Florida Football is looking to add to its coaching staff. As reported by Swamp247 and On3, the Gators are interviewing Robert Bala for a defensive analyst position.
Bala is a well-traveled assistant coach whose experience at the Power 4 level is still relatively new. Currently serving as Washington's inside linebackers coach, Bala has made significant strides in his coaching career, including a stint as the linebackers coach at Alabama in 2023.
Bala was with Alabama in 2023 and worked with linebacker Dallas Turner, who earned consensus All-America honors and was named first-team All-SEC after leading Alabama with 14.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. Alabama went on to make the playoffs before Nick Saban retired and Bala left for Washington.
Before joining Alabama, Bala was a defensive analyst at Liberty in 2022. The Flames' defense finished first in the nation in tackles for loss per game (9.3) and third in sacks per game (3.46) in 2022 and Liberty's defense also saw a major improvement in takeaways, ranking 11th nationally in turnovers gained (24) and 18th in interceptions (14).
Bala's coaching journey spans multiple levels of football. He has held roles with the Oakland Raiders, Southern Utah, Ottawa, Arizona, Palomar College, and Snow Junior College.
As a player, he is a former linebacker from Southern Utah.
Florida also interviewed Tim Skipper for this role. The belief is that whoever is hired would essentially be a right-hand man for Ron Roberts.
Florida's defense had notable struggles in the earlier part of 2024 but saw notable improvement in the back half of the season. The linebackers for the Gators were front and center for the improvement and even though Shemar James has left for the NFL Draft, Florida still brings back Pup Howard and Myles Graham to lead the way in 2025.