The core theme is the challenging and rapidly evolving landscape of college football, particularly for coaches transitioning to new roles amidst the complexities of the transfer portal, NIL, and an increasingly demanding schedule.
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When we say thank you for the time to
Florida head football coach John
Summerall, we mean it because man, what
a whirlwind it is right now in college
football and the time the the calendar
is crazy. Coach, uh, congrats and, uh,
we hope you're doing well.
>> Thank you guys. I appreciate you. I'm
doing well, man. Not getting a whole lot
of sleep. Um,
>> been busy. Transfer portal's wide open.
Uh, have all the staff essentially here
now, which is nice cuz um, I need all
the help I can get. Have you just
randomly text Burrier out of nowhere?
>> Coach Burer? Yeah. Well, I've seen him a lot.
lot.
>> But at night, we used, "Hey, what's up, coach?"
coach?"
>> Uh, yeah. You know, I I've texted with
him some. We texted, I guess, maybe
Saturday night.
>> Um texted with uh Urban
>> a lot, too. Urban's actually I think um
I'm not going to dis disclose his exact
location, but yeah, Urban [laughter]
Urban is supposed to be stopping by at
some point this week, but the problem is
I've now got a meeting that's going to
take me off campus when he's here. But
yeah, those guys have been awesome, man.
It's pretty cool to sit in the same seat
that those two guys sat for sure. >> Yeah,
>> Yeah,
>> you know, there's so much talk about
balancing two different jobs and
everything going on and we're seeing it
throughout the college football playoff.
coach, you just lived it, you know,
coaching to lane in a college football
playoff game while also hiring a staff,
worrying about the portal, worrying
about your roster at Florida. What was
that process like? And when you watch
some of these other games, you know, you
went up against a team that's having to
balance all this out with Old Miss as
well. What are what are some of your
thoughts about having gone through that process?
process?
Yeah, you know, with the two-lane to
Florida transition, I was really the
only one doing it because all the guys
that were on my staff at two lane that
were going to follow me here, which
everybody didn't come because some guys
too lane needed to keep some guys to
help them be successful moving forward.
And there were some guys I needed here,
but I didn't really put anybody in a
situation where they had to maybe make a
decision or be split with their time um
other than myself. I was very um busy
with bo both jobs, you know, and I was
when I had downtime, I was coming here.
I was in Gainesville a lot trying to
meet with players, talk to as many guys
as I could, spend time with them. When
we got into game weeks, I was always
going back to uh New Orleans to get
ready for a game. And so it it was a
lot. I I you know, um never like losing.
The morning after our loss to Old Miss
in the CFP game, I I did wake up and I
looked at my wife and I'm like, man,
doing one job is going to give me like
at least the ability to have focus and
attention to detail at a higher level, I
think. And so, the calendar doesn't make
it easy for when you're in a scenario
where maybe taking another job and still
playing the playoff. Miss done a great
job. I think that staff's done a
fantastic job with Pete down of managing
the situation. I know Nick Sabin went on
ESPN College Game Day and railed against
the calendar. Is it an easy fix in
college football? There are a lot of
things that seem a little bit
complicated. Some seem pretty easy. Is
fixing that calendar of season ending
college football playoff portal uh
semester starting and everything else.
Is that an easy fix in the game right
now that needs to happen?
>> Yeah, common sense has to prevail at
some point, right? Like let's not
outsmart ourselves. So, and we moved the
signing date that used to be in February
up to December for the midyear guys,
which I'm good with. But then we moved
it from the end of December to the
beginning of December, which is
conference championship week. So, this
past December first week, I took the job
here on a Sunday,
flew here on a Monday after a Monday
practice for a conference championship
game. Flew back to New Orleans for
Tuesday practice.
Wednesday morning was in charge of doing
two signing days, one at two lane and
one here and also having practice for a
conference championship game the same
day. So we had two signing days I was
trying to run and make sure we did an
okay job.
