The hunt continues: What Gators need in new defensive assistant

When Dan Mullen and the Florida Gators let Torrian Gray and Ron English go, they could not have expected the whirlwind of a coaching search to follow.

The Gators hired former Auburn defensive backs coach Wesley McGriff a couple of weeks back, but a gaping hole still remains in that second position.

High-profile coaches including Travaris Robinson, Chris Ash and Maurice Linguist were all expected to put pen to paper at one point or another, but seemingly slipped through the cracks.

Robinson found a new home at Miami, Ash joined Urban Meyer’s Jacksonville Jaguars staff and reports say Linguist is headed to Michigan following a bidding war with Florida.

Throw in last week’s reports of linebackers coach Christian Robinson going to Michigan (before ultimately coming to an agreement to stay), and January has been quite the month for Mullen and crew.

As the Gators continue the search for the right fit, there are a few key qualities that whoever is hired should have.

Florida’s staff desperately needs another high-energy coach. Gray fit that bill as one of the most entertaining coaches to watch and listen to at practices (before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and ruined that).

McGriff is known for his enthusiasm as well and needs someone to match it in coaching the secondary.

The Gators were obviously looking for that in their previous candidates. And youthful energy at that, with Robinson and Linguist both being under the age of 40.

The young, energetic quality almost always goes hand-in-hand with top-notch recruiting. It takes a lot of dedication to pour the necessary time and effort into building relationships with high school players on top of keeping up with coaching duties.

And arguably, more than anything else, Florida needs someone who can go out and recruit at a high level. The 2021 class currently sits at 12th in the nation (fifth in the SEC), and that continues to be one of the biggest issues holding this team back from its ultimate goal.

It is easy to sit here and harp on recruiting until the end of time, but outside of that, Florida needs a true developer of talent.

Even the most highly touted high school defensive backs need their skills refined once they step on campus. That did not appear to happen for several Gators over the last few seasons. Some even seemed to regress over time.

Florida has struggled to find or develop a trustworthy safety since the departures of Marcus Maye and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. And though C.J. Henderson earned a first-round draft pick following the 2019 season, cornerback play has been on a downward trend as well.

Communication stuck out as a major problem for the Gators’ secondary (and the defense as a whole) in 2020. Too often, defenders would get caught looking clueless or passing the blame to a teammate after allowing an explosive play.

Unfortunately for Florida, more times than not, this happened in situations where the defense should have been in position to get off the field. Curse you, third-and-15.

Some of these issues, of course, cannot be placed fully on position coaches to fix. It all starts at the top, but these are things Florida’s next defensive assistant will have to come in and address nonetheless.

Nearing a month into this coaching search, pressure is building on Mullen to find a good fit and close the deal. Florida is a Top-10 program in the country, and should be able to handpick assistants of that caliber.

Gator Country will continue to provide the latest updates as more names come to the forefront for the open position.

 

Bailiegh Carlton
A lifelong sports fan, Bailiegh Carlton knew from a young age that she wanted to work in sports in some capacity. Before transferring to the University of Florida to study journalism, she played softball at Gulf Coast State College. She then interned for Gator Country for three years as she worked toward her degree. After graduation, Bailiegh decided to explore other opportunities in the world of sports, but all roads led her right back here. In her time away, she and her husband welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world. When she isn't working, she can almost always be found snuggled up with sweet baby Ridley, Cody and her four fur babies.