Notable Off-Field Staffer Departs from Florida Gators

Bird Sherrill was in charge of Florida's portal scouting.

Nov 18, 2023; Columbia, Missouri, USA; A general view of a Florida Gators helmet against the Missouri Tigers prior to a game at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- One of the Florida Gators' most notable off-field staffers is leaving for a job in the NFL.

Bird Sherrill, Florida's director of college personnel, is leaving after four years with the program to become an area scout with the New York Jets. The news was first reported by the AP's Mark Long. He will finish out the month with the Gators before departing, according to On3's Keith Niebuhr.

Sherrill, who first foined the program after six seasons in the Detroit Lions' scouting department, was in charge of scouting transfer portal and JUCO targets for the Gators. Notably, he helped discover edge rusher George Gumbs Jr., an under-the-radar former walk-on tight end with Cincinnati who emerged as one of Florida's best defenders last season.

Early last season, head coach Billy Napier praised Sherrill for finding Gumbs Jr. while giving some insight into Florida's portal evaluation process.

"Once he got in the portal, then we started doing our homework," Napier said on Sept. 11. "We have the entire department, with Bird Sherrill, that produces that. Those guys have watched thousands of players each year and then they funnel them down through the coaches and they get to me and then we collaborate. It's a whole article.”

Sherrill's departure comes at a crucial time as Florida prepares for the revenue share era of college football. This offseason, the Gators revamped its off-field staff by hiring Nick Polk as its football general manager, who will be in charge revenue share, NIL allocation, student-athlete contracts and roster management, while also adding Ben Elsner as its director of football strategy, who will assist Polk while leading the program from an analytics point of view.