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Sources: Troy finalizing deal to hire Kentucky coordinator Jon Sumrall as its head coach

Sources: Troy finalizing deal to hire Kentucky coordinator Jon Sumrall as its head coach

Troy University has targeted Kentucky co-defensive coordinator Jon Sumrall to become the school’s next football coach, sources told Yahoo Sports. A deal for Sumrall is expected to be finalized soon.

Sumrall is a former assistant coach at Troy and a key cog during the successful tenure of coach Neal Brown. Sumrall served as the assistant head coach, special teams coordinator and linebackers coach during his last tenure at Troy from 2015-18.

At Kentucky, Sumrall has risen to the role of co-defensive coordinator and also is considered one of the program’s most valuable recruiters.

Sumrall is so popular with Troy’s fan base that people chanted his name at games this season as a plea for the administration to hire him. He’s a native of Huntsville, and both he and his family ingratiated themselves with the community during their time in the area.

Sumrall takes over for Chip Lindsey, who went 15-19 in three seasons at the school before being fired in November. Prior to that, Troy went 31-8 in the previous three seasons under Brown.

Sumrall’s familiarity with the school, reputation as a relentless recruiter and understanding of what it takes to be successful at Troy made him an obvious target from the outset of the search.