GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida hired Tulane’s Jon Sumrall as football coach Sunday, settling for its second choice after Lane Kiffin picked LSU over the Gators.

Sumrall finalized a six-year, $44.7 million contract that comes with incentives, according to a person familiar with the search. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because financial details were not released. The deal averages $7.45 million annually.

The 43-year-old Sumrall will remain with the 22nd-ranked Green Wave for the American Conference title game next week and through the College Football Playoff if Tulane makes the 12-team field.

The Gators also agreed to terms with longtime NFL executive Dave Caldwell as their general manager. Caldwell won a Super Bowl during his five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and built a roster that made the AFC title game in eight years (2013-20) with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He also spent time with Atlanta, Indianapolis and Carolina.

Caldwell is expected to help manage Florida’s salary cap and evaluate talent — essentially taking some things off Sumrall’s plate as college football moves closer to adopting NFL-style front offices.

Sumrall played linebacker at Kentucky (2002-04) and returned to his alma mater for a three-year stint before becoming Troy’s head coach in 2022. He won consecutive Sun Belt championships in two seasons with the Trojans and then enjoyed similar success at Tulane.

Sumrall is 19-7 in two years in New Orleans and led the Green Wave to the American championship game both seasons. So he has made four league title games in four years as a head coach. The Gators are hoping he’s Urban Meyer 2.0 and not Billy Napier 2.0.

“Not many coaches win big at two different non-Power programs, and even fewer do it as quickly as Jon has done it,” Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said. “He joins rare company — coaches like Urban Meyer, Brian Kelly and Willie Fritz — who’ve delivered immediate success at multiple stops. Jon’s track record of rapid turnarounds speaks directly to his leadership and the culture he establishes.”

Sumrall had been considered a possibility at Auburn, Arkansas and Ole Miss. Florida made a late push when Kiffin’s interest in the Gators waned. Florida fans are likely to view him as a consolation prize, another gamble from a Group of Five conference.

Sumrall replaces Napier, who was fired in mid-October and went 22-23 over four seasons in Gainesville. Napier was nicknamed “Sun Belt Billy” because he often looked in over his head in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference.

Going back to Louisiana for another G5 coach? And a defensive guy to boot? That’s a bold move for Stricklin, who is sure to draw the ire of the Florida faithful for failing to land Kiffin.

He was roundly booed at a championship celebration to honor men’s basketball coach Todd Golden and his title-winning team in April. Now, the fan base is calling for his job.

A website titled FireScottStricklin.com documents Stricklin’s shortcomings, and some fans organized a rally Sunday outside Florida Field to promote Stricklin’s “immediate removal.”

But Stricklin seemingly has the support of the Board of Trustees, which gave him a three-year contract extension in June and allowed him to conduct a coaching search that included roughly 10 interviews without interference.

There were rumors and reports about boosters getting involved and straining relationships with Kiffin and his camp. But Stricklin made it clear he was the only one making the hire. Kiffin chose LSU after a public tug-of-war involving all three schools.

Kiffin’s family members took scouting trips to Gainesville and Baton Rouge, and he met with administrators and fundraisers on several occasions. The trip to Gainesville was underwhelming, according to people familiar with the search, and high school football in the area left plenty to be desired.

Florida even turned to Heisman Trophy winners Steve Spurrier and Danny Wuerffel during its pursuit of Kiffin, who eventually slowed communication with UF officials to the point where the Gators decided they had to move on in a crowded market.

Now, Sumrall will be counted on to lead a downtrodden program back to prominence in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference.

Tulane’s numbers are far from gaudy: The Green Wave rank 39th in the country in total offense and 64th in total defense. Sumrall is expected to hire outside coordinators to help him rebuild in Gainesville.

The Gators (4-8) clearly have talent and ended a dismal season with one of their best performances, a 40-21 victory against rival Florida State in the Swamp in which running back Jadan Baugh ran for a career-high 266 yards and two touchdowns and DJ Lagway threw for three scores.

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A Ukrainian delegation will meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff in Florida later Sunday for the latest round of negotiations over the US-backed plan to end the war.

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will also attend the meeting in Miami, a White House official told CNN.

Ukraine is seeking international security guarantees as part of any agreement to end the war and a ceasefire based on the current frontlines. It has rejected ceding any territory not already occupied by Russian forces.

But Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has shown little signal he’s ready to offer concessions, saying that the war would only end “once Ukrainian troops withdraw from the territories they occupy.”

Rubio met the Ukrainian team in Geneva last weekend, but since then the lead Ukrainian negotiator, Andriy Yermak, has resigned amid a corruption scandal. Yermak’s place has been taken by Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.

The Geneva meeting substantially amended the original 28-point blueprint developed by Witkoff and Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian sovereign wealth fund and a Kremlin special envoy.

Ukraine’s European allies said that the original plan – which was seen as highly favorable to Russia – would require “additional work.”

Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov said last week the Kremlin had received the latest version of the plan.

“This isn’t an official one, but we do have the document. We haven’t discussed it with anyone yet because the points in it require truly serious analysis and discussion,” Ushakov said.

After suggesting that he wanted Ukraine to agree to a deal by Thursday of last week, Trump backed away from imposing any kind of deadline.

“You know what the deadline for me is? When it’s over,” he said.

The negotiations come against a backdrop of persistent Russian missile and drone attacks against cities and infrastructure across Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that in the last week, Russia had used nearly 1,400 attack drones, 1,100 guided aerial bombs, and 66 missiles in attacks.

For its part, Ukraine continues to target Russian energy and defense infrastructure with long-range drones and domestically manufactured missiles. Ukraine also used maritime drones on Friday and Saturday in strikes in the Black Sea against two sanctioned oil tankers used to ship Russian oil.

The two tankers, which flew under the Gambian flag, were damaged but not sunk.

As the negotiations continue, Ukraine’s former military chief of staff, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who is considered a potential rival to Zelensky, wrote in the Daily Telegraph Sunday that “war does not always end with the victory of one side and the defeat of the other.”

“We Ukrainians strive for complete victory, but we cannot reject the option of a long-term end to the war,” Zaluzhnyi wrote.

The finish line is right around the corner for the sweepstakes to land Lane Kiffin. 

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Florida dropped out of the marathon early. Reports surfaced on Friday that Kiffin pulled out of consideration for the Gators job. He’s set to choose between LSU and Ole Miss on Saturday.

Kiffin had been Florida’s top target after Billy Napier was fired on Oct. 19. However, communication broke down between Kiffin and the Gators in recent days. 

More News: Oregon Coach a ‘Prime’ Candidate for Newly Opened College Football Job

Florida has a couple of backup options for Kiffin. Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key is someone to keep an eye on. 

On Saturday, the big name for Florida is Jon Sumrall. The Tulane head coach had been linked to Auburn for weeks, but he appears to be out of consideration for the job with the Tigers. 

Multiple reports indicate that Sumrall is the top option for Florida.

Sumrall has gone 41-11 during his stints at Troy and Tulane. His resume is similar to that of Napier when Florida hired him in 2021 after going 40-12 at Louisiana.

Florida fans on social media appeared upset with athletic director Scott Stricklin for fumbling the bag on Kiffin and then considering hiring a Group of 5 coach as Napier’s replacement. Some want Stricklin to be fired before he can hire Sumrall.

“Good morning, Gator Nation It is a great day to fire Scott Stricklin,” wrote a fan.

“Scott Stricklin is 1-for-7 on coaching hires. $31M+ wasted on buyouts. Elite coaches don’t want the job. Time for a change,” argued a fan.

“Scott Striklin is the Billy Napier of athletic directors,” posted another.

“If Scott Stricklin had any sense, Lincoln Riley would be headed to Florida, not Jon Sumrall. Unfortunately, it appears he paid Billy Napier $21 million to leave so he could hire Billy Napier 2.0. The Gators continue to be unserious about football,” argued a poster.

“We don’t want Jon Sumrall as our Head Coach, nor Scott Stricklin as our AD!” suggested a fan.

“So how can we get Scott Stricklin fired if majority think he sucks at his job and ruining the football program? We would have been great again with Kiffin. If he goes after Sumrall he should be fired on the spot,” wrote another.

It’ll be interesting to see if Florida continues to go after Stricklin amid the backlash. Texas A&M had a similar situation with Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops in 2023 before the Aggies hired Mike Elko away from Duke.

For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.