Florida Gators hires Buster Faulkner as offensive coordinator: Jon Sumrall adds emerging star

Football

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Image Credit: Georgia Tech

There was no more important decision for new Florida Gators head football coach Jon Sumrall to make in his first year leading the program than choosing a top-tier offensive coordinator to lead a unit that has severely underperformed over the last four seasons. Sumrall has done just that by bringing Georgia Tech’s Buster Faulkner into the fold.

Faulkner, a Broyles Award semifinalist as one of the top assistant coaches in the nation this season, has led the Yellow Jackets to a No. 12 offensive ranking in 2025 and been part of three national championship-winning teams.

“Buster is one of the most innovative offensive coaches in football, and I couldn’t be happier for him to join our staff,” Sumrall said in a statement. “Throughout his impressive career, not only has Buster led some of the highest-scoring offenses in the country, but he’s also shown the ability to design and implement his offenses to the strengths of his players. There is not a doubt in my mind that Buster will have our offense lighting up the scoreboard.”

The former Georgia quarterback coach (2020-22) was poached by Tech head coach Brent Key ahead of the 2023 season to run the Yellow Jackets offense, which Faulkner has commanded for the last three seasons while also coaching tight ends. He was widely seen as the secret sauce behind Key’s rise and Georgia Tech’s success.

“I’m extremely excited to get to work under Jon Sumrall,” Faulkner said. “He’s a proven winner, and that’s what excites me the most about this opportunity. Florida is a place where we can compete for national championships, and I can’t wait to meet the players and get this thing rolling!” 

Faulkner coached former Georgia walk-on Stetson Bennett IV into becoming a surprisingly dominant QB for the Bulldogs. Bennett threw 55 touchdowns and 14 interceptions over his final two seasons, completing 68.3% of his passes for 4,127 yards in 2023 as the Dawgs won their second straight national championship and finished top five nationally in offense.

At Georgia Tech, Faulkner has developed QB Haynes King over the last three seasons while leading a major turnaround of the Yellow Jackets offense. King has scored 52 total touchdowns to seven interceptions over the last two campaigns as a dual-threat talent. In his first year under Faulkner, King scored 37 total touchdowns (27 passing) with 16 interceptions. Georgia Tech is 9-3 this season, its best record since 2014.

Most notable about Faulkner is that he is willing to adjust his offensive scheme to his talent, as evidenced by the pass-first scheme he helped develop for Bennett, contrasted with the hybrid offense he has run with King over the last two seasons.

Faulkner previously coordinated offenses and coached quarterbacks at Southern Miss (2019), Arkansas State (2016-18), Middle Tennessee State (2011-15), Murray State (2010), Central Arkansas (2009, QBs only) and Valdosta State (2006-08), where he donned his first of three national title rings. A college signal caller who set records at Valdosta State (2000-03) and Texas A&M-Commerce (2004), he began his coaching career as a student assistant at VSU in 2005 before becoming a graduate assistant at UGA in 2006.

Leveling up to completely coordinating an offense at the SEC level is certainly a concern for someone yet to do it; however, he has called plays at every other level of college football and coached all kinds of quarterbacks to outperform expectations.

This is the type of hire that might actually keep DJ Lagway in the fold while simultaneously being attractive to top-tier signal callers nationwide. It also shows how Sumrall is operating differently from his predecessor, as he went out and hired one of the best possible candidates for the position despite having no prior relationship with him on a coaching staff. Grade: A