Mullen, Jones Share Thoughts on New Florida Gators QB Coach Garrick McGee
Image credit: GatorVision (screengrab from Gators spring practice video)
He might be Florida's new quarterbacks coach, but he isn't a new man in town.
A level of familiarity led Dan Mullen to name Garrick McGee as UF's new assistant in charge of signal-callers, replacing three-year coach Brian Johnson who made a jump to coach the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL last month.
McGee had already been on staff for six months, serving as a defensive analyst and assisting the coaching staff by offering his knowledge of opposing offenses in contribution to Florida's gameplan.
Couple McGee's recent grasping of Mullen's system with his experience as a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, and the move should be a "very easy adjustment," Mullen proclaims.
"Garrick is picking up, the nice thing about Garrick McGee is you have a very veteran coach," Mullen said on Tuesday as UF prepared to open spring practice. "He’s been a head coach, he’s been a coordinator, a long-time quarterback coach at the highest of levels coached great players.
"Last season, I think by being here as a senior analyst for us, even though he spent the majority of the time on defense in practice but he’s familiar with how we run the program and how it all works," the fourth-year head coach continued. "I think that makes it a very easy adjustment moving forward.”
Mullen offered Johnson his well-deserved praise for a promotion to the pros, but reminded media that this offense still belongs to him.
While Florida was the nation's No. 1 passing offense in Johnson's first season as offensive coordinator, sparked by an outstanding showing from quarterback Kyle Trask, Mullen has always been the primary play-caller, and he's found plenty of success along the way. It's been done many times, but one can point to Tim Tebow, Dak Prescott, Alex Smith, Nick Fitzgerald, and other signal-callers thriving under Mullen's tutelage.
Considering that fact, Florida isn't embracing a severe shakeup with Johnson out of the picture. Instead, it made McGee's promotion a little bit easier to sell. Although McGee has coached notable quarterbacks Lamar Jackson, Ryan Mallett, and James Tyler Wilson, his career track record is a bit up and down. Coming off of an elite season passing the ball, Florida was also in a position to make a splashy hire, making McGee's quick advancement a bit underwhelming at first in the court of public opinion.
However, continuity was a large factor in such a move, and McGee's recent work behind closed doors and within the program was enough to prove his worth to Mullen and obtain the gig.
“I don’t think much changes in what you do," said Mullen. "We’ve kind of done it the same way for a long time."
Mullen and McGee will pair up in grooming Florida's next starting quarterback, widely expected to be Emory Jones. Jones' only college quarterbacks coach to this point in his career has been Johnson, but the redshirt junior made it clear on Thursday that McGee has his trust as he transitions into a larger role on the offense.
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“He’s been here for a year. He watched us last year, so he knows what all the quarterbacks are capable of. Honestly, it didn’t really miss a beat," Jones remarked. "He knows the offense. He’s definitely helping all the guys out. He’s the type of guy that makes sure everybody in the room is developing and getting better. That’s what I like about him.”
