Tulane Football Blog

Coach Troy or Troy’s Coach? Which one will it be? Calhoun or Sumrall? There are other finalists as reported by Guerry, but I believe most wave fans have narrowed their list to two. As we anxiously refresh Twitter today, let’s take a minute to appreciate that two of the best candidates on the market want the job.

It has not always been this way, and it’s very encouraging to see Tulane become a destination job. It speaks to the culture Willie built here and the playoff potential that we have in New Orleans. If you’re like me, you’ve probably read about 15 articles on each “Troy”, but if you have not here are some salient facts. We’ll start with the young gun, Troy head coach Jon Sumrall.

Sumrall was the assistant head coach at Troy from 2015-17, helping the Trojans go 21-5 in the last two years. After he departed, Troy football fell back below .500 for 3 consecutive years. Upon Sumrall’s return, he brought the Trojans back to life, leading Troy to a Sun Belt title and 11 consecutive wins to end 2022 with a team that ranked eighth nationally in scoring defense (17.1 points per game). His old pal Shiel Wood is in New Orleans ready to revitalize that dominant 2022 defense.

He is the only coach in the country to be named a finalist for coach of the year in both 2022 and 2023. His record of 23-4 commands that respect. When looking to replace a man that has gone 23-4 in the last two years, find one with an as good or better track record. Few fit the bill, Sumrall does.

Many of us like the young rising star with Tulane connections. He’s a proven winner over 2 seasons and without a doubt one of the hottest properties in college coaching right now. Some would tell you it’s nice to do it twice but much more impressive to sustain success. As Rhett Lashlee said in his AAC championship press conference, I have 17 wins and Willie has I don’t know roughly 200. Youth won that day, will it win this one?

I’ve covered Troy Calhoun extensively here, but I think what really matters is the sustained success. Troy Calhoun has won as many bowl games (7) in his Air Force tenure as Tulane has won in school history. He has as many seasons at air force with 8 or more wins (11) as Tulane has since 1934 combined. This is all accomplished while coaching with “one hand tied behind his back”. Triple option this and service academy that, winning is winning. If the stats above aren’t staggering, I don’t know what more I can give you.

Both are excellent choices so let me know who wins the 2023 battle of Troy?