Florida Gators: 25 Good and Not-So-Good Coaching Candidates

Former Gators – QB Edition

Oct 4, 2014; Lexington, KY, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Steve Spurrier reacts during the game against the Kentucky Wildcats in the second half at Commonwealth Stadium. Kentucky defeated South Carolina 45-38. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Steve Spurrier

The Gators once had a successful coach who returned to coach again years after his tenure: former basketball coach Norm Sloan. In his second stint as Florida’s basketball coach, Sloan eventually led his teams to their first NCAA tournament appearances in the late 80s, paving the way to the basketball powerhouse the Gators are now. Can Spurrier re-energize a lagging Gator program? Would Spurrier even want to try? He’s age 69 now and rebuilding Florida now will be hard work.

Would be awesome, but could also be a repeat of the Joe Gibbs experiment with the Washington Redskins, where rehiring the old coach didn’t replicate his former glory. Plus, today he said that his next move would be to “Crescent Beach,” implying that he’d rather retire than take another job. I think he’s got the right idea…

Brian Schottenheimer

He’s offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams and the son of a guy who was mentioned in an Eminem song. Plus, he was once a Gator quarterback, backing up Heisman winner Danny Wuerffel in the mid-90s, where his primary goal was to groom himself for a coaching career. It worked. He was a member of a title team, he knows how to hold a clipboard and he’s already getting all of that alumni mail. It’d be a great gig for him. Is he ready? Are the Gators ready? His name alone would make it a great story and bring some momentum into the program.

Kerwin Bell

First, remember this quote from the movie Inception:

"Arthur: “Okay, here’s me planting an idea in your head. I say to you, don’t think about elephants. What are you thinking about?” Saito: “Elephants.”"

Then, see this tweet from IFA Gator writer Richard Johnson:

Add it together and you’ve got this blogger’s choice for the next Gator head coach. I literally cannot stop thinking about the possibility of Kerwin Bell becoming the next coach. Bell was a legendary Florida QB, leading the Gators to their first ever No.1 ranking. He’s working his way up the coaching ranks and is now having success at a young Jacksonville University program. He’s probably a little too green in coaching experience to get the Gators job, but he’s part of the family. Wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t eventually take a positioning or coordinators job at Florida at some point.