And really to me, you know, we've become
a little bit more like the NFL. We're
not completely NFL because believe it or
not, our guys are still supposed to go
to school. >> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> Right. Like I don't know if they all go
but they're supposed to go. And so, um,
there's a an element there where the
NFL, they they've got this thing figured
out to where like you do this thing
called football season. All right. At
the end of football season, they have
coach movement, player movement, but
nobody can leave until the season's
over, unless somebody gets traded, of
course. Then after the season's over,
coaches and players can move, like coach
movement, free agency, draft. Then they
do OTAAS, mini camps, training camp, and
they do this thing again called football
season. All right. So, how can we change
that in our world? I think maybe move
the season up the more the playoff
expands. We're at 12, go to 16, whatever
it gets to, but move the season up,
start the playoffs earlier, in the
playoffs earlier, closer to January one
like we used to do. Now, TV drives
everything. Um, but I think there's a
way where we could get the national
championship game back closer to January
1 and then everybody right now would be
focused on just player movement. Um, and
that sort of thing, but I don't think
it's that complicated to fix. I do think
it takes common sense. I don't know how
many people got that.
>> It's funny you bring up school, Huden.
We've talked about it. I can't remember
the last time someone was academically
ineligible for a bowl game.
>> A lot of them just
>> I feel like since NIL, we haven't
[laughter] had a single academic
casualty. I remember growing up in
college football and having to worry
about your favorite team's players
>> not passing their finals. Yes.
>> In order to play in the bowl game.
Coach, that seems like a thing of the
past now.
>> Yeah. Well, you know, some of that
changed too with co because all these
classes went online and it's like that's
a different world. But, you know, on top
of that, like the academic piece, like
it does still matter. Like getting a
degree does mean something. The other
thing I think is really funny is like um
you know, we're allowed to like pay
players, right? Which I think is
freaking awesome. Like I want our guys
to get paid. They deserve it. They work
their ass off. Like I'm all for it.
>> Um but like we give out like Jordan
brand shoes here because we're a jump
man school over here. And so like that's
like a cool hip thing. And I've got like
all these Jordans on my desk over here.
But we can't give them to the players
till after their career is over because
the monetary value is too great. It's
called the extra benefit. And I'm like
the shoes are worth a couple hundred
bucks or maybe I don't know maybe a
couple thousand bucks. I don't know what
they're worth, but we're already paying
these dudes. Like, why can't we give
them these [laughter] shoes?
>> Chad and I will text and give them to
him. It seems like something cool
outside of a window where you're
supposed to call him because that's too
like I can't pick up the phone and call
a guy before he's a certain age.
>> I'm like, but we can pay him whatever we
want to pay him. So,
>> hey, the perspective of that you have
here. So, the NFL field, general manager
now, you know, a front office at for the
Florida Gator with Dave Caldwell. And I
I'm curious like when you take the job,
is it how jarring is it the vast
difference between a available funds,
resources, meetings for NIL, just the
structure itself going to the SEC?
>> Well, I I I tell people, you know, I'm
very grateful. My first job was at Troy
University as a head coach. All right.
At Troy University for a little while
there, year one, I was the head football
coach. I was the nutritionist. I was the
GM. I was like the part-time equipment
guy. I was like an operations guy. Like
I did everything. Like there was
anything that went on in the building
that didn't really have to have my
fingerprints on it. All had my
fingerprints on it to some degree.
>> Yeah. Occasionally if I had Hey, I might
if I got to line the field, I'll line
the freaking field. Like whatever I got
to do.
>> Go to two lane. Little bit more resourcing.
resourcing. >> Mhm.
>> Mhm.
>> Little bit more help. Come here. More
resourcing again. More help. Very
grateful for Dave, you know, as Dave and
I um put this together.
>> There's a lot that I'm leaning on him
for because I want to coach the football
team. All right. Like, and I'm going to
recruit the players, which still means
relationships. I'm not a freaking
negotiator. Like, I'm not sitting down
with guys going, "Well, this is your
salary. this years like buyouts bump
that I want to coach. And so Dave's been
awesome for me. His his um him being
here has made me more attracted to this
this job, this role. There's a lot of
things I think we have to address maybe
and recalibrate with how things have
been done at Florida.
