Defensive coordinator Greg Gasparato will serve as Troy’s interim coach while the school searches for a permanent replacement for Jon Sumrall, who left Friday to become head coach at Tulane.

Gasparato will lead the Trojans (11-2) into the Dec. 23 Birmingham Bowl against Duke (6-6). Ironically, the Blue Devils also have an interim coach in Trooper Taylor, as former head coach Mike Elko left last week to take the Texas A&M job.

Sumrall leaves Troy after back-to-back Sun Belt Conference championships and a 23-4 overall record. The Trojans have won 10 straight games heading into the Birmingham Bowl.

“On behalf of Troy University, I thank Coach Jon Sumrall for the outstanding leadership he has provided our football program,” Troy chancellor Jack Hawkins Jr. said. “Jon has made good on his promise to return our proud program to a championship level. In turn, our commitment to the football program is unwavering, for we will soon add an indoor practice facility to our beautiful campus as we appoint a new head coach to lead our program.

“Troy University remains steadfast in our pursuit of excellence and status as a leader in the Sun Belt Conference. We have a championship-winning culture within our football program, and I have full confidence our next head coach will continue that winning tradition.”

As Hawkins noted, Troy is a more attractive job than it was when Sumrall was hired two years ago. The Trojans are not only winning on the field, but opened a new football operations building in 2022 and recently committed $10 million to build an indoor practice facility.

Troy has dominated the Sun Belt West Division since moving over prior to the 2022 season. The Trojans went 12-0 against divisional opponents, and 16-2 overall in the Sun Belt including league championship-game wins over Coastal Carolina in 2022 and Appalachian State this season.

“I would like to thank Coach Jon Sumrall for his exemplary commitment to excellence these past two seasons leading our storied football program to back-to-back championships,” Troy athletics director Brent Jones said. “Troy University, thanks to our incredible university leadership, has a proven track record of unwavering commitment to success and invests heavily in the development of our student-athletes. With a Sun Belt leading eight conference championships, 10 or more wins in five of the last eight seasons, a forthcoming indoor practice facility and cementing our status as a leader in our conference in commitments to our coaches and student-athletes.

“We look forward to identifying the next leader of our program who will continue our trajectory as the premier football program in the Sun Belt. Our process will be thorough and comprehensive as we select our program’s next head football coach.”

Gasparato joined the Troy staff this season following the departure of Shiel Wood to Tulane. The Trojans were among the top defensive teams in the country in 2023, and have already set a program record with 45 sacks.

Co-defensive coordinator Tayler Polk will handle defensive play-calling duties in the bowl game, while outside linebackers coach Bam Hardmon will oversee recruiting. Defensive analyst David Mackie will take over for Gasparato coaching safeties.

Sumrall was a slam-dunk candidate for the Troy job when he was hired two years ago to replace the fired Chip Lindsey. He had been on the Troy staff under Neal Brown from 2015-17 and also had experience recruiting the Southeast in assistant-coaching stints at Ole Miss, Tulane and Kentucky.

There’s no such obvious successor this time, though former Troy assistants Jordan Lesley, Matt Moore and Al Pogue might be on the short list. Lesley is currently Brown’s defensive coordinator at West Virginia, where Moore is assistant head coach and offensive line coach.

Pogue, an Alabama State graduate, coached at Troy from 2014-18 and again in 2021 and also spent time at Auburn. He is currently assistant head coach and cornerbacks coach at Missouri.

From Sumrall’s current staff, Gasparato and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Joe Craddock would seem to be the likeliest candidates. Wood is expected to follow Willie Fritz from Tulane to Houston, but might be interested if approached to replace Sumrall at Troy.

Another name that has come up in past searches is Troy graduate Tommie Robinson, a former assistant at LSU, Texas A&M, USC and Texas who is now on Deion Sanders’ support staff at Colorado. Also possibly in the mix are Georgia running back Dell McGee (an Auburn graduate) and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tee Martin (a Mobile native).