GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida football team is scheduled to open spring camp a week from today. Unlike the rest of this decade, the Gators have developed at least a modicum of stability on their coaching staff.
In late December as Florida prepared for its Citrus Bowl matchup against Michigan, head coach
Jim McElwain was optimistic his inaugural coaching staff would remain intact in Year 2. He got his wish other than for a personnel move he made in replacing defensive backs coach
Kirk Callahan with former Virginia Tech assistant
Torrian Gray.
If you follow the Gators closely, you know that in recent years moving companies have earned their share of business from the Gators' coaching staff. Coaches come and go more than ever these days in college football, one reason the
ticker on CoachingSearch.com is one of the most popular Internet destinations in the industry.
Coaching stability is usually a crucial ingredient in consistent success. All you need to do is take a short walk from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium over to McKethan Stadium for a good example.
In his ninth season as Florida's baseball coach, when
Kevin O'Sullivan looks left or right for some advice during the game, he sees the same two faces as his first season: assistants
Brad Weitzel and
Craig Bell.
In the case of Florida's football program, whatever stability the Gators owned shifted dramatically in late December 2009 when head coach
Urban Meyer experienced uncertainty about his health and his future. We all know the story.
Meyer said he was leaving, and then he wasn't. In a profession adrift in uncertainty, the wheels started turning inside Florida's football offices. When a head coach is uncertain about his future, his assistants are uncertain about theirs.
Meyer returned for a final season in 2010 but had to replace four assistants, including defensive coordinator Charlie Strong, who left to become head coach at Louisville. After an 8-5 season, Meyer was gone for good.
Will Muschamp took over and in his four seasons, the coaching staff continued to overturn on a regular basis. Muschamp employed 19 different assistants in his tenure. Now McElwain is in charge, and after a 10-4 first season, he appears to have stabilized the coaching turnover.
While the Gators have had multiple changes in their support staff this offseason, which is the norm within the industry, only one change among the assistants is Florida's fewest since 2009 when Meyer only had to replace two: offensive coordinator
Dan Mullen, who left to become head coach at Mississippi State, and tight ends/offensive line assistant
John Hevesy.
Take in mind that since 2010, Florida has had three head coaches, so that fact alone is going to naturally boost turnover. Still, if you factor in all the coaching changes on the 10-man staff over the six past seasons, Florida has averaged 5.2 staff changes per season, which is a lot of new faces in new places each year.
The year-by-year breakdown: 2010 (4), 2011 (8), 2012 (3), 2013 (3), 2014 (4) and 2015 (9).
So, when the Gators take the field next week, forgive Gray if he looks a little out of place as he tries to settle in. He's the lone new guy for a change.
Here is a look at the 43 full-time coaches the Gators have employed since Meyer's moment of uncertainly rocked the program (
Note: Chart reflects UF's coaching staff only in seasons since 2009 and each coach's last position):
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| Coach | Position | Season(s) |
| Jim McElwain | Head coach | 2015-16 |
| Doug Nussmeier | Offensive coordinator | 2015-16 |
| Tim Skipper | Running backs | 2015-16 |
| Kerry Dixon II | Receivers | 2015-16 |
| Greg Nord | Special teams/tight ends | 2015-16 |
| Geoff Collins | Defensive coordinator | 2015-16 |
| Randy Shannon | Co-DC/linebackers | 2015-16 |
| Chris Rumph | Defensive line | 2015-16 |
| Mike Summers | Offensive line | 2014-16 |
| Torrian Gray | Defensive backs | 2016 |
| Kirk Callahan | Defensive backs | 2015 |
| Terrell Williams | Defensive line | N/A* |
| Will Muschamp | Head coach | 2011-14 |
| Travaris Robinson | Defensive backs | 2011-14 |
| Derek Lewis | Tight ends | 2011-14 |
| D.J. Durkin | Defensive coordinator | 2010-14 |
| Brian White | Running backs | 2009-14 |
| Kurt Roper | Offensive coordinator | 2014 |
| Chris Leak | Receivers | 2014 |
| Coleman Hutzler | Special teams | 2014 |
| Brad Lawing | Defensive line | 2013-14 |
| Brent Pease | Offensive coordinator | 2012-13 |
| Tim Davis | Offensive line | 2012-13 |
| Jeff Choate | Special teams | 2013 |
| Joker Phillips | Receivers | 2013 |
| Bush Hamdan | Receivers | 2012 |
| Dan Quinn | Defensive coordinator | 2011-12 |
| Bryant Young | Defensive line | 2011-12 |
| Charlie Weis | Offensive coordinator | 2011 |
| Frank Verducci | Offensive line | 2011 |
| Aubrey Hill | Receivers | 2011 |
| Urban Meyer | Head coach | 2009-10 |
| Steve Addazio | Offensive coordinator/OL | 2009-10 |
| Scot Loeffler | Quarterbacks | 2009-10 |
| Chuck Heater | Defensive backs/Co-DC | 2009-10 |
| Dan McCarney | Defensive line | 2009-10 |
| Teryl Austin | Defensive coordinator | 2010 |
| Stan Drayton | Running backs | 2010 |
| Zach Azzanni | Receivers | 2010 |
| Charlie Strong | Defensive coordinator | 2009 |
| Kenny Carter | Running backs | 2009 |
| Billy Gonzales | Receivers | 2009 |
| Vince Bedford | Cornerbacks | 2009 |
*Spent a month on the job before accepting a position with the Miami Dolphins
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