Florida introduced Jim McElwain as its next head coach on Dec. 6 and has since wasted no time putting together his coaching staff.
McElwain hired Mississippi State defensive coordinator Geoff Collins to the same position at Florida, the school announced on Dec. 16. He will replace defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin, who served as UF’s interim head coach during Florida’s 28-20 win in the Birmingham Bowl on Saturday.
"I got to know Geoff personally during my time at Alabama and have stayed in touch with him since and his defenses have been successful everywhere he has been," McElwain said in a release. "It was important to maintain some of the same philosophies and concepts that have made the defenses around here successful with this hire and our players will continue to progress under his direction."
Although the two were not on the staff at the same time, both McElwain and Collins have ties to Alabama. Collins served as director of player personnel with the Crimson Tide in 2007, the year before McElwain’s four-year run in Tuscaloosa began.
From there, Collins spent two seasons at UCF as linebackers coach, then another at FIU, where he got his first FBS defensive coordinator job. In 2011, he joined Dan Mullen at Mississippi State co-coordinating the defense and then took over the position by himself in 2013. Collins also coached linebackers at FIU and MSU.
In 2013, Mississippi State finished 18th in yards per game allowed, 22nd in passing yards per game allowed and 38th in rushing yards per game. This season, the Bulldogs took a step back, finishing the year at 87th in total yards per game allowed. That was mostly due to a pass defense that ranked 117th out of 128 FBS teams. The Bulldogs were ranked 44th in rush defense nationally.
One week after Collins was hired, McElwain hired Michigan offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier to the same position.
Nussmeier worked with McElwain at Michigan State from 2003-2005, serving as the team’s quarterbacks coach.
"I’m excited to reunite with Coach Mac — we obviously have a long history and share similar philosophies," Nussmeier said in a release. "I’m honored to join The Gator Nation and work for one of the most storied programs in all of college football."
Nussmeier succeeded McElwain as Alabama’s offensive coordinator after McElwain became the head coach at Colorado State.
During his two years at Alabama (2012-2013), Nussmeier coached the 33rd ranked offense in 2013- and 31st-ranked offense in 2012.
Both of those teams were also in the top 20 in scoring offense.
During the 2012 season in which the Crimson Tide won their most recent national championship, the Nussmeier-led Alabama offense racked up 68 total touchdowns.
His offense featured a 30-touchdown quarterback (AJ McCarron), two running backs with double-digit touchdown runs (Eddie Lacy, 17; T.J. Yeldon, 12) and a wide receiver with double-digit touchdown catches (Amari Cooper, 11).
"Doug and I have worked together on the same staff and I’ve known him for years," McElwain said in a release. "We are like thinkers in that he will adapt to the players we have in the program and develop them as we continue to evolve."
UF confirmed the remainder of McElwain’s coaching staff on Monday.
These hires include Colorado State’s Tim Skipper as running backs coach and Mike Kent as director of strength and conditioning, Arkansas coach Randy Shannon as associate head coach and linebackers coach, UCF’s Kirk Callahan as the secondary coach, Western Kentucky coach Greg Nord as tight ends and special teams coach and Oakland Raiders coach Terrell Williams as defensive line coach.
UF offensive line coach Mike Summers is the only coach returning from the 2014 staff, and the only position coach that has yet to be confirmed is a wide receivers coach.
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New head football coach Jim McElwain speaks at his introductory press conference in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
