The $11.2M assistant pool is going to be the story of the entire SEC by October. Mark my words - Jon Sumrall just walked in and told the admin exactly what it would take to compete and they wrote the check. That's not just SEC money, that's top-10 nationally money for a staff that has never coached together at this level. The Gators finished 11th in the SEC in passer rating last year and their defensive havoc rate was bottom third in the conference. You don't fix that with scheme tweaks, you fix it by outspending everybody on position coaches who actually develop talent.
Stricklin talking about Sumrall's character is nice for the press conference but the real signal was the checkbook. When you pay coordinators like head coaches, you get guys who have been in the building at 6 AM for years. The Gators had one of the worst third down conversion rates in the Power Four last season and that's a coaching problem, not a talent problem. The new staff is going to flip that completely.
Nobody is talking about what $11.2M actually buys in the SEC East right now. Tennessee and Georgia have been spending but Florida just jumped into the top tier of staff investment. The Gators were -8 in turnover margin last year and forced the third fewest turnovers in the SEC. That's a fundamental coaching failure that money fixes. By the time we hit November, this staff will have the Gators playing disciplined football for the first time in three years.