Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The most notable staff news for the Gators since the end of last season was the Cincinnati Bengals' pursuit of defensive coordinator Todd Grantham.

Grantham opted to remain at UF to give Florida perhaps its biggest victory of the offseason.

However, in a rare year in which all 14 head coaches in the Southeastern Conference return in 2019, second-year Gators head coach Dan Mullen had to hire a pair of new assistant coaches.

Cornerbacks coach Charlton Warren left to become Georgia's defensive backs coach and defensive line coach Sal Sunseri left to rejoin Nick Saban at Alabama as the Crimson Tide's outside linebackers coach. Mullen quickly filled the openings by hiring Torrian Gray (cornerbacks) and David Turner (defensive line), both of whom were on board prior to spring camp.

As always in today's ever-changing and expanding college football landscape, Florida's behind-the-scenes staff underwent transition from this time a year ago.

Here is a look at fresh faces on the football staff entering Mullen's second season:
  NEWCOMERS

Jamar Chaney (assistant director of player personnel): A former player at Mississippi State for Mullen, Chaney served the last two seasons as head coach at St. Lucie (Fla.) Centennial High. He posted an 11-8-1 record in two seasons and guided the program to its first playoff game in seven years last season. "This all happened fast,'' he told TCPalm.com in February. "I didn't try to pursue this until after this year, but I always knew I wanted to go to the next level and try to advance, whether college or the NFL. I played for Dan Mullen and I know six people on the coaching staff. It's a good fit."

Chuck Heater (quality control): The veteran assistant coach needs no introduction to longtime Florida fans. Heater was a UF assistant from 2005-10 under Urban Meyer. Since his last stint in Gainesville, Heater has coached at Temple, Marshall and Maryland, where he served as safeties coach in 2018. "Chuck Heater was my position coach. Great coach. I loved Chuck Heater,'' former Notre Dame All-American Todd Lyght told IrishIllustrated.com earlier this month. "He gave halftime speeches where he would get so emotional, it was like, 'We've got to go win the game because this guy just gave the greatest halftime speech in the history.' He wasn't even the defensive coordinator, but he was so passionate about winning and our development."
 
Charlie Skalaski (assistant director of player personnel): A Gators defensive back in the mid-1970s, Skalaski is a veteran coach with experience in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars and in college, most recently as special-teams coordinator at Charlotte last season. Skalaski started his coaching career with the Gators as a graduate assistant when future NFL head coach Mike Shanahan was the offensive coordinator.

Ken Zampese (football analyst) – The longtime NFL assistant returns to the college game as a veteran voice for Mullen and his staff rely on. Zampese spent last season as the quarterbacks coach for Cleveland and helped in the development of former Heisman winner Baker Mayfield. Zampese served as a Bengals assistant for 15 seasons under head coach Marvin Lewis prior to his one-year stint in Cleveland. His most recent job prior to UF was as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach of the Atlanta Legends in the now-defunct Alliance of American Football. If you are of a certain age (like me), you likely remember his father Ernie Zampese, offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys during their last Super Bowl-winning season in 1995 with Gators Great Emmitt Smith in the backfield.

Greg Frey (football analyst) – The former USF and FSU assistant brings more than 20 years of college coaching experience to Florida's football office. Frey spent last season as offensive line coach/run-game coordinator at Florida State. He started his career as a graduate assistant at USF and later coached defensive ends and the offensive line on Jim Leavitt's staff. A former offensive lineman for the Seminoles, Frey has also made stops at West Virginia, Michigan (twice) and Indiana.

Tobijah Hughley (grad assistant/offense): The 25-year-old Hughley arrived at Louisville as a walk-on and developed into a three-year starter. Hughley was a team captain and starting center during his final season in 2016, the year Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson won the Heisman Trophy.

Keiwan Ratliff (assistant director of player personnel): Gators fans need no introduction to Ratliff, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2003. Ratliff officially joined the staff in March and made headlines in August 2018 when he finished what he started nearly 20 years ago.

Alex Sanchez (grad assistant/defense): No stranger to the program, Sanchez earned a finance degree from UF in 2017. The Miami Beach native has worked with the program in various roles and now has a coaching assignment as a graduate student.

Chase Clark (recruiting/player personnel): Clark comes to UF from UAB, where as director of recruiting operations, he played an important role in restocking the roster when the Blazers restarted their football program in 2017 after a two-year hiatus. UAB beat Northern Illinois in the Boca Raton Bowl to win the first bowl game in school history in 2018. Clark is the son of former UF placekicker Brian Clark.

David Cooper (recruiting/player personnel): A former linebacker at Indiana from 2012-14 who amassed 231 career tackles, Cooper's younger brother Robert Cooper is a defensive tackle at FSU. Cooper made previous stops at The Citadel and Texas A&M.

Billy Homer (recruiting/player personnel): He joins the Gators following a stint as assistant director of player personnel for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. He also has NFL experience as a personnel assistant with the 49ers.