TAMPA — Randy Shannon has been running around more at practice but the veteran coach doesn’t mind, he actually might be more comfortable.
Shannon took over as the Florida Gators defensive coordinator when Geoff Collins left to take a head-coaching job at Temple. That means Shannon had to leave the linebackers he had been working with the past two seasons to take on a larger role, creating a scheme and overseeing the defense as a whole.
“I bounce around from the corners sometimes, sometimes with the safeties and sometimes the linebackers and a little bit with the d-line,” Shannon said of his new role. “As a coordinator I’ve coached them all in my lifetime, I bounce around and work with each group since I’ve been doing the coordinator job.”
It’s nothing new for the coach of 25 years. Shannon was the defensive coordinator at Miami from 2001-2006 before taking over as the head coach from 2007-10. He’s called plays before and is more than qualified to be the Gators’ defensive coordinator. Head coach Jim McElwain quickly tabbed Shannon as the interim defensive coordinator for the January 2 Outback Bowl date against Iowa, but hasn’t made a long-term commitment yet, although he did concede that Shannon would be considered.
“Absolutely,” McElwain affirmed when asked prior to the bowl game. “Obviously Randy’s more than qualified for that position.”
Does Shannon want the job? Absolutely, but the coach toed the company line when asked.
“I don’t even think about it, to be honest with you. All I can do is worry about this game, worry about these guys on this football team,” Shannon said when asked if he wanted the job. “Worry about the University of Florida. That’s one of our biggest major things as a coaching staff, what we can do at the University of Florida to get this win against Iowa.”
This isn’t exactly a job interview for Shannon, McElwain noted Shannon’s obvious qualifications for the gig but a win over Iowa wouldn’t hurt in removing the “interim” tag and leaving the defensive coordinator title alone. It won’t be easy, however. The Hawkeyes run the ball 62-percent of their offensive snaps and the Gators will be without three linebackers, including starters Alex Anzalone, Jarrad Davis and David Reese.
That’s going to put stress on the rest of the defense up front and in the back end. Shannon knows it will take a full team effort to get the job done.
“You gotta be a little creative. You gotta do some things that’s going to help us be better that will help us get better in the way that we can take, approach who can do certain things and who cannot,” Shannon said of scheming around injured players. “As a coach you have to find ways to get guys in a position to be successful and execute in a fast paced way. They’re not going to play very well if they’re not playing fast.”
It’s something that Shannon is prepared for, something he’s done all his life and something that if he can accomplish in the next game should remove any doubt, if there is any, that he will be McElwain’s next defensive coordinator.