>> Um restructuring some of the stuff we're
in the process of doing. So there's a
lot of people here that want to see this
get done the right way. a ton of people,
a lot of support, but we need everybody
pulling the rope in the same direction,
and we all got to be aligned, and we all
got to understand like, man, we're on
the same team here, and let's like let's
do this together. You know, you want to
go you want to go fast, go alone. You
want to go far, go together, right? And
so, we have to make sure that we have a
strategic plan that's built to last, not
just built for like let's win a few
games. And so there's some hard
decisions that come up because we have
limited resourcing even though we have
more resourcing than Troy or two lane. I
can't just pull out the checkbook and
outbid every other SEC school every time
I want a player because we do have a set
amount of funds that we can't go over.
And so Dave's been very helpful in that
process. Very glad he's here with me.
Hey, if you like the channel, become a
season ticket holder for Hot Mic by
clicking the subscribe button below and
join the conversation in the comments
section. Agree, disagree, we'll join you
there in the chat. Now, back to Hot Mike.
Mike.
>> Well, and speaking of hard decisions, um
DJ Lagway, you know, faced a faced a
hard decision. You faced a hard decision
when when meeting with him and talking
about the future. How was that meeting
and and and looking back now and looking
forward, how do you sort of feel about
the whole situation?
I love DJ. I think DJ's a tremendous
young man. Like the time I got to spend
with him and the research and homework I
did on him, you nobody would ever say DJ
Bluway not a good person. Everybody's
like, "Man, great person." All right.
Obviously a talented football player.
Like you've seen his his good has been
really good. Um I've watched it with my
own two eyes. Um think the world of him.
You know, when I met with DJ, I just
say, "Look, man. This culture is be
built on toughness and love of football.
If you fit that, great. If you don't,
then that's not going to be good. I
said, you know, let's talk through what
this is going to look like moving
forward. Would love to have you stay
here if you're comfortable with some
ground rules that are laid out. And it
was his decision to leave. I He was not
forced out of here by any stretch of the
imagination. Um I'm for him being
successful wherever he goes next unless
we play against him at some point.
Right. Yeah. But I'm for DJ. I've had
players I've coached that have left me.
Darien Mitzah was my quarterback at two lane.
lane.
>> Pretty good one.
>> 2024. I hope Daren Mitsah has great
success his entire career. Unless I
coach against him and I want him to
lose. All right. We did that last year.
We played against Darion. You know what
he did? He lost. All right. So, I'm for
everybody that I've been around. I'm not
against guys. I I hope DJ ends up in a
great situation and he can be extremely
successful and have a great career. Um I
hate that it didn't work out here. I
would have loved to have had the
opportunity to coach him. He just felt
like maybe it wasn't the right fit and
so we've all moved on.
>> I feel like there's this giant dichotomy
in the sport right now. You coach the
ultimate we game. It is the ultimate
team sport that you're coaching with
football. Yet it college football has
become the ultimate me sport. And I'm
talking about, you know, coaches having
to look out for themselves, number one,
players looking out for number one.
People are comparing it to the NFL. And
I'm thinking it's not the NFL because
the NFL when you sign a contract, you
got to honor it. You know, if you're a
player, you're locked in for a certain
amount. You can't renegotiate not just
every season, but every week with with
the coach or with the administration.
How do you navigate that in trying to
live sort of I feel like the best
coaches kind of have to live in both
worlds and I feel like that's got to be
tough. It's a tough pill to swallow for
me as someone who covers a sport and
follows it. Is it tough for you to coach
in it?
>> Yeah. So, my brother lives in Atlanta.
He's 50. He loves SEC football. It's
tough for him because he's like, "Man,
it's not like it used to be, you know,
where you you signed a guy and you knew
he's going to be there for four or five
years unless he transferred down to an
FCS school and you saw him develop the
whole way through." I I think you have
to adapt and adjust. Whether I like
every part of the new model doesn't
matter, right? Like, so um there's
certain things that maybe I don't like
that I just have to embrace and um
evolve with. Um, at the end of the day,
man, I'm for our players getting paid.
