The Gators may have found their new offensive coordinator.
According to an ESPN report, Florida is expected to hire Duke offensive coordinator Kurt Roper as Brent Pease’s replacement. An announcement from UF is expected to come later this week.
Multiple outlets have confirmed ESPN's report of UF hiring Roper.
Roper has served as Duke’s offensive coordinator, assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach since 2008. He is expected to replace Pease, who was fired by Florida at the end of the 2013 season.
Coach Will Muschamp and UF interviewed Roper on Monday in Gainesville for the vacant position.
Under Roper, Florida plans to run a spread offense with a higher tempo than the pro-style offense it implemented the past two years with Pease, according to ESPN.
In 2013, Florida finished last in the Southeastern Conference in total offense with 316.7 yards per game and scoring with 18.8 points per contest. The Gators ranked 112th in the nation in scoring offense and 113th in total offense.
Thanks largely to its woes on offense, Florida suffered its first losing season since 1979 with a 4-8 record.
Since 2008, Roper has served as the Blue Devils’ offensive coordinator. This year, Duke averaged 31.6 points and 408.1 yards per game – good for 68th nationally. In 2012, the Blue Devils recorded 31.5 points per game and scored 410 points, a single-season record at Duke.
Despite coaching in the Atlantic Coast Conference for the past five years, Roper has an SEC background. He served as a graduate assistant at Tennessee from 1996-98 and the quarterbacks coach at Ole Miss from 1999-2004. He added on the responsibility of passing game coordinator during his final three years in Oxford, Miss.
In 2005, he became Kentucky’s quarterbacks coach. Then, he coached running backs at Tennessee from 2006-07.
Roper has a track record of successfully developing quarterbacks. During his time at Duke, he groomed future NFL quarterbacks in Thad Lewis (Buffalo Bills) and Sean Renfree (Atlanta Falcons), a seventh-round pick in 2013. Roper also helped develop Eli Manning during his time at Ole Miss.
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Duke offensive coordinator Kurt Roper (middle) participates in the ceremony for the Broyles Award, which recognizes the top NCAA Division 1A Assistant Football Coaches, on Dec. 10 in Little Rock, Ark. Florida announced Roper as its new offensive coordinator on Dec. 26.
