Tulane football coach Jon Sumrall posted on social media Sunday night he intends to stay at the school after drawing interest from North Carolina, where mutual interest with former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick continued through the weekend.
UNC officials and the six-time Super Bowl winner remained in contact over the weekend, two people who have been briefed on the situation told The Athletic. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because none of the talks were being made public.
Sumrall received interest from each of the Power 4 schools that have had openings: West Virginia, UCF, Purdue and North Carolina. He went 9-4 this year with the Green Wave after going 23-4 in two seasons with Troy.
Sumrall appeared to be a strong candidate for the Tar Heels from the moment they fired Mack Brown, a few days before the season-finale against North Carolina State.
https://t.co/tbwa42cYOW pic.twitter.com/izRIH8rxUg
— Jon Sumrall (@CoachJonSumrall) December 9, 2024
Despite opening earlier than the other Power 4 jobs, UNC’s head coaching position remains vacant.
UCF hired Scott Frost on Saturday and Purdue announced Sunday it had hired Barry Odom away from UNLV. West Virginia remains vacant, with former Mountaineers coach Rich Rodriguez a candidate to return to the school.
The Athletic reported last week that the 72-year-old Belichick, who was pushed out by Patriots owner Robert Kraft after last season, had multiple discussions with North Carolina officials about the job.
Belichick’s son, Steve, is the defensive coordinator at Washington for Jedd Fisch, a former Patriots assistant. The elder Belichick has spent significant time around the Huskies program this year.
Belichick also has 333 NFL victories, 14 away tying Don Shula for the NFL career record.
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