Florida football: Breaking down all defensive coaching hires under Billy Napier

Coach #1: Patrick Toney – Co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach – Hired 12/6/21

The first coach on this list is Patrick Toney, who was the defensive coordinator for Billy Napier at Louisiana Lafayette in 2020 and 2021 and spent four total seasons with Napier.  One of the more impressive statistics from Toney is his defensive rankings, where in 2021 he would rank 11th in scoring defense nationally (tied for 9th) and fourth in passing defense in the nation (2,589 passing yards allowed).  Since he obviously has the connection with Napier, he should be a good scheme fit for Florida football in whatever direction it may take under the new head coach.

Coach #2: Corey Raymond – Cornerbacks coach / Assistant head coach (defense) – Hired 12/9/21

Corey Raymond was easily one of the most impressive coaching additions Billy Napier was able to snag for Florida football.  He has spent the last decade at LSU as an assistant coach, the last two years he has also been their recruiting coordinator, bringing in an absolutely insane amount of talent.  His list of all-time recruits goes on and on, but includes (and is not limited to):

• Derek Stingley – CB – 5 star
• Eli Ricks – CB – 5 star
• Jamal Adams – S – 5 star
• Kelvin Joseph – S – 4 star
• Tre’Davious White – CB – 4 star
• Patrick Queen – LB – 4 star

Overall, if coach Raymond can continue to recruit as well as he has in the past, he could be an absolute boon for the Florida Gators.

Coach #3: Jamar Chaney – Defensive analyst (ILB/OLB) – Hired 12/12/21

The name Jamar Chaney may have been familiar to some Florida fans prior to his return, as he was previously an assistant director of player personnel under Dan Mullens in 2019.  After the 2019 season, he would move on to become a senior defensive analyst at Mississippi State.  His knowledge is a huge help to the development of linebackers, and with the Florida defense having Ventrell Miller returning for a sixth season, coach Chaney could really push him to the next level.

Coach #4: CJ Wilford – Defensive quality control – Hired 12/29/21

The 2018 youngest position coach in CFB returns to Napier’s staff after spending the last 3 seasons with him in Louisiana.  CJ Wilford in 2018 was the youngest position coach in college football with Southern Utah, specializing in inside linebackers.  He would also spend 2016-2017 at Southern Utah as a defensive assistant.  With Kaiir Elam declaring for the 2022 NFL Draft, having a strong defensive backs coaching staff is crucial to development, and as previously mentioned, the development of Ventrell Miller is a key, so CJ’s history as a linebacker coach is also helpful.

Coach #5 – Braxton Morris – Defensive quality control – Hired 12/30/21

Former college baseball player turned football player turned football coach Braxton Morris probably has the most interesting road to coaching out of those on this list.  Braxton started his sports career playing baseball for Moorehead State from 2015-2018 and was actually pretty solid at it according to his statistics.  He would go on to play one year of professional baseball, switch to football, and play football overseas from 2019-2020.  In the 2020 and 2021 seasons, however, for college football, he would act as defensive quality control for Napier in Louisiana and will continue to fill that role for him with Florida football.

Coach #6: Kareem Reid – Defensive line quality control – Hired 1/10/22

Our final coach on the list and most recent hiring is the quality control coach for the defensive line Kareem Reid.  Reid spent 2021 as the director of player development at UCF.  Prior to last year, he has been in high school football for a significant period of time and has spent a lot of time and dedication between Florida and Georgia school programs to develop high-tier football.  He coached high school ball from 2007-2019 and won 3 straight state titles at Westlake High School of Atlanta from ’16-’19.  His work with high school athletes should give him good insight on how to work with these young college players, and how to prepare the defensive line to be NFL players.