Mullen Talks Gators' New DB Coaches, Stresses Communication in Secondary
Left: Jules Montinar. Credit: University of South Florida athletic association.
Right: Wesley McGriff. Credit: University of Auburn athletic association.
Out with the old, in with the new.
This offseason, Florida welcomed two new assistant coaches in Auburn's Wesley McGriff and South Florida's Jules Montinar, with hopes the two can restore a tradition of dominant pass defense for the Gators.
That tradition got away from UF in 2020, which led to a parting of ways with cornerbacks coach Torrian Gray and safeties coach Ron English immediately after the season. Florida allowed 257.5 yards per game through the air in 2020, which ranked No. 100 in the nation and No. 8 in the SEC.
"Crime Dog" McGriff will replace English, in charge of Florida's safety and STAR nickel cornerback positions. Montinar, meanwhile, will take over as outside cornerbacks coach. But make no mistake: Although the two mentor different positions, McGriff and Montinar will work together as one to make the secondary a complete and consistent unit.
"I think it's critical for us to have that whole communication within the secondary," head coach Dan Mullen vocalized on Tuesday. "So they're going to be working together, you know, not just individual position but also together quite a bit.”
Mullen identified McGriff as a target for one of Florida's vacancies early in the process, claiming that McGriff was the first person he called after moving on from English and Gray.
McGriff, who spent the past two seasons as Auburn's defensive backs coach and produced a first-round draft pick along the way, has seven years of experience coaching in the SEC, both positionally and as a defensive coordinator. In between stops at Ole Miss and Auburn, McGriff also spent three seasons with the New Orleans Saints in the NFL.
"He's a guy I've known for a long time. Actually, I tried to hire him before and wasn't able to," Mullen said about McGriff. "If you look at his background, as a secondary coach both in the Southeastern Conference and in the NFL, coordinator experience within the conference. You know, his personality, his energy, what he brings, the relationships he has with kids ... So, great to get him."
McGriff will be tasked with rebuilding a safety position that has been lackluster over the past two seasons and lost three veterans in Shawn Davis, Donovan Stiner, and Brad Stewart Jr. this offseason, each pursuing potential NFL opportunities.
The 52-year-old will inherit two 2021 signees in Corey Collier Jr. and Donovan McMillon, paired with rising sophomores Rashad Torrence II, Mordecai McDaniel, and Kamar Wilcoxson to begin that process, along with veteran Trey Dean III. At STAR, McGriff will work with sophomore Tre'Vez Johnson and incoming freshman Dakota Mitchell.
Mullen propped up his researching efforts in recognizing Montinar, 35, as an "up-and-coming" college coach who ended up emerging as a "no-brainer" addition to Florida's coaching staff.
"I researched a lot of different directions of which we could go with the position after [McGriff was hired]," Mullen shared. "And meeting with [defensive coordinator] Todd [Grantham] and going through and reviewing things, and going to do and dig a lot of research, going to find Jules was a guy that was a recruiter of the year [2017, 247Sports], has a great pedigree, he's learned, he's worked his way up within the coaching profession."
Montinar spent the past season under first-year head coach Jeff Scott at USF, following one year as a quality control assistant at Georgia with Kirby Smart, and stints as cornerbacks coach for Texas State (also special teams coordinator) and James Madison. Montinar also previously spent two years as a graduate assistant at Alabama under Nick Saban.
While he hasn't worked for a big school up until this point, Montinar has certainly been influenced by some of college football's great defensive minds, which led Mullen to award him with an SEC assistant coaching opportunity.
"What you want to do is create a staff where everybody is going to work together and understand how it best fits together," said Mullen. "I think that is a huge part of success, and everyone I'm talking to, what a great team guy he is, what a great high-energy guy he is, what a great young up-and-coming coach he is."
Montinar's new role won't come easy - Florida's cornerback position is often one of the highest-regarded on the team and his recruiting abilities will undoubtedly be tested there.
However, Montinar does benefit from first-team All-SEC cornerback Kaiir Elam returning for his third season and the No. 1 cornerback in the class of 2021, Jason Marshall Jr. enrolling this past January. The position is young otherwise, consisting of rising junior Jaydon Hill, sophomores Jahari Rogers, Ethan Pouncey, and Avery Helm, fellow early enrollee Jordan Young, and redshirt senior/walk-on Patrick Moorer.
