Craig Fitzgerald gets ringing endorsement from Steve Spurrier
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators officially announced the hire of new strength coach Craig Fitzgerald. The Gators new strength coach spent the last four seasons with the New York Giants where he made an impact for the team and on the players in the organization.
“I’m gonna miss him a lot,” standout defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence said. “He helped heal me a lot, healed me with the workouts. He’s a good person. That one’s gonna hurt me a little bit, but I’m happy for him and it’s a new opportunity for him. He deserves it. And it’s part of the game.”
Fitzgerald joined the Giants in 2020 under then-head coach Joe Judge and survived the transition to the new regime of general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll. He’ll take over at Florida for Mark Hocke, who was moved to a different role inside the football program.
Steve Spurrier on Craig Fitzgerald
Shortly after the hire was announced, Steve Spurrier posted this on X (formerly Twitter) “Craig is one of the best strength coaches that I’ve had and he will certainly help our Gator football team.”
Saquan Barkley and other New York Giants on Fitzgerald
The Giants star running back has been known to be a weight room freak. Barkley worked closely with Fitzgerald and credited him for a new routine to keep him in peak shape during the season, according to a story in the New York Daily News.
“For me personally, it’s how he’s been able to develop with me,” Barkley said, “knowing how I am in the weight room and I want to go heavy and push the limits, but also now at a point in my career being more understanding and listening to my body.”
“That’s what makes a really good strength coach,” Barkley added. “Obviously you gotta create a program to get your players out there to be successful and stay healthy. But I think listening to your players’ body and knowing what workload they need and knowing when it’s time to push it and also when it’s time to de-load and give your body a break. I feel like he’s been really great at doing that and developing programs.”
“I love Fitzy,” Barkley said. “I actually met Fitzy when I was like 15, 14 years old. He used to work with Bill O’Brien. I told him, ‘Thank you and congratulations when I found out [he was leaving], and he was like, ‘You know what? You were one of the first guys to text me [when I got the Giants job in 2020]. The first thing you asked me was, ‘Should I get power plates, and are we gonna be power cleaning again?’”
Barkley smiled.
“Me and Fitzy’s relationship goes a long way,” he said. “Obviously you hate to see someone that you respect and care about go, but in this business, sometimes when you’re able to leave and get another job, it’s an upgrade, it’s a blessing. So I’m just happy for him, and Florida’s getting a really good one. A really good strength coach, a really good coach, someone you can talk to, a great man. And it sucks to see him go but at the same time, happy for him.”
