Muschamp names five coaches, retains three

By Adam Silverstein
January 2, 2011

New Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp announced the first five members of his coaching staff on Sunday in an official statement from the University of Florida.

Muschamp decided to retain current Florida running backs coach/recruiting coordinator Stan Drayton, linebackers coach/special teams coordinator D.J. Durkin and tight ends coach Brian White. He also confirmed that former Gators pass catcher Aubrey Hill had been hired as wide receivers coach and announced that former Auburn Tigers All-SEC first team cornerback Travaris Robinson will coach the defensive backs.

“I thought it was important to have some 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 and Auburn 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.”

A Miami, FL native, Hill is a Gators alum who played for head coach Steve Spurrier from 1991-94 when Florida won their first three Southeastern Conference Championships. He served as a graduate assistant under Spurrier from 1996-98 and has coached wide receivers since 1999 including stints at Duke (1999-2003), Elon (2004), Pittsburgh (2005-07) and Miami (2008-10). He served as the Hurricanes recruiting coordinator only for the 2010 season.

Robinson is a four-time letterwinner for Auburn (1999-2002) who played two years in the NFL and worked as a graduate assistant under Muschamp when he was the Tigers’ defensive coordinator. Also a native of Miami, he coached at Western Kentucky (2008) and Southern Miss (2009) before being hired to the Texas Tech Red Raiders staff as an assistant secondary coach by former Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville.

Offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Steve Addazio, who has been hired as head coach of the Temple Owls, will be replaced by Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Charlie Weis with an announcement expected for Monday. Associate head coach and defensive line coach Dan McCarney left the team before its bowl game to take the top job with the North Texas Mean Green.

CommitPos.Rating
Kelby Collins (44)
DL*
Ja'Keem Jackson (60)
CB*
Aidan Mizell (102)
WR*
Eugene Wilson (110)
WR*
Dijon Johnson (114)
CB*
Roderick Kearney (116)
OL*
Kamran James (168)
DL*
Will Norman (192)
DL*
Jordan Castell (208)
DB*
Sharif Denson (220)
CB*
TJ Searcy (257)
DL*
Gavin Hill
DL*
Aaron Gates
ATH*
Treyaun Webb
RB*
Andy Jean
WR*
Bryce Thornton
DB*
Jaden Robinson
LB*
Caden Jones
OL
Knijeah Harris
OL*
Bryce Lovett
OL*

*McCarney was also assistant head coach; Heater held the role of co-defensive coordinator.

24 Comments

  1. Rich says:

    Great stuff. I love the chart with the positions of the old and new, very nice touch. I bet Weis gets an ast. head coach title, just a hunch.

  2. SaraGator says:

    Wow, Heater wasn’t retained. I was hoping he would be.

    Any word where he might go?

    Nice work, Adam. It was nice to wake up this morning to three new articles. 🙂

  3. Gio Showtime says:

    We have too much young talent in our secondary to have a coach with barely any experience. I’m sure he’s a great recruiter but who’s going to teach technique. It seems like Muschamp is only hiring high-energy recruiters on the defensive side. The coaching staff needs some balance

  4. Gio Showtime says:

    Thanks Adam, that’s good to hear. I kept thinking Muschamp specialized with LB’s since he coached them at Texas, and forgot that he played safety in college. Great staff. Dan Quinn would make it even better

  5. joe says:

    Any ideas who will fill the other 3 openings. Ncaa allowa 9 assistants and I see 6 names

  6. liveoak87 says:

    I know he will want to make this his team, but i hope he
    doesnt change some fo the tradition. Like for instance the UF vs
    FSU game at the end of the season. I know jimbo want to move and
    meyer didnt. kind of a small point just somthing i would like not
    to happen. I’m excited for the upcoming season.

  7. Tim says:

    I read what was written about Muschamp coaching DB’s but you have to wonder how that conversation with Heater happened? Was Heater looking for more of a role than the DB’s coach? You look at the long list of talent that he’s coached and what he did with guys like Nelson, Ryan Smith, that entire 07 class…..wow. He’s a hell of a coach. No doubt that decision has more of a story behind it.

  8. Doc-2-be says:

    I bet Heater has already decided to go with Daz to be the
    DC at Temple

  9. DGLgatorfan says:

    Good job Adam

    I think muschamp did a great job of putting a staff together though like many I wished he kept heater maybe he wanted to move on.

  10. Wingtee says:

    Dosent matter
    what we want. None of us know jack crap. Will knows what he wnts. We are
    and never have been In position of evaluation. That is a problem with Gator Nation everyone
    thinks
    they
    know football but they would know the difference between a 0 techniqe and a 5
    technique. Just cheer and keep
    your
    fricken football knowledge checked
    in at the door.
    You
    don’t know jack.
    Most
    of you
    have never put your
    hand in the dirt

  11. Tim says:

    LOL….Wingtee….Can’t help but laugh at your comment.
    Having said that, (generally) no one is evaluating anything. No one
    (generally) disagrees with the coach. From what I’ve read the
    comments are only stating that Heater is a hell of a coach. You
    don’t need to have had your fingers in the dirt to know
    that.

  12. dp says:

    Adam, any word on Wilder Jr.’s feelings on the Gators and
    the new pro style offense? That kid and Driskel would be quite the
    pro style package. Also, I read that we are not even in Jernigans
    top 3 anymore? I thought we had him.

  13. joe says:

    I don’t think Durkin will be LB coach. We have 3 openings,
    OL,DL, and QB. Muschamp said he wanted a dedicated Special Teams
    Coordinator, so if Weis handles QB’s, that means we can get a LB
    coach. Then either the DL or LB coach could also be DC. I am
    surprise that we have only 1 coach for CB’s and Safeties but
    Muschamp will probably help out there.

  14. dp says:

    Is Wilder enrolling early? If not, anything is
    possible.

  15. steelgators says:

    Adam

    I’m new to your site, love the work you are doing. Much better insight and info that the other sites. Look forward to following you through National Signing Day and the spring. I am currently in Afghanistan and you are my link to the Gator Nation and the best College Football program on the planet. Go Gators!!!

  16. steelgators says:

    Adam

    I am on active duty. I have been for the past 18 years, with the United States Navy. I am currently serving as the Equal Opportunity Advisor for NATO forces Afghanistan. This is by far the best Gator website on the net. I only wish I had found the site earlier. Your reporting is second to none. Keep up the great work!

  17. Gatorgrad79 says:

    Steelgators – thank you for your service. Both of my
    brothers are retired Navy and my nephew is a retired Navy seal
    linguist with insertion teams (speaks, reads, & writes
    Farci)

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