One of the biggest challenges facing the 2009 UF football team will be staying hungry and humble despite two national titles in three years, and the Gators' two newest coaches should be a big help in that department.
Quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler and tight ends coach Brian White won't enter next season with the same fond memories of 2008 that their players will.
While UF rumbled to a championship, Loeffler's and White's teams were a combined 0-28, but they expect the lessons learned during their tough seasons to pay off in the future.
"I think I lost more games last year than I lost in my entire football career, but it was humbling," Loeffler said. "That's the wonderful thing about the game of football: You've never arrived. You can be on top of the world and get kicked square in the rear end."
And Loeffler was kicked hard. After coaching quarterbacks at Michigan from 2002-07, he spent a year in the same position with the Detroit Lions, and they amassed an 0-16 record, the worst in NFL history.
White coached at Washington last season, where the Huskies went 0-12, and he noticed a difference between the Gators and his former team right away
"The difference is the way people carry themselves," White said. "Athletes are walking around with a tremendous amount of confidence and there are a lot of smiles. It's nice to be around. I've been a part of that atmosphere a lot in the past, but the past three years has not been like that. It's very refreshing."
The pair will get a pick-me-up from a couple of talented athletes at their positions. Loeffler will guide quarterback Tim Tebow in his quest for a second Heisman Trophy and successful NFL career, while White will tutor tight end Aaron Hernandez, one of the nation's best.
Loeffler, who played quarterback at Michigan, recruited Tebow when he was with the Wolverines, and he is excited about the chance to finally work with him.
"As a quarterback and a quarterbacks coach, you always pride yourself in having a tough guy out there," Loeffler said. "We have one. He's a war daddy, as they would say. He's unbelievable."
Loeffler added that Tebow can "without a doubt" be a successful pro quarterback, and that coach Urban Meyer has just one rule for him.
"All coach Meyer said is, 'Don't screw him up,'" Loeffler said. "We'll try not to screw him up, that's for sure."
White, a Harvard graduate, will take over the tight end position as it becomes increasingly important to the Gators' offense. Without a clear-cut No. 1 receiver, UF is likely to turn to Hernandez often, and White sees a high ceiling for his player, along with room for improvement.
"I think most importantly, it's just some on-the-line consistency with blocking," White said. "That's the first area where he can vastly improve. He's so athletic that he should dominate on and off the line of scrimmage.
"He has every tool that you need to be as good a tight end as there is in the country, and we're going to challenge him to be the best tight end in America this year."
