Louisville Hires Former Florida Gators Safeties Coach Wesley McGriff

Both of Florida's 2021 secondary coaches found new homes on Wednesday.

Photo: Wesley McGriff; Credit: Zach Goodall

Both of Florida's 2021 secondary coaches reportedly found their footing on Wednesday, as former cornerbacks coach Jules Montinar is set to join the Temple coaching staff while former safeties coach Wesley McGriff has been named co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Louisville.

McGriff, like Montinar, only spent the 2021 season at UF as McGriff was hired to replace Ron English as the Gators' safeties coach. The unit vastly improved under McGriff's watch, as senior defensive back Trey Dean III and sophomore Rashad Torrence II emerged as a formidable starting duo on the backend.

Despite his job well done, new Gators head coach Billy Napier elected to not retain McGriff as a part of his debut coaching staff, opting for a coach he knows well in former Louisiana defensive coordinator Patrick Toney to coach safeties as well as co-coordinate Florida's defense.

McGriff and Montinar collaborated to put together the SEC's No. 4 passing defense in yards allowed per game (208.6) in their lone season at UF, quite an improvement from Florida's No. 8 ranking (257.5) in 2020. However, one could argue UF's susceptibility to opposing rushing offenses this past season likely impacted the improvement.

Under head coach Scott Satterfield with the Cardinals, McGriff is expected to split coordinator duties with Bryan Brown, who has held the sole defensive coordinator role since 2019. 

"Wesley McGriff is an extremely experienced and accomplished coach who has track record of helping young men achieve great success on the field and assisting in building solid defenses," Satterfield said upon McGriff's hiring in a statement. "With his experience, he will come to Louisville and make an immediate impact on our defense and our program. His background at the Power 5 level and in the National Football League will help him hit the ground running as he builds great relationships with our players and on the recruiting trail."

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