Billy Napier has hired Chris Couch as the Gators’ GameChanger coordinator.
While that title might seem a bit vague, Couch will essentially serve as a special teams analyst.
He worked for Napier at Louisiana in 2021 as the special teams coordinator and the director of quality control & analytics. The Ragin’ Cajuns ranked ninth in the FBS in net punting average, tied for 10th in blocked kicks, 15th in gross punting average and 17th in kickoff return defense.
The Milledgeville, Georgia, native spent the previous five seasons at Tulane as a special teams analyst and recruiting coordinator. The Green Wave ranked inside the top-50 in kickoff and punt returns in each of his final three years.
Prior to that, he coached the linebackers and special teams units at Point University in 2015. The Skyhawks ranked third among NAIA teams in net punting average, 20th in punt returns and 30th in kickoff returns.
Couch was a graduate assistant at Georgia Southern in 2013 and 2014. He worked with the defensive tackles on the 2013 team that upset the Gators in the Swamp before moving to linebackers in 2014.
He began his career as the slot backs coach at Missouri Southern State University in 2012.
Couch graduated from Georgia Southern in 2011 with a degree in exercise science, and he earned his master’s degree in high education administration from the school in 2015.