Florida’s next offensive coordinator may already be used to wearing orange and blue — just different shades.
According to reports, Boise State offensive coordinator Brent Pease is the frontrunner to take the reins of Florida’s offense next season and replace Charlie Weis, who left the Gators for the head coaching gig at Kansas.
The Idaho Statesman reported Friday that Pease, who helped lead the Broncos to the fifth-highest scoring offense in the nation last season at 44.23 points per game, has left Boise State and is weighing offers from both Florida and Alabama.
Pease coached at Boise State for six seasons, first as wide receivers coach and then as an assistant head coach before he was named the Broncos’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach prior to last season.
Multiple reports suggest that Pease will meet with coach Nick Saban on Tuesday after Alabama faces LSU for the BCS title tonight in New Orleans.
While Pease appears to be the favorite to takeover play-calling duties in Gainesville, he is not the only candidate for the opening. New York Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer is also reportedly in the running for the Gators’ offensive coordinator job.
Unlike Pease, Schottenheimer already has ties to UF, as he played quarterback for Steve Spurrier for three seasons and was Danny Wuerffel’s backup during the Gators’ first national championship season in 1996.
Schottenheimer has served as an assistant coach in the NFL since 2001 and has been the Jets’ offensive coordinator since 2006.
The New York Daily News reported Friday that Schottenheimer took his name out of consideration for the Florida job, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Sunday that Schottenheimer never removed himself as a candidate.
Following Florida’s 24-17 win against Ohio State in the Gator Bowl, coach Will Muschamp said he had “no timetable” for making the new hire and just wants to “make the best decision for Florida.”
Also, interim offensive coordinator Brian White is still in the running, but the Florida Times-Union reported this week that former UF quarterback Kerwin Bell is no longer being considered.
Gators hire new strength coach: It didn’t take long for Florida to fill the void left by the departure of former strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti, who joined Urban Meyer’s staff at Ohio State last month.
The Gators announced Tuesday the hiring of Jeff Dillman, who was the head of physical conditioning at IMG Performance Institute in Bradenton.
“I’m excited to have Jeff join our staff,” Muschamp said. “He is a perfect fit for what we were looking for. He has trained athletes at the highest caliber on every level — from high school, to college to the NFL.”
Dillman worked at IMG since 2009, training college and professional athletes. Prior to that, he served as the strength and conditioning coach at Appalachian State in 2006 and 2007 when the Mountaineers won back-to-back FCS national titles. He was also on LSU’s staff with Muschamp in 2003 when the Tigers won a BCS title.
“I’m a big believer in doing the little things right,” Dillman said. “Every day we will calculate the right attitude for training. Nothing gets in the way of our goal to be the best that we can be. We will always fight and finish strong — on the field, in the weight room, in the classroom and in life. Hard work beats talent when talent’s not working.”
Contact Tom Green at tgreen@alligator.org.
