With Geoff Collins now the head coach at Temple, the Gators have a vacancy to fill at defensive coordinator this offseason.
Although Jim McElwain confirmed Monday that Randy Shannon would serve as the interim defensive coordinator for No. 17 Florida's Outback Bowl matchup against Iowa - and that quality control coach Mark DeBastiani would serve as linebackers coach for that game - he added that the Gators won't make any full-time decisions with their coaching staff until after the bowl game.
"We’re not going to make any full-time decisions on that until after the bowl games out of respect for coaches and people who are coaching in other programs and that kind of thing. I just don’t think it’s right this time of year," McElwain said. "Let them focus on that and then we’ll move forward after that. There is no time frame.
"Obviously want to have it done before we get back on the road recruiting after the first of the year," added McElwain, as the dead period concludes after Jan. 11. "That’s kind of where we’re at there.”
Many consider Shannon, previously Florida's co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach/associate head coach, to be the favorite to be promoted to defensive coordinator with McElwain saying once again that Shannon is "absolutely" a candidate. However it shakes out - whether Florida promotes Shannon and hires another position coach or simply hires an outside defensive coordinator - McElwain addressed Florida's need to improve on the recruiting trail with a new hire.
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His awareness on that topic alone should make a number of fans who have been unhappy with Florida's recruiting efforts in the 2017 cycle feels somewhat more optimistic.
"It's going to be young, and yet we've got a lot of young guys that have been playing this year so hopefully there's some good carryover on that standpoint," McElwain said of his defense. "Continuity in what we're doing is important. And a couple other factors as we kind of look at it and make sure we answer some recruiting needs that we have and that type of deal as well. I'm excited for them, they've been doing a good job with what we've been doing and obviously Randy's more than qualified for that position."
With Shannon in charge at defensive coordinator for the Outback Bowl, McElwain is looking forward to see how that side of the ball looks two weeks from today.
"It will be fun and it will be different," McElwain said of the defense against Iowa without Collins as defensive coordinator. "Some guys' roles will be a little bit different than they were on game day. We've done some simulation things already that try to help that in a communication and what different people are looking at. We will actually carry that over to Thursday .. to Wednesday's practice as well this week, and we will do two of those simulated kind of periods when we get down to Tampa."
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