Is Tulane Green Wave head coach Jon Sumrall a flight risk for the program?

The end of the Willie Fritz era for the Tulane Green Wave ended with a bang. After failing to win more than seven games in its first six seasons at the helm, the team won double-digit games in two consecutive seasons.

In 2022, they capped a 12-2 season with a victory over the USC Trojans in the Cotton Bowl. Last season, they won 11 games and lost to the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Military Bowl after Fritz took the job in Houston.

The program was fortunate to poach Jon Sumrall from the Troy Trojans to take his place.

As a rapidly rising coach, the Trojans enjoyed great success under his leadership.

He went 23-4 in two seasons, including a victory in the Duluth Trading Company Cure Bowl over UTSA that concluded the 2022 football season.

The Green Wave have already suffered two defeats this season, but that doesn't dampen their prospects. Sumrall knows a thing or two about bouncing back after two losses, as Troy was 1-2 in both seasons he was there.

In the highly competitive American Athletic Conference, Tulane has a shot at winning the title to maintain its chances of making the College Football Playoff.

With such success, should the school be worried about Sumrall jumping ship after one season? ESPN's Adam Rittenberg believes a power conference schedule could come sooner rather than later, especially if success in the Sun Belt carries over to the AAC.

“Sumrall looks like a future SEC coach. The only question is: would he make the jump so soon? He is only in his first season at Tulane after a 23-4 run at Troy that included back-to-back Sun Belt titles and an AP No. 19 ranking in 2019. In theory, the 42-year-old Sumrall could have stayed in Troy and jumped straight to a Power 4 job. Instead, he returned to Tulane, where he was co-defensive coordinator from 2012 to 2014 and has a team that could compete in the AAC but has already suffered two losses. Would Power 4 athletic directors still be excited about Sumrall if, say, Tulane goes 7-5, especially with five years left on his contract? They should be. He is an excellent coach with experience at two SEC programs (Ole Miss and Kentucky) and deep roots in the South. “He did a great job,” an industry source said,” Rittenberg wrote.

It would be hard to imagine Sumrall leaving after one season at Tulane, but if the right job opens up, it would be hard to turn down. An opportunity to coach in the SEC, as Rittenberg suggested, would be one of those scenarios that's hard to turn down.

Of course, such a job has to become available. If this is the case, expect some tense times for the Green Wave's sports program. As the ESPN senior writer shared, he has an attractive resume and the type of experience a power conference looks for in a G5 coach.