DONE DEAL: Florida Gators Sign $9.7Million New Top Star player For 2024 Season..
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The ink is dry and the paperwork has been filed: Billy Napier’s 2024 Florida coaching staff is finalized. All Gators obtained contract copies for Florida’s 10 on-field assistant coaches and a prominent off-field assistant on Friday following a public records request, revealing terms for five new hires, a promotion and three extensions that were signed last year.
Decoster was hired to replace Darnell Stapleton as Florida’s assistant offensive line coach just before UF’s 2024 spring training camp began. He’ll work alongside Rob Sale in this position.
Before aligning with the Gators, Decoster occupied various roles on college and pro coaching staffs, with Nevada, West Virginia State, LSU, Old Dominion and the Cleveland Browns. He served as an on-field offensive line coach at WVSU from 2015-16 and in an offensive line assistant capacity with the Browns from 2021-23.
Chatman has taken over supervision of Florida’s interior defensive line positions, filling in for Sean Spencer, an original hire to Napier’s staff who was dismissed in November 2023.
Under Chatman’s tutelage, defensive linemen Darius Hodges and Patrick Jenkins received First-Team All-American Conference recognition for their play with Tulane in 2023. The duo combined for 13 sacks and 21 tackles for loss during the Green Wave’s run to the conference championship, which ended in a loss to SMU. Prior to joining Florida’s staff and his one-year stint at Tulane, Chatman held a plethora of on and off-field coaching roles, including a two-year run with the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL, where he worked with former Gators defensive lineman, Carlos Dunlap.
Four years since coordinator Napier’s defense at Louisiana, Florida hired Roberts to replace Jay Bateman as linebackers coach while also offering him the titles of co-defensive coordinator and executive defensive head coach.
Given his 30+ years of coaching experience, Roberts will mentor his fellow defensive assistants and oversee Florida’s defense in the multi-faceted role, alongside coordinator Austin Armstrong, who once served as Roberts’ graduate assistant at Louisiana. “Big picture, it’s originally his system. So there’s a ton of familiarity there,” Napier said about Roberts on March 7. “Ron was with me for two years and I think he’s maybe he’s four years removed, right? So it’s good to have him back. I think he’s got some familiarity with how we operate.” Florida plucked Roberts from Auburn, where he served as defensive coordinator in 2023. he served in the same role at Baylor from 2020-22 and was previously a head coach at Southeastern Louisiana (2012-17) and Delta State (2007-11).
Harris’ hiring was Florida’s first in an offseason full of change. His predecessor as UF’s secondary coach, Corey Raymond, was relieved of his duties alongside Spencer in November, with Harris taking his spot about two weeks later. Before spending the 2023 season as an assistant defensive backs coach with the Los Angeles Chargers in the NFL, Harris made a name for himself in the Pacific Northwest, where he coached the Washington Huskies secondary, in an assistant role from 2018-19 and as the leader of the group from 2020-21. In Seattle, Harris oversaw the development of four defensive backs who went on to be drafted: Elijah Molden (2021, third round), Keith Taylor (2021, fifth round), Trent McDuffie (2022, first round) and Kyler Gordon (2022, second round). Harris’ unit ranked No. 1 in the Pac-12 and FBS in passing defense in 2021, allowing just 142.9 yards per game.
Harris also coordinated the Georgia Southern defense in 2022 and coached secondaries at San Jose State, Dixie State, Humboldt State and Northwestern Oklahoma State.
Following former UF strength and conditioning coordinator Mark Hocke’s December 2023 reassignment to a player development gig, Florida hired Craig Fitzgerald from the New York Giants to become the program’s director of football performance. Fitzgerald’s stay in Gainesville was short-lived, however. He took the same role with Boston College in February, leading Florida to promote its director of player athletic development, Tyler Miles, to the spot. He had been with the team for over a year in his previous role.
“Tyler Miles was at the core of everything that we were doing. I think our players knew that. Our staff knew that,” Napier said regarding Miles’ promotion. “We didn’t want to blow it up and start over, but more importantly, we felt confident in Tyler relative to being able to do the job. He was, essentially, a huge part of what we were doing.”
Awarded the title of co-offensive coordinator in addition to his tight end coaching duties, Callaway received a one-year extension to his contract and a $250,000 annual raise this offseason. Callaway will split co-offensive coordinator responsibilities with offensive line coach Rob Sale, who has held the same title for the past two seasons. It remains unclear if Callaway will take over as the Gators’ offensive play-caller, though, as Napier has occupied that role since his inauguration as head coach.
The promotion marks Callaway’s second with Florida in as many offseasons. Hired originally as a defensive intern, Callaway took over the Gators’ tight end room in 2023. He aided in the emergence of Arlis Boadingham and Hayden Hansen at the position last year, with the duo combining for 38 receptions, 439 yards and six touchdowns. “I think Russ did a great job when we promoted Russ and put him on the field. Myself, and a lot of my close confidants, we’ve always felt strongly about Russ,” Napier said about Callaway on March 7. “Last year, to kind of observe him and some of his responsibilities, I thought he did a great job in not only preparing for meetings with me but also his interactions with the players. I think he’s got good understanding. It’s evident that he’s a coach’s son. He’s a leader. He’s done a good job in his role so far.