Tasked with hiring his second offensive coordinator in as many years, Florida coach Will Muschamp put his focus on finding the right fit for his team and system as he tries to rebuild Florida’s program.
So when the Gators announced Wednesday the hiring of former Boise State offensive coordinator Brent Pease to replace Charlie Weis, who took the head coaching job at Kansas last month, it was only appropriate that Muschamp used the word ‘fit’ 10 separate times when discussing the newest addition to his staff.
“Really, it was about bringing a guy in that was going to be a good fit for the room,” Muschamp said. “Bring some new ideas, bring some new energy to what we’re trying to do, but understand we’re not changing philosophically where we’re headed with this thing. … We’re not changing who we are and what we are. Brent understands that.”
In hiring Pease, whose contract will be finalized Friday, with the terms made public shortly thereafter, Muschamp gets a coordinator with more than two decades of coaching experience, including the last six at Boise State, where the Broncos have become a perennial power.
More importantly, Muschamp gets a pro-style coordinator who has experience calling plays in the Southeastern Conference, which Muschamp said is different than any other league due to the defensive fronts.
“Coach Muschamp and I share a lot of the same philosophies so this was a perfect fit,” Pease said in a statement Wednesday. “I want to be multiple in our offensive formations and have a balanced attack with tempo. I firmly believe in being fundamentally sound and red-zone efficient.”
The Gators struggled in each of those areas last season, finishing 114th in the nation in penalties per game (7.7) and 113th in red-zone touchdowns, finding the end zone just 48.7 percent of the time they were inside the opponent’s 20. Under Pease in 2011, the Broncos scored touchdowns on 74.3 percent of their red-zone trips, ranking eighth in the nation.
A factor in Boise State’s success was Pease’s play-calling prowess and ability to utilize motion shifts and different tempos, all qualities Muschamp praised Wednesday.
“We want to be aggressive in all phases as we move forward with this thing,” Muschamp said. “[Pease is] very unconventional in the way he thinks offensively at times, which is good, because it keeps the defense off balance.”
Although Pease brings a distinctive offensive mindset and years of experience to Gainesville, Muschamp made it clear to the Gators’ new offensive coordinator that continuity is key, and that the team is going to tweak the offense rather than install an entirely new playbook after one year.
Muschamp wants to limit having to teach his players different terminology from what they used last season, saying it’s easier for one coach to learn than for an entire offense to do so, particularly with a young nucleus that includes rising sophomore quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel.
“At the end of the day, he doesn’t need to get marbles in his mouth on third and 8,” Muschamp said. “He needs to be able to get a call out, so he’s got to be familiar enough with the terminology to be able to call it and also our players be able to understand it.”
Contact Tom Green at tgreen@alligator.org.
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