Troy hires Notre Dame offensive coordinator Gerad Parker as head coach to replace Jon Sumrall

Troy hired Notre Dame offensive coordinator Gerad Parker to be its next head coach on Monday.

Parker, 42, will replace Jon Sumrall, who left Troy earlier this month after two successful seasons to become head coach at Tulane.

With Troy filling its vacancy, all head coach jobs in Division I's Bowl Subdivision are filled.

“Gerad Parker is a proven winner with an infectious personality and passion for success who has significant experience at some of the best programs in America,” Troy athletic director Brent Jones said. “He competed in the SEC as a player, has been a recruiting coordinator in the Big Ten and has coordinated highly productive offenses in the Big 12 and now at Notre Dame.”

Parker will be a first-time head coach after spending two seasons at Notre Dame, the last as offensive coordinator. Parker, who played at Kentucky, has also been an assistant at West Virginia, Penn State, Duke, Cincinnati and Purdue.

He was interim head coach at Purdue at the end of the 2016 season, in which Darrell Hazell was fired.

After a season as offensive coordinator and receivers coach at West Virginia, he joined Notre Dame in 2022 as tight ends coach for Marcus Freeman.

Parker was promoted to offensive coordinator and this past season the Fighting Irish ranked ninth in the country in yards per play at 6.95. Notre Dame's offense improved its scoring average by more than a touchdown per game during his lone season as coordinator.

“I have had the chance to work closely with Gerad for a number of years and what stands out to me the most are his leadership skills and how tirelessly he works to get the most out of his players," Freeman said in a statement posted on social media.

Troy won consecutive Sun Belt titles under Sumrall and is playing in the Birmingham Bowl against Duke on Saturday.

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