Meyer hires two familiar faces as Gator assistant coaches
Florida coach Urban Meyer continues to turn to familiar faces to round out his coaching staff.
On Tuesday, he announced the hiring of D.J. Durkin and Stan Drayton as linebackers and running backs coaches, respectively. Both previously worked with Meyer, and Drayton was part of Meyer’s inaugural staff at Florida.
“[Interim] coach [Steve] Addazio and I worked together on this and are excited to have D.J. and Stan join our coaching staff,” Meyer said. “Both guys are familiar with the plan we have for our program, our coaches and our student-athletes. It will be a smooth transition, and they both bring a high level of expertise to the table and have proven to be good recruiters.”
Durkin and Drayton replace assistants Vance Bedford and Kenny Carter, both of whom will join former UF defensive coordinator Charlie Strong’s staff at Louisville.
Meyer said Durkin’s and Drayton’s exact duties will be determined once UF fills out its coaching staff. The Gators are still looking for a defensive coordinator. Safeties coach Chuck Heater has expressed an interest in possibly being a co-defensive coordinator.
Durkin and Drayton are the second and third familiar assistants that Meyer has hired. Last month, he hired Zach Azzanni from Central Michigan to become the Gators’ wide receivers coach. Meyer hired Azzanni at Bowling Green as a graduate assistant in 2001. Azzanni remained at Bowling Green after Meyer left to become Utah’s head coach in 2003 and coached receivers for four seasons.
Drayton, 38, spent the past two seasons at Syracuse (2009) and Tennessee (2008) after leaving UF’s staff following the 2007 season. While at UF, he was named one of the country’s top recruiters.
Jacksonville.com
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