UPDATE (12 P.M.): According to a report by Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman, Florida offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier is staying in Gainesville and won't take the Southern Miss head-coaching job.
At one point, Nussmeier was reportedly considered a strong candidate for the position after meeting with USM. However, Nussmeier was seen Friday outside of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium with Florida assistant coaches waiting for official visitors to arrive before a big recruiting weekend.
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Could Florida soon be searching for its fifth offensive coordinator in six seasons?
According to a report from FootballScoop.com, Florida offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier is a “strong candidate” for the Southern Mississippi head-coaching job.
His recent meeting with Southern Miss went “very well,” per the site. The Golden Eagles just saw three-year head coach Todd Monken leave to take a job on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers staff as offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach – a position of his that was officially announced this past Sunday.
The 45-year-old Nussmeier just wrapped up his first season as UF’s offensive coordinator on Jim McElwain’s inaugural coaching staff at Florida. His unit finished 112th in total offense and 100th in scoring offense this past year.
Nussmeier arrived at Florida after one year at Michigan in 2014, two seasons at Alabama in 2012-13, three at Washington from 2009-11 and one at Fresno State in 2008 -- all in an offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach role.
Before that he served as the St. Louis Rams’ quarterbacks coach from 2006-07 and on the same staff as McElwain at Michigan State from 2003-05 in the same capacity.
If Nussmeier were to fill Southern Miss’ head-coaching vacancy, Florida would be left once again with an unstable situation at offensive coordinator – a scenario that set the Will Muschamp era off on bad footing. After bringing in Charlie Weis to serve the role in 2011, Muschamp saw Weis leave to become Kansas’ head coach.
After two years Brent Pease didn’t last in Gainesville, and then Kurt Roper was let go once Florida opted to go for a fresh start and dismiss Muschamp following a disappointing 2014 campaign.
Another way a Nussmeier departure could impact Florida on the field is with one of its top candidates at the quarterback position heading into the spring, walk-on Luke Del Rio. During his season at Alabama in 2013 and then this past year, Del Rio played under Nussmeier and grew familiar with his system and concepts. Now, there’s a chance he could see two of his college offensive coordinators -- Nussmeier and John Garrett, Oregon State’s OC in 2014 and a quality control assistant at UF in 2015 before accepting Richmond’s offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach job -- leave UF for new destinations.
