Scot Loeffler - Hello Again
Sunday, September 6, 2009 | Football
By: Kate Manly, UF Communications
Not many coaches have the opportunity to coach a Heisman Trophy winner. Now add two Maxwell Awards, a Davey O'Brien Award, two ESPYs and numerous NCAA, Southeastern Conference and school records. It would be easy to assume that countless football coaches across the nation would jump at the chance to coach Tim Tebow. In December of 2008, the opportunity became available when former offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Dan Mullen resigned from Florida in favor of a head coach position at Mississippi State.
It would take less than one month for head coach Urban Meyer and his staff to hire Scot Loeffler as the new quarterback coach at Florida, but many expected this decision long before it was announced. You see, Loeffler and Tebow share history together. While on staff at the University of Michigan, Loeffler recruited Tebow and the two shared an immediate bond. Tebow has no qualms about making it known that the only reason he visited Michigan was to spend time with Loeffler.
We all know how that story ended, in a press conference televised live on ESPN, Tebow announced his intention to attend the University of Florida. Tebow struggled with this decision because, now knowing the person that he is, he was afraid that his choice would negatively affect the relationships he built throughout the recruiting process. Perhaps it speaks of the bond between the two because Loeffler assured Tebow that regardless of his choice, the duo would remain friends.
"When Timmy and I departed during recruiting, I told him we'd cross paths again,” Loeffler said. “He agreed. I thought it would be when he came to the NFL, so it's funny that it ended up being in his fourth year in college. I'm just happy we got to cross paths a little earlier than expected.”
Loeffler joined the Florida coaching staff in January of 2009, just days before the team claimed its second National Championship win in three seasons with a 24-14 win over top-ranked Oklahoma in the FedEx BCS National Championship. As Loeffler watched his new team hoist the crystal ball trophy in the air, he knew they had grown by leaps and bounds since the last time that he had watched them play. Loeffler was on the opposite sideline of Florida just one year prior, when the Gators were handed a surprising 41-35 loss in the 2008 Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Fla. He was the quarterbacks coach at Michigan and watched as his prot?g? Chad Henne threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns against the Gators.
That game marked the end of Loeffler's career at his alma mater, after spending six seasons guiding the Wolverine quarterbacks. His next step would be to make the job to the National Football League, where he would have one of the best learning experiences of his career as a member of the 0-16 Detroit Lions.
"I got to watch head coach (Rod) Marinelli manage and handle a team when everything was going wrong,” Loeffler told the reporters gathered at the Florida's Media Day over the summer. “It was a tremendous learning experience. It kept everyone together, and it's something I will benefit from in my career down the road."
If you ask Loeffler, the jump from college football to the NFL and now back to college, isn't as drastic as one might imagine. To him, coaching is coaching, regardless of the league. However, coaching a player who some believe could be the best college football player to play the game, adds an exciting twist to going into to work every day. According to Loeffler, the coach-player relationship can sometimes go both ways, as he learns from Tebow's outlook on life and his ability to handle the pressures that go along with being quarterback for the Florida Gators.
"From day one, meeting Timmy, he's had 'it,'” said Loeffler. “And he'll always have 'it.' There's not one thing that surprises me about him except how he handles the off-the-field issues. He has a miraculous way of dealing with the public. He's awesome in every sense of the word."
Nevertheless, Loeffler wants to assure The Gator Nation that although it will be sad day when Tebow does not suit up for the Orange and Blue, there will be very capable quarterbacks ready to step up in his absence.
“We have two other smart guys who are very coachable and they've got the kind of learning curve you want to see,” Loeffler said. “Tim Tebow is a great college quarterback and maybe he'll go down as one of the greatest that's ever played the game, but the game will go on when he leaves Florida and the two guys that are in place to follow him are smart guys who have a lot of talent. The quarterback position will be in good hands.”
-UF-