Um, I'm okay with transferring being
allowed. I do think we could probably
put more substantial things in the
contracts to maybe make it more concrete
to where guys are committed to a place a
little bit more. I'd like to see some of
that. Um, like when I was at Two Lane or
Troy, I would have loved to have seen
like a an exchange fee like European
soccer has like you want you want to buy
my player that's down here, you can buy
him, but you got to pay me something to
get him. And so that's a model that I
think would be maybe interesting. Um,
but for me, I'm a player's coach. Now,
sometimes that means I hug a guy,
sometimes I kick him in the butt. I love
the guys we coach. Um, I want to be
invested in their lives. I want to help
them maximize who they can become on and
off the field. and I also want to be
taken care of and compensated. And so I
think how you balance both uh is
important. You have to be authentic and
genuine and have real relationships with
your guys.
>> How do you find the trust in some of
these players like signetti is doing
this with what we know what Indiana was.
No one's thinking about that now. You
know that it's going to be a headline if
Oregon beats them. Uh if Keifin leads
Old Miss, you've played them twice. I
mean, you know that you've got a team
there that rallies. There's a there's a
vibe with some teams that other teams
don't have. And the what you just
described, I feel like it's harder to
find nowadays. Is it true that that is
is difficult to find? And how do you do it?
it?
>> Yeah. It takes time to build trust. You
don't build it overnight, right? And so,
um, and and you have to have
relationship. Like for me to be able to
trust somebody, I got to know they got
my best interest at heart, >> right?
>> right?
>> Well, you don't know somebody has your
best interest at heart off of one
conversation. The only way you can show
somebody you love them is through
actions and through relationship and
through time. So like um I I I love my
mom cuz growing up as a kid, my mom made
sacrifices for me.
>> Well, until I see somebody make a
sacrifice for me, how do I know they
really like love me and care about me?
And that's how you build trust. And so
um and then trust is also built through
honesty and direct conversation and
transparency and um so that takes time.
Um, I think you're able to do it faster,
um, when you're very upfront, you're
very deliberate, and you and you really
believe in clear communication and
you're concise with that communication.
You don't try to like beat around the
bush with guys. Um, it's challenging.
Some guys are less trusting because of
maybe they've been burned.
>> Exactly. Right.
>> And so, it's how do you how do you build
that? Each guy's different. Every
individual is different.
Uh, was Old Miss any different the
second goound to the first with
different coaching at as at head coach?
I'm just I mean they they're very good.
We know that.
>> Yeah. They beat us 45 to 10 in game one.
They beat us 41 to 10 in game two. They
looked a lot the same to me. They kicked
our ass both times.
>> I [laughter]
I don't mean that in a tongue-in-cheek
way. I mean like they look like a legit
team that everyone thought was just
going to fall off the planet. Yeah.
Yeah. Absolutely.
>> Yeah. Well, Trinidad No, I took no
offense. Trust me. >> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
Um, Trinidad Chain was like really good.
Like Kiwan Lacy really good. The
receivers's really good. Like the number
six, the linebacker. I think he's the
best communicator on the second level of
the defense I've seen all year in
college football. All right. So, like
they're a well coached, talented team.
You can tell they've attacked the
portal. They got Yeah,
>> I think they've got probably We talked about
about
>> alignment, structure, organization
within the portal and financially. I
think Old Miss has had great success.
Not to take anything away from Lane. >> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> But Keith Carter, Walker Jones,
>> and not take anything away from Pete
either, but like Old Miss is they're
doing this NIL revshare stuff as well as
anybody in America. They're paying dudes
>> and they're like they are writing bigger
checks. So, and kudos to them. Good for
them. They've got a great uh I think
plan um that we all need to learn from
and emulate and so uh they're a really
good football team. Man, I looked out
there. I didn't see a whole lot of
weaknesses when we played them game one
or game two.
>> Hey, kudos to you for writing a big
check to Tain. Yeah. $100,000 the
collective. You talked about the
transfer fee in European soccer. I think
it's one like you said with actions like
it's one thing to say it. It's another
thing to actually show appreciation uh
to a place when you leave because it'd
be easy just to say, "Hey, this is the
SEC. It's a bigger program. See you
guys. I'm out." But you you cut a check.
That's pretty neat.
