A new era in Florida football officially began on Sunday afternoon, as coach Will Muschamp announced five members of his staff.
Three were holdovers from former coach Urban Meyer’s staff, another is a former Gator coming home and the fifth is a former NFL defensive back.
Muschamp did not name an offensive or defensive coordinator. However, following his team’s 31-10 loss to the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, Kansas City Chiefs’ coach Todd Haley confirmed his offensive coordinator, Charlie Weis, was leaving to take the same role at UF. Coming to Gainesville in great part to help his son , a UF student, get into coaching, Weis will remain with the Chiefs through the playoffs.
Returning next season will be running backs coach/recruiting coordinator Stan Drayton, linebackers coach/special teams coordinator D.J. Durkin and tight ends coach Brian White. Previously, Muschamp announced strength coach Mickey Marotti would be retained.
Joining them is former UF standout Aubrey Hill and former NFL defensive back Travaris Robinson.
Hill will coach the same position, wide receiver, he played under Steve Spurrier from 1991-94. Also a graduate assistant under Spurrier from 1996-98, Hill returns to UF after spending three seasons as the wide receivers coach at the University of Miami (Fla). A Miami native, the 38-year-old Hill also could be a valuable resource when recruiting fertile South Florida.
Prior to his hiring at UM, Hill coached for three seasons at Pittsburgh, one at Elon and five at Duke.
Also a Miami native (and potentially another strong South Florida recruiting asset), Robinson, 29, comes to Florida from Texas Tech. He coached the Red Raiders’ defensive backs in 2010 and will hold the same position at UF.
A former Auburn defensive back who played briefly with the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Robinson has a history with Muschamp, having been a graduate assistant at Auburn in 2006-07 when the new Gator head coach served as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator.
In between his time coaching at Auburn and Texas Tech, Robinson coached at Western Kentucky in 2008 and Southern Miss in 2009. At USM, he worked under former UF assistant Larry Fedora.
“I thought it was important to have continuity in the staff – D.J., Stan and Brian bring that to the table,” Muschamp said. “They are also solid recruiters.
“Aubrey is obviously a Gator, and it’s always a plus when you have someone coach at their alma mater. He understands the passion and the expectations here, and I know he is excited to return to Gainesville.
“Travaris worked on our staff at Auburn and is a winner. He has competed at the highest level in this sport and is a good young coach with strong ties to the South Florida area, which will benefit us in recruiting.”