GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida head coach
Dan Mullen completed his inaugural coaching staff on Thursday with the hiring of
Ron English as the Gators' safeties coach. In addition, Mullen announced the position assignments of his 10 assistant coaches.
Below are the list of position assignments for Florida's 2018 coaching staff:
Both Seider and Robinson are serving in these specific roles for the first time in their coaching careers.
Meanwhile, English, a veteran in the college coaching ranks and former head coach at Eastern Michigan, has 20 years of experience at the FBS level, including stints as defensive coordinator at Michigan (2006-07), Louisville (2008) and San Jose State (2016). A two-time Broyles Award nominee and the 2006 National Defensive Coordinator of the Year, English has appeared in 10 bowl games, including three Rose Bowls.
English comes to Gainesville after spending the 2017 season as the safeties coach at Mississippi State and the 2016 campaign as the defensive coordinator at San Jose State.
English spent five seasons as head coach at Eastern Michigan from 2009-13. In the last 30 years, he is one of only two EMU football coaches to be named a Mid-American Conference (MAC) Coach of the Year when he captured the honor in 2011. That squad finished with a 6-6 win-loss record, the most wins by the Eagles since 1995.
English began his collegiate coaching career as the defensive backs coach at Mt. San Antonio College (1993) in Walnut, Calif., after coaching for one season at Ganesha High School (1992), his alma mater, in Pomona, Calif.
English also tutored the secondary for two seasons at San Diego State (1996-97) and served as the outside linebackers coach at Northern Arizona for the 1996 spring practice.
He then went on to spend five seasons (1998-2002) as an assistant football coach at Arizona State. He coached the secondary all five years with the Sun Devils, the final two years with the cornerbacks and the previous three seasons mentoring the safeties. He helped ASU to three bowl appearances: the 1999 and 2000 Aloha and 2002 Holiday bowls. His first stint at ASU was as a graduate assistant coach handling the defensive line during the 1994-95 seasons.
English was a four-year letterman (1987-90) and senior starter at safety for the California Golden Bears football squad. A 1990 graduate of UC-Berkeley with a bachelor's degree in social sciences, English earned his master's degree in education administration from Arizona State in 1995.
English and his wife, Sophia have three children: Simon, Sydney and Seth.
Mississippi State (2017)
The Bulldogs ranked fourth in pass defense (175.0 ypg.) in the Southeastern Conference, third in total defense (302.0) and fifth in scoring defense (20.4).
In addition, MSU returned an interception for a touchdown in three straight games, a first since 2007. They achieved this feat against Kentucky, Texas A&M and UMass.
San Jose State (2016)
The Spartans ranked fourth in pass defense (188.6 ypg) in the Mountain West Conference, first in third-down conversion defense (37.6 percent), fifth in interceptions (10) and fourth in turnovers forced (19).
Eastern Michigan (2009-13)
After two years of laying the foundation, English led the Eagles to its best season in 15 years in 2011.
EMU finished that season with a 6-6 overall mark and a 4-4 record in Mid-American Conference play, snapping a 15-year streak of losing seasons. EMU finished nationally in the top 50 statistically in seven categories to go along with eight top five rankings in the MAC standings.
English was named MAC Coach of the Year for his efforts.
Offensively, the Green and White rushed for 2,620 yards and 16 touchdowns on 575 carries for the 14th-best ground attack in the nation. The total was the second most in program history trailing only the 1987 team that captured the MAC title by running the ball 610 times for a total of 2,701 yards. It marked just the second time in school history that the Eagles rushed for more than 2,000 yards in back-to-back seasons.
Defensively, EMU ranked 34th nationally and third in the MAC in total defense. The Eagles gave up just 350.33 yards per game, an improvement of 103.8 yards per contest. Additionally, the team averaged nearly six tackles for loss per game, the squad's highest total since 2001 when they had 82.
Michigan (2003-07)
English coached the defensive backs for his first three seasons in Ann Arbor, Mich. and served as defensive coordinator in his final two seasons under legendary head coach Lloyd Carr.
In 2007, English oversaw an aggressive Michigan defense that was the nation's eighth-ranked pass defense and 17th in pass efficiency defense. The Wolverines were also 23rd in scoring defense and 24th in total defense.
English was named Rivals.com 2006 National Defensive Coordinator of the Year during his initial season at Michigan. That Wolverine defense rated among the nation's best, finishing first against the run, fourth in sacks, seventh in third-down defense, 10th in total defense and 15th in scoring defense.
The Michigan secondary collected 36 interceptions during his three seasons overseeing the entire corps and turned four of those picks into touchdowns. In addition, the Wolverines yielded just 37 touchdown passes by the opposition during that time, including an NCAA-leading nine in 2003.
