Head coach Billy Napier has wasted no time in filling out the personnel of his new regime in Gainesville. Today, he added one of the key pieces to the coaching staff in hiring Rob Sale as Florida’s offensive coordinator and offensive line coach.
Sale spent last season as the offensive line coach for the New York Giants and will reunite with Napier after working under him at Louisiana for three seasons.
The 42-year-old coach grew up in Monroe, Louisiana and started three seasons on the LSU offensive line under the tutelage of Nick Saban. In 2007, he returned to Saban’s side, this time as a strength and conditioning assistant at Alabama. He also served as an offensive analyst for the Crimson Tide through 2011.
After stints at McNeese State, Georgia, Louisiana- Monroe and Arizona State, he arrived in Lafayette, Louisiana, to become the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for Napier’s Ragin’ Cajuns.
The Cajuns sustained an elite running game under Sale’s guidance, setting school records for rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and total yards in 2019.
Sale went to the NFL to coach the Giants’ offensive line after his three-year stint in Lafayette. The Giants totaled 1,688 rushing yards this season, putting them at a lowly 24th out of 32 teams in rushing yards this season. However, the team was without star running back Saquon Barkley for a portion of the season due to injury.
While Napier is still ironing out the rest of his coaching staff, he has locked up one of the highest-profile positions remaining: offensive coordinator. National signing day is less than a month away, so Sale will need to be heading to work quickly.
Contact Carson Cashion at ccashion@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @carsoncashion
Carson Cashion is a third-year sports journalism major at UF, and the sports editor at The Alligator for the 2022 summer semester. A native of Altamonte Springs, Carson spends his free time walking his dog, Baxter, and listening to good music. He is an avid Tennessee sports fan, and eagerly awaits watching one of his teams win a championship for the first time.
