Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – His office at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is uncluttered. Jules Montinar hasn't been at Florida long enough for items to start piling up on his desk.

Since joining the Gators in January as a defensive assistant tasked with coaching cornerbacks and helping teach the secondary, Montinar has been a man on the move.

In the most literal sense this week as the Gators conclude spring camp.

"The movers are actually at our house as we speak to move our stuff to Gainesville,'' Montinar said Monday afternoon.

When Gators head coach Dan Mullen revamped his coaching staff in the offseason, he hired the 36-year-old Montinar from USF, where a season ago he was cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator. A Florida native who was a standout defensive back on the Naples High team that won a state title in 2001, Montinar has paid his dues climbing the coaching ladder.

He started out as a strength-and-conditioning intern in the weight room at Eastern Kentucky, where he finished his playing career. Montinar discovered that wasn't the route he wanted to pursue, so the next season he became a graduate assistant on the football staff. He had a lot to learn and went to work, gaining experience over the years through a combination of on-the-field positions and graduate-assistant/analyst roles.

Montinar built strong connections, worked hard and made a favorable impression on those he encountered. Mullen and Gators defensive coordinator Todd Grantham learned about those qualities as they explored their options after last season.

"I researched a lot of different directions of which we could go with the position," Mullen said. "And meeting with Todd and going through and reviewing things … to find Jules as a guy that was a recruiter of the year [by 247Sports in 2017], has a great pedigree, he's learned, he's worked his way up within the coaching profession."

When the opportunity at Florida surfaced, Montinar jumped at it despite knowing it would mean another move for his wife and two kids. After serving in various roles at major programs (Alabama and Georgia) and small ones (James Madison and Texas State) since 2007, Montinar understood what a full-time coaching gig at a school like Florida meant.

Those opportunities don't come along very often, and for some, they don't come at all.

"I've got an unorthodox career,' Montinar said. "I was mentored by really good coaches. This is a big opportunity. I've been training all my life for this. I've been working my tail off for the last 14 years for this opportunity. I'm ready. I've been studying, I've been preparing. I've had a lot of losses, but I've learned from those and I'm extremely excited about this and I'm ready to go."
 

As Montinar discussed his new job this week, he did so while wearing a Los Angeles Chargers hoodie. When a visitor asked the story behind the affiliation, Montinar shared another unlikely coaching journey, that of first-year Chargers head coach Brandon Staley. In 2014, Montinar was in his first season as defensive backs coach at James Madison. Staley was in his first season as the team's defensive coordinator.

They worked together only that one season, but Montinar learned a valuable lesson from the now-38-year-old Staley, who left after the season to become defensive coordinator at John Carroll for two seasons before transitioning to the NFL, where after stops as an assistant with the Bears, Broncos and Rams, he was named the Chargers' head coach within days of Montinar joining the Gators.

"That dude was coaching Division III ball five years ago and now he's head coach of the Chargers,'' Montinar said. "He would always say, 'don't worry about where you're at, just do a good job.' Normally you don't hear that from younger coaches, but from older coaches. I always kept that in the back of my mind. It's pretty cool for him to say that back then and now see where he's at today."

Over the years, Montinar became a student of his craft. When he discovered former Stanford and 49ers head coach Bill Walsh's book "Finding the Winning Edge" at a coaching clinic, Montinar devoured its pages. And when he saw an opening for a graduate-assistant position at Alabama in 2012, Montinar pursued it with a passion.

He got more than a pass into the nation's winningest program over the last decade. He got an education.

"That was a game-changer for me,'' Montinar said.

The way Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban set up the system for graduate assistants, one defensive GA worked with the front seven and the other worked closely with Saban instructing the secondary. That meant daily interaction with a coach who won his seventh national title in 2020.

Montinar still references two large notebooks he brought to work each day, scribbling down whatever Saban said in meetings to learn as much as he could.

"I lucked out for those two years I had a chance to work with Coach every day," Montinar said. "We would have 21 minutes of individuals every day. Regardless of what happened at practice. I was always guaranteed 21 minutes right there with Coach. That could be good and bad.

"I will say, over a two-year period, one of my proudest moments is I never got chewed out. Basically, my mindset was that I'm going to do a really, really good job for this guy so I don't get called out. You've got to be on your A-game when you are dealing with Coach. That was a great experience, and the reason I say that is, number one, you get a chance to be with him at practice, and number two, you're in there in the meeting room every day just taking notes on technique, fundamentals, instructing, you name it. Those two years helped me out tremendously in terms of evaluating, recruiting, roster management, player development, you name it."

Saban's attention to detail opened Montinar's eyes to how the best coaches in the business go about their jobs. When he left Alabama after the 2013 season to join former Ohio State defensive coordinator Everett Withers' staff at James Madison, he did so with a reservoir of knowledge he didn't' have before. He also worked with then-Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, a connection that helped Montinar land a position as a quality-control analyst at Georgia in 2019 after Texas State let Withers go after the 2018 season.

In his latest move, Montinar is at another Southeastern Conference powerhouse, eager to put his stamp on a young group of cornerbacks.

"This is a dream job,'' he said. "We've got two older guys in Kaiir Elam and Jaydon Hill. Those guys have done a nice job picking up where they left off, trying to find ways to improve their games. The remainder of the guys are really a bunch of guys with not a lot of experience under their belts. So, this spring has been great, guys getting a lot of reps, guys getting a lot of experience. The way they are going to learn it is by going out there on the field and doing it themselves. I feel this spring has been great from a developmental standpoint."

And as Montinar settles into the job, he'll undoubtedly pull out those notebooks and spread them across his office desk.
 

SIX QUESTIONS

Q: What do you consider your best day as a coach?

A: The best day I've ever had as a coach, I was at James Madison and I had a player by the name of Taylor Reynolds. He's from Delaware and was a high school quarterback, but he played cornerback for me. Very athletic, has great ball skills, great hand-eye coordination. Versus the Richmond Spiders, Taylor Reynolds had two pick-sixes and two forced fumbles that saved two touchdowns. He had a 28-point swing just by himself. And I'm talking about sweet interceptions, too. That was probably one of the coolest moments of my coaching career. He got player of the week in the conference. How is this guy not national player of the week? Being a coach and teaching those techniques and fundamentals, and seeing it happen on a Saturday, that's a pretty cool deal.

Q: Who is a coach you would like to meet?

A: I would say Bill Belichick. I have met him at Alabama. It was one of those quick deals. I would say Belichick and have like 20 minutes with him and pick his brain for a little bit.

Q: What's a perfect day away from football?

A: A perfect day away from football would be the family at a hotel on a beach somewhere.

Q: What's your favorite book?

A: "Finding the Winning Edge" by Bill Walsh is like the football Bible. It's got everything you could possibly imagine for a coach. From being an assistant coach to being a head coach, defense, offense, special teams, you name it. I mean, he shared all the secrets. I actually gave it away to Brad Scott, [USF] coach Jeff Scott's dad, as a present. He was trying to find him a copy and I gave it away. I came across it at a coaches convention. That book is diamonds.

Q: How about a favorite movie?

A: Whatever my wife is watching. Not a lot of TV.

Q: What's your favorite meal?

A: I'm a variety guy. I like some wings, a good burger. That's good. Just simple.