Meet the new hires on Billy Napier's Florida Gators staff
Florida coach Billy Napier has spent this offseason not only reloading the roster but filling out his staff. He most notably had to hire three assistant coaches right before spring ball.
Napier tabbed Alabama linebackers coach Austin Armstrong as defensive coordinator, rehired former Gators receivers coach Billy Gonzales and promoted Russ Callaway to tight ends coach.
UF also had to replace director of player athletic development Joe Danos, who left to become director of sports science for the Denver Broncos. Napier still has a few more hires to make as well.
He lost senior director of student-athlete development and alumni relations Vernell Brown Jr., on-campus recruiting coordinator Sierra Wade and associate director of digital strategy Tamsyn Stonebarger.
In addition to Armstrong, there are more than a half dozen staff members entering their first season with the Gators. Meet the new hires on Napier’s 2023 staff so far.
Austin Armstrong
Position: Defensive Coordinator
Background: Prior to Florida, Armstrong had been recently hired as the Alabama linebackers coach and spent the last two seasons as the defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach at Southern Miss. He also had two stints at Louisiana (2017-18, 2020) under Napier and a year with Kirby Smart at Georgia in 2019 as a defensive quality control coach. He started his coaching career an assistant defensive line coach at West Georgia (Div. II) in 2016.
Tyler Miles
Position: Director of Player Athletic Development
Background: Miles spent last season at Duke as an assistant director of sports performance, working primarily with the football program. He was at Miami in 2021 as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. His previous stops include Tennessee State University as the head strength coach and Boost Performance in Nashville (2019-20) and two SEC stints as a strength and conditioning intern at Tennessee (2018) and South Carolina (2017).
John Donovan
Position: Senior Offensive Analyst
Background: Donovan served in the same role last year for the Green Bay Packers. He was Washington’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2020-21. He spent the previous four seasons (2016-19) on the Jacksonville Jaguars offensive staff. Donovan worked with James Franklin at Penn State (2014-15) and Vanderbilt (2011-13) after a decade at Maryland (2001-10). He was a grad assistant at Georgia Tech (1998-2000) and started out as an assistant defensive backs coach at Villanova (1997).
Eric Kiesau
Position: Quality Control – Offense
Background: Kiesau spent a total of six years under Bryan Harsin at Auburn (2021-22) and Boise State (2017-20), coaching both receivers and quarterbacks in addition serving as offensive coordinator. He previously served as the OC for Fresno State (2016), Washington (2012-13) and Colorado (2009-10). He has coached receivers at Kansas (2014), California (2002-05; 2011), Colorado (2006-08) and Utah State (2001), where he started his coaching career as a running backs coach in 2000.
Blake Shrader
Position: Quality Control – Defense
Background: Shrader spent the last seven seasons (2016-22) at UAB as the defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator. He was UAB’s director of player personnel in 2014. Shrader spent 2015 as a quality control coordinator at Georgia. He served as Jacksonville State’s cornerbacks coach in 2013 and was part of Bill Clark’s defensive staff at South Alabama from 2010-12. Shrader, a former Auburn safety (2004-07), got his coaching start at his alma mater as a defensive quality control assistant (2008-09).
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Allen Brown
Position: Quality Control – Defensive Backs
Background: Brown spent the 2022 season at Cal in the role of quality control – defense and coached at his alma mater, Eastern Washington, from 2019-21 as the cornerbacks coach / defensive pass game coordinator. He was the cornerbacks coach at Cal Pol for four seasons (2015-18) after being a defensive intern for Eastern Washington in 2014. Brown was a safety for EWU from 2009-13.
Kaleb Johnson
Position: Quality Control – Offensive Line
Background: Johnson spent the last three seasons (2020-22) at his alma mater, Rutgers, as a strength and conditioning assistant and offensive line performance liaison. Prior to coaching, he played five years in the NFL with the Bears, Browns, Cardinals, Chiefs, Eagles, Ravens and Vikings. The Jacksonville, Fla. native was a four-year letter-winner for the Scarlet Knights from 2011-2014 and started in 50 straight games on the offensive line.
Chad Lucas
Position: Quality Control – Wide Receivers
Background: He spent the last four seasons (2019-22) at Bethune Cookman as the pass game coordinator and wide receivers coach. Prior to that, he was a wide receivers coach at Alabama State for two seasons (2017-18) after a year as a skill development coordinator in 2016. It marked his second stint with his alma mater after serving as a WR graduate assistant from 2004-05. Lucas was the offensive coordinator at Robert E. Lee high school in Montgomery, Ala. for three seasons (2012-14) and became a recruiting intern at Alabama in the fall of 2015.
Justin Posthuma
Position: Quality Control – Tight Ends
Background: Posthuma joins Florida’s staff following stretches at Southeastern Louisiana as an offensive analyst (2021) and at Austin Peay State as an offensive graduate assistant (2018-19). He began his coaching career as the offensive coordinator for the Paris Mousquetaires (2015) before joining the college football ranks. He played quarterback at UCLA (2010), Pasadena City College (2011-12) and Southeastern Louisiana (2013-14).
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