Florida’s Assistants are the real MVP’s of Gator football - Part 2

Previously we looked at half of the coaching staff that makes up the national championship Gator football team. That included Offensive Coordinator Steve Addazio, Defensive Coordinator Charlie Strong, Wide Receivers coach Billy Gonzales and Running Backs coach Kenny Carter. These four guys are clearly important players on the team and seem to be performing admirably in the first two games of the year, not letting the Gators get complacent.

The assistant coaches have more direct contact and influence on the Gator football players than anyone. They make the team tick behind the scenes, but don’t usually get too much credit. Today we will take a look at the other five assistant coaches on the Gator staff.

	Defensive Line Coach/Associate Head Coach Dan McCarney - Coach McCarney is maybe the most experienced guy on the entire staff. He has been an assistant at USF, Iowa, and Wisconsin. He also has significant head coaching experience having coached the Iowa State Cyclones for over ten years. McCarney is your prototypical defensive line coach, gruff, loud, and in your face. He is one of the most vocal coaches and isn’t afraid to get in guys faces. McCarney has done a lot in only one season; he has made Jermaine Cunningham and Carlos Dunlap into the most feared De combo in the country.
	Cornerbacks Vance Bedford - Coach Bedford has a wealth of coaching experience all the way from High School to the NFL. He has coached many great players as well, including the Heisman Trophy winner in 1997 Michigan CB Charles Woodson. Coach Bedford made a young and inexperienced secondary into one of the best in the country. His secondary tied a school record with 26 interceptions. Coach Bedford was another great addition to the staff by Coach Meyer.
	Assistant Defensive Coordinator/ Safeties Chuck Heater -Coach Heater has coached at many different colleges and came to Florida with Coach Meyer from Utah. He is Charlie Strong’s right hand man and is integral in defense play calling and decision-making. Coach Heater is one of the older members of the staff, but is known for his recruiting skills in addition to his coaching abilities. Heater was also a big part of transforming the Gator secondary.
	Tight Ends Brian White - Coach White was the longtime Wisconsin running backs coach and coached Heisman winner Ron Dayne, former Vikings RB Anthony Davis and Buffalo Bills WR Lee Evans. He enjoyed great success there and after short stints with Syracuse and Washington he joined the Gator staff this year. He will be in charge of coaching Aaron Hernandez and developing freshman Desmond Parks.
	QB coach Scot Loeffler - Coach Loeffler has gotten the most publicity of anyone on the coaching staff other than Urban lately. He came to the Gators from the Detroit Lions and he also coached Tom Brady at Michigan. Loeffler has been in the news for trying to change Tebow’s throwing motion to make it more over the top. He is an up and coming coach who will probably become a head coach pretty soon. He was highly pursued by many pro and college teams before he chose to come to Gainesville. He will be instrumental John Brantley’s development into the starter next season.

The Gator assistants will continue to make the Gators tick and will be key in the Gators run to return to the BCS national championship. Many will be pursued to become coordinators and assistants because they of some the best at what they do. But many will stay because they love coaching for the best program in the nation.

Click Here to see Part 1 of this Article

Ben Pettito is a columnist for GatorTailgating.com

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Florida’s Assistants are the real MVP’s of Gator football - Part 2

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