Report: Florida set to hire former NFL defensive line coach

Florida is expected to hire Sean Spencer as its next defensive line coach, Yahoo! Sports’ Pete Thamel reports. He will also serve as the co-defensive coordinator for the Gators.

He is the latest addition to the staff of Billy Napier, who took over following the firing of Dan Mullen.

Spencer accepted a job as Duke’s co-defensive coordinator just three days ago, but apparently changed his mind when Napier came calling. He spent the past two seasons working in the NFL with the New York Giants. Before that, he was a defensive line coach at Penn State from 2014-19. The Nittany Lions promoted him to associate head coach beginning in 2018.

Florida struggled defensively this past season, finishing eighth in the SEC in total defense. The Gators ended the year with a 6-7 record following a loss to UCF in the Gasparilla Bowl.

A native of Hartford, Connecticut, the defensive line coach played college for Clarion University in Pennsylvania. He spent three seasons as free safety for the Golden Eagles and was named to the 1992 Division II preseason All-America team.

After his graduation, Spencer took a job at Wesleyan University as the running backs and tight ends coach. That was the beginning of a coaching career that has spanned nearly 30 years.

After being named associate head coach at Penn State in 2018, Spencer led one of the best Nittany Lions defenses in recent memory. They led the country with 3.62 sacks per game, finishing with at least 40 sacks for the fourth straight season. Yetur Gross-Matos, now with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, led the team with 18 sacks.

Spencer will hope to achieve some of the same success in Gainesville as the Florida defensive line coach. He will get his first opportunity to make an impact when the Gators open the 2022 season against the Utah Utes on Sept. 3.