Gators AD Scott Stricklin Breaks Silence on Plan for Head Coach Search

The Florida Gators athletic director broke down what his expectations are for what he wants in the next football head coach

Stricklin promised a thorough search for the right next hire | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Ahead of the search for his third Florida Gators football head coaching hire, athletic director Scott Stricklin shared his priorities and preferences in what he will look for in the candidate he will later select to take over the program. 

Stricklin, who has been at Florida since 2016, said he will be the sole decision maker in the search for the next Gators coach, marking his third coaching hunt since taking over in Gainesville. His last two hires, Dan Mullen and Billy Napier, combined for a 56-38 record at the helm, winning just three bowl games in seven complete seasons at Florida. 

“Every time you go through these processes, you learn something.” Stricklin said when asked about being more confident with more experience. “I’m confident that we have learned lessons.” 

Now embarking on another search, Stricklin emphasized a desire for results from his next candidate, acknowledging the heavy investment and standard of success the University has had for decades. 

“The goal is pretty simple. We want to compete for championships and not just compete, but we want to win championships…The University of Florida has long been invested in being good at football. I don’t think we have ever been as invested as we are right now.” Stricklin said. “There is somebody out there who can come in and put this football program in a position where it can win championships.” 

When finding that somebody, Stricklin said Florida will be thorough among a wide group of candidates, adamant to find the next championship-winning coach for the Gators.

“This search is going to be thorough. It is going to be deliberate. Despite speculation about particular candidates or things that have already been done, we are early in this process, and it will be a very thorough process.” Stricklin said. “We will have a wide group of candidates. We want people to win championships at the University of Florida…We want somebody who can be a strong leader and win championships.”

With a long journey ahead, the claimed Gators’ decision-maker prepares to use every resource provided to him, ready to compete in a market that already has multiple high-profile programs involved, with more rumored to join soon. 

“I’ll use every available resource. We have two ears and one mouth for a reason. I’ll be listening to a lot and taking a lot of suggestions and advice. We have a lot of access to a lot of information, so we will utilize all of it.” Stricklin said. “The resources are not going to be the reason why we don't make the right decision going forward…We are going to try and be as smart as we can be with our resources and make the best possible decisions, but we are also going to be very competitive.” 

With Florida’s search just at its start, the once-dominant football program looks eager to get back in contention, with no option seemingly off the table. Though the Gators won't be the only team looking, Stricklin believes they will have no problem securing their top option.

“We have a lot of advantages.” Stricklin said. “I think that logo stands out, right?”