Mississippi State football coaching search hot board: Jon Sumrall

As the Mississippi State football program looks for its next head coach, Troy’s Jon Sumrall sure seems like an interesting option.

With Zach Arnett out as the head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Zac Selmon (MSU’s athletics director) is now looking for the next leader of the Miss. State football program. One intriguing name is Jon Sumrall.

While he, GJ Kinne, and Rhett Lashlee all have the same amount of head coaching experience, Sumrall’s resume should help make convincing arguments in his favor.

Though he hasn’t coached two full seasons yet, Sumrall is 20-4 so far. He’s won a conference championship and a bowl game. He simply knows how to win and has shown that he can get good results in a hurry.

That sort of winning pedigree would be nice in Starkville.

And for Mississippi State football fans who cling to the notion that the Mississippi State football team needs to be focused on emphasizing defense, it’s worth noting that Sumrall’s a defensive guy and his defenses are consistently solid. Troy has absolutely stifled opponents left and right all throughout this season, shutting down some incredibly high-powered offenses in the Sun Belt.

But, well, let’s say you want a coach who understands that a good defense isn’t enough to win in the SEC. Let’s consider the fact that Sumrall has shown he can adapt, evolve, and pair a solid offense with his defense and win (a lot).

Mississippi State football: Could Jon Sumrall provide MSU with stability and a stifling defense?

After some early struggles on the offensive side of things, Sumrall’s Trojans improved considerably on that side of things in this season as they’ve amassed 445 total yards of offense per game and are averaging 29 points per game.

Ideally, you’d like to see more out of an offense, but any sort of adjustments that can be made when examining offensive shortcomings are good to see. Because a defensive guy that can adapt can win.

Sumrall also has the advantage of having some solid regional recruiting ties that he’s built throughout his career. As some Mississippi State fans cling to the idea that MSU has to rely heavily upon homegrown talent, someone like Sumrall could certainly do just that. He’s coached in Mississippi before and has spent time throughout the South.

He’s a rising star in the coaching community and the consensus seems to be that Sumrall will have SEC offers sooner rather than later. If the Bulldogs want to pursue someone who can win in a hurry, recruit the South well, and bring a stifling defense to Starkville, then Sumrall has already shown he can do that at Troy.

Oh, and he adapts on offense. That seems worth noting.

Sumrall isn’t the splashiest hire ever, but he’s someone who could help provide stability and strengthen a program that has seen plenty of chaos in recent seasons. And if the Bulldogs are interested in that, they should consider all that Sumrall brings to the table.