The Florida Gators football program announced the hiring of two front office positions on Monday afternoon, an area of focus this offseason for Billy Napier. Former Atlanta Falcons Director of Football Operations Nick Polk will join UF as Associate Athletic Director/Football General Manager while Benjamin Elsner will serve as the Director of Football Strategy.
Polk will oversee the front office for the Gators and be responsible for revenue share and NIL allocation, student-athlete contract negotiations, football budgets, roster management and work with football personnel. Elsner will assist Polk with management of the salary cap and contracts, but will also lead the program’s efforts in analytics and A.I. for all parts of the organization, according to the University.
“We are excited about moving forward with building out the front office concept with the addition of Nick Polk,” head coach Billy Napier said. “His leadership and experience will prove to be extremely valuable to the entire organization. Nick has a college football coaching background, as well as extensive NFL experience to go along with representing a number of clients that are in college football and the NFL. This is a huge step forward for the Gators.”
Polk spent 17 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons as Director of Football Administration and most recently Director of Football Operations. Polk’s duties with the Falcons included salary cap management including draft negotiations, contract proposals, player contracts, coaches contracts, cross-check scouting assignments on both college and the NFL, trades and trade value analysis, CBA Compliance, football budgets, league liaison and daily cap monitoring and strategy. Polk also worked at Athletes First (sports agency) and The 33rd team.
Polk brings 13 years of coaching experience to Gainesville, having served as the head coach at Lock Haven University and assisting on staffs at Delaware State, Brown, James Madison and Southern Connecticut State.
“I am honored and privileged to have this incredible opportunity to be named Associate Athletic Director/Football General Manager for the Florida Gators,” Polk said. “I’d like to give a special thank you to Scott Stricklin and Coach Napier for their trust in my abilities to take on this new role. Every successful program has alignment with its leadership and it was evident throughout this process that this is the case here. I am excited to work daily with this football program’s great administrators, coaches, players and staff to build a championship program.”
Elsner most recently served as Chief of Staff of The 33rd Team for the past five years, a football analysis platform that provides in-depth insights on NFL teams and players. Polk also contributed to this site from 2021-22, so the two have a history in working together.
“Elsner is one of the bright, up-and-comers in our profession and has unique and valuable experience in his early career,” Napier said. “He will be working alongside Nick in the salary cap and contract space. He will also help us use analytics and A.I. to evaluate all the data relative to strategy throughout the organization. He will be working closely with me to make sure we are continuing to evolve and are using the best practices throughout our program at all levels.”
According to the University, ‘Elsner worked closely over the past two years with former executives and team presidents gaining insight on successful, sustainable and efficient team building philosophies. Prior to this position, Benjamin gained experience working with former head coaches and general managers as a head scout evaluating both NFL & CFB players.’
“I am honored and excited to join the Florida Gators as the Director of Football Strategy,” Elsner said. “I want to thank Coach Napier for believing in me for this role, along with those at The 33rd Team who allowed me to grow and learn over the past five years. Throughout this process, I have been immensely impressed by the vision Coach Napier has set for the program and the alignment of the staff. I am excited to work with the coaches, players and staff to build a sustainable championship caliber program, on and off the field.”
Polk and Elsner will work alongside Jacob LaFrance, who serves as Florida’s General Manager.