The Gators Have Some Holes To Fill

This is somewhat old news, but I didn't get a chance to cover it last week. Greg Mattison, the co-defensive coordinator, has left Gainesville to be the linebackers coach for the Baltimore Ravens.

Apparently, he had been courted before because he's a friend of the Ravens new head coach John Harbaugh. Mattison turned down the first offer, but accepted the second one. The position didn't stay vacant for long, however because former Iowa State head coach Dan McCarney was brought on board to fill it.

Last year, McCarney was the Defensive Line Coach/Assistant Head Coach for a South Florida squad that surprised a number of people. Under his guidance, the Bulls tallied 30 sacks and 113 tackles for a loss. They allowed 130.5 rushing yards per game, but only gave up 8 rushing touchdowns through the season. Hopefully he can mold some of Florida's defensive linemen into a beast like George Selvie was for USF.

Though they were able to fill Mattison's position, Florida still has to fill holes at the safeties and running backs coaching spots. Both of those positions underperformed last season, so the Gators need to fill them with coaches that can make an immediate impact. It will be interesting to see who Coach Meyer goes with when selecting the replacements. Hopefully, the new safeties coach can keep the secondary from getting torched so much in '08.