English became the first coach in NCAA history to have two defensive backs earn consensus All-America honors in the same season, since the organization began incorporating both an offensive and defensive team in 1965. Cornerback Marlin Jackson and safety Ernest Shazor earned the recognition following the 2004 season. During his tenure on the Michigan staff he coached an All-Big 10 defensive back in every season and had two All-Conference selections in four of his five seasons.
English made an immediate impact on the Wolverine secondary during his first season as an assistant coach when Michigan tied for the national lead in fewest touchdown passes yielded with nine, and finished ninth in pass efficiency defense. The secondary collected 13 interceptions and returned two for scores.
Background
English was a four-year letterman (1987-90) and senior starter at safety for the California Golden Bears football squad. He also started on special teams all four seasons at Cal. English finished his career with 134 tackles and seven sacks and participated in the 1990 Copper Bowl against Wyoming. His identical twin brother, Don, also played for the Golden Bears.
A 1990 graduate of UC-Berkeley with a bachelor's degree in social sciences, English earned his master's degree in education administration from Arizona State in 1995.
English and his wife, Sophia have three children: Simon, Sydney and Seth.
Ron English Coaching History
| Seasons |
School/Team |
Title/Position Coached |
| 2018-Present |
Florida |
Assistant Coach |
| 2017 |
Mississippi State |
Safeties |
| 2016 |
San Jose State |
Defensive Coordinator |
| 2009-13 |
Eastern Michigan |
Head Coach |
| 2008 |
Louisville |
Defensive Coordinator |
| 2006-07 |
Michigan |
Defensive Coordinator |
| 2003-05 |
Michigan |
Defensive Coordinator |
| 1998-2002 |
Arizona State |
Secondary |
| 1996-97 |
San Diego State |
Defensive Backs |
| 1996 |
Northern Arizona |
Defensive Backs – spring only |
| 1994-95 |
Arizona State |
Graduate Assistant |
| 1993 |
Mt. San Antonio College |
Defensive Backs |
| 1992 |
Ganesha HS (Calif.) |
Assistant Coach |
Postseason History
| Season |
Bowl / Playoff Game |
Opponent |
Result |
| 2017 |
Taxslayer (Mississippi State) |
Louisville |
W, 31-27 |
| 2007 |
Capital One (Michigan) |
Florida |
W, 41-35 |
| 2006 |
Rose (Michigan) |
USC |
L, 32-18 |
| 2005 |
Alamo (Michigan) |
Nebraska |
L, 32-28 |
| 2004 |
Rose (Michigan) |
Texas |
L, 38-37 |
| 2003 |
Rose (Michigan) |
USC |
L, 28-14 |
| 2002 |
Holiday (Arizona State) |
Kansas State |
L, 34-27 |
| 2000 |
Aloha (Arizona State) |
Boston College |
L, 31-17 |
| 1999 |
Aloha (Arizona State) |
Wake Forest |
L, 23-3 |
NFL Players (Round Drafted)
DE Pat O'Connor (7th) – Eastern Michigan '17 – Detroit Lions
RB Darius Jackson (6th) – Eastern Michigan '16 – Dallas Cowboys
DT Terrance Taylor (4th) – Michigan '09 – Indianapolis Colts
CB Morgan Trent (6th) – Michigan '09 – Cincinnati Bengals
LB Shawn Crable (3rd) – Michigan '08 – New England Patriots
CB Leon Hall (1st) – Michigan '07 – Cincinnati Bengals
DT Alan Branch (1st) – Michigan '07 – Arizona Cardinals
DE LaMarr Woodley (2nd) – Michigan '07 – Pittsburgh Steelers
LB David Harris (2nd) – Michigan '07 – New York Jets
LB Prescott Burgess (6th) – Michigan '07 – Baltimore Ravens
DT Gabe Watson (4th) – Michigan '06 – Arizona Cardinals
CB Marlin Jackson (1st) – Michigan '05 – Indianapolis Colts
CB Jeremy LeSueur (3rd) – Michigan '04 – Denver Broncos
S Jason Shrivers (5th) – Arizona State '04 – St. Louis Rams
S Adam Archuleta (1st) – Arizona State '01 – St. Louis Rams
CB Ricky Parker (6th) – San Diego State '97 – Chicago Bears
Personal Information
Hometown: Pomona, Calif.
Education: 1991 – Bachelor's in social sciences (UC-Berkeley); 1995 – Master's in education administration (Arizona State)
Wife: Sophia
Children: Simon, Sydney and Seth
