morning.”

“I think nobody else was in the parking lot when I got here,” Sumrall said. “That’s the only school that’s contacted me about work. I’m damn glad I’ve got a job here.”

Kickoff for Troy-Southern Miss on Saturday is set for 11 a.m. on ESPNU.