Florida Football’s Napier Making Staff Decisions

Florida coach Billy Napier addressed the media Wednesday afternoon as the Gators continue to build their coaching staff.

New Hires and Familiar Faces

After weeks of relative silence, the Gators made some noise by announcing Vinnie Sunseri as the new co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach on Jan. 30.

Sunseri was a two-time national champion with Alabama when he wore the Crimson Tide uniform. He had previous experience coaching with the Washington Huskies and the New England Patriots. He’s familiar with the orange and blue way through his father, Sal Sunseri, who served as Florida’s defensive line coach in 2018.

Napier says he spoke with Nick Saban and he was impressed with Vinnie Sunseri in his one year as a GA with Alabama.

— Nick Marcinko (@marcinko_nick) February 5, 2025

Napier expressed his belief that Sunseri can provide the Gators’ secondary with valuable expertise.

“We need to offer as much … feedback as possible for the players. So to try to take advantage of the rules, bringing Vinnie on was a no-brainer,” Napier said.

Napier also revealed the Gators reached a contract extension with defensive line coach Gerald Chatman, calling him an “exceptional coach.” Chatman had reportedly interviewed for the Chicago Bears’ vacant defensive line coach position, but ultimately decided to stay with Florida.

On the Radar

After Napier expressed that the program was “close” to adding new front-office hires, 247 Sports has reported that the Gators are close to finalizing a deal with Ben Elsner for an administrative position.

Elsner previously worked as the Chief of Staff for The 33rd Team, a football analytics website.

Florida is targeting Ben Elsner from football analysis website The 33rd Team for a support staff/front office role, sources tell @CBSSports/@247Sports.

For The 33rd Team, which was founded by ex-NFL executive Mike Tannenbaum, Elsner has been the company’s chief of staff.… pic.twitter.com/84VOPJBmHu

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) February 5, 2025

While the specifics around Elsner’s role are unclear, Napier said the program wants to focus more on the analytics side of the game.

“We’re getting this front office built out to be more strategic about the salary cap, the contracts, rev share, marketing, endorsement, that pool of money that could come available,” Napier said.

The Gators are also targeting Robert Bala as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, according to 247. Bala was a linebackers coach at Alabama in 2023, and is currently the linebackers coach at Washington.

Future of the Offense

During his tenure with Florida, Napier has held the role of de facto offensive coordinator in addition to his responsibilities as head coach. Despite facing much criticism from fans, Napier expressed he remains confident in his ability to juggle both jobs.

“It’s how I became the head coach, it’s what’s helped us make progress and win in the past. I’m confident it will help us do that in the future,” he said Wednesday.

After a few years of offensive inconsistency, the Gators were able to find some stability in 2024 in freshman quarterback DJ Lagway. For now, it seems like hiring an OC is completely off the table.