>> Yeah. My wife and I had made that
decision in October. Um we had cleared
it through David Harris at Tulain, the
athletic director, that he would allow
us to give it straight to football if I
gave a check. We discussed it. Me and my
wife did. um through taking this job, me
and my wife kind of sat down. I said,
"Hey, I think this is still the right
thing to do." Um because we care about
the place. He gave me a tremendous
opportunity. Twice in my career, I
became an FBS position coach, full-time
coach for the first time in my career at
the age of 29 at two lane. Get became a
head coach for the second time in my
career a few years ago at Two Lane. And
so, it's been a huge part of my career.
Our oldest two kids were born in New
Orleans. Um I'm a big believer in like
trying to leave a place better than you
found it. Uh look really what like I
wish I could do more but I have to like
buy a new house here, sell a house there
and uh we're doing a lot but I'm I'm all
for two lane continuing to be
successful. I'm a big two-lane fan. I'll
always be a Greenway fan. Finally, I
What is it like just realizing you're
coaching? You're a head coach in the
SEC? Like coaching is a grind, man. You
know this. Everyone knows. And you've
you're you're the head coach of the
Florida Gator in college football in the
Southeastern Conference. Um where
growing up Chad and I mean there is a
fabric. It's a religion.
>> Yeah. You're one of 16 men who hold that
hold those jobs.
>> We're getting to talk to an SEC head
coach. We have a hobby, not a job. like
what what's the perspective from you and
have you had have you been able to enjoy it?
it?
>> Yeah. Well, first to your point I I I've
got a job but it is my hobby, right? So
like I grew up as a kid always saying,
man, I want to go play football today. I
never said I wanted to go work football
and so I'm getting to
>> do something I love doing daily and
that's coaching the game, competing,
impacting our players lives positively.
Um, and then Kadik to to have the
opportunity to do it in this league has
been a dream of mine. Like since I was a
kid to be quite honest with you. Like
all when I grew up I grew up in Alabama. All right.
All right. >> Yep.
>> Yep.
>> I didn't watch the NFL that closely. I
watched the SEC. I watch college football.
football.
Um, so this is that to me. Always has
been. And so every morning my alarm
clock goes off, whether it's 4:30, 5:00
a.m., whatever time each day. And man,
I'm like fired up. I get to do what I
get to do every day. Do I like every
part of the day right now? No, not every
part of it. But as soon as we got our
team in place and I get to go attack the
offseason and coach these dudes, dude,
I'm going to be freaking fired up.
>> I love it, man. I can't wait to watch
you. I see what it goes down here. It's
going to be it's going to be badass or
whatever it is. And blunt, which I
appreciate, man. Hey, congrats again and
let's do this again soon. We can uh we
can chat uh NIL, whatever. Or we'll talk
ball. I think that's what you would prefer.
prefer.
>> Sounds good.
>> All right, man. Thanks for having me on. Go.
Go.
>> Absolutely. Anytime. There's uh coach
John Summerall uh joining us in uh quite
the uh again the the he's you know how
to describe him? pissed off for greatness.
greatness. >> Yeah.
>> Yeah. >> Right.
>> Right. >> Well,
>> Well,
>> I love that.
>> I look at him, too, and I think, you
know, Huden, that he's us
>> like he grew up in the South. He's I I
He's five months younger than me looking
at his birthday.
>> And he grew up watching SEC football
like that. The way he talks about it is
the way I feel about watching the game.
I've never been a football coach. I' I
didn't play in the SEC. I haven't
coached in the SEC. So I I know nothing
about what his dayto-day is like cuz
I've never done it.
>> We're in the back.
>> It would be as if we ended up in that
spot because that's the enthusias
enthusiasm I think I would have that he
shows right there in that interview.
It's awesome to see
>> in the in the Midsouth.
>> The college teams are the pro team. >> Y
>> Y
>> you know the Titans weren't here until
they didn't move here until 98. Uh so
and they made the move from Houston in
'96. in Nashville. Uh the the stadium
didn't open.
>> He also grew up an hour and a half down
the road from us in Huntsville, Alabama.
So, it's just I I'm listening to him
talk and I'm thinking this dude's us.
>> You can hear Saving it in the tube. All
right. All right.
>> Little bit. Little bit.
>> Thanks for watching. Subscribe to
Outkick Hotmic.
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