Gators head coach Billy Napier discusses the hiring and role of new Florida linebackers coach and executive defensive head coach Ron Roberts.
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00:00 How's that collaboration going to work?
00:02 Yeah, it's been.
00:03 A's and doing.
00:04 Sure.
00:05 Yeah, it's phenomenal.
00:06 I mean, you think about Ron Roberts and what he brings to the table.
00:10 Veteran coach, been a head coach, been a coordinator, play caller
00:15 Austin in him.
00:17 You know, there's a mentor type relationship there
00:21 and a ton of respect, mutual respect on both sides.
00:26 So I think we get the wisdom,
00:29 you know, this system and there's a number of coaches.
00:33 You guys obviously will write the story at some point, but this guy's mentored
00:36 a million defensive coaches in his career,
00:38 some of which are coordinator, play callers
00:42 in the NFL and college football.
00:45 So I think it's a positive because I think the system that we run,
00:50 you know, Ron started that system at Louisiana.
00:54 The first two years we were there kind of got it up and running
00:58 and then it's evolved in the guys that have been running
01:01 that work for him in the past. Right.
01:03 So I think
01:03 whether that was Patrick Tony, who took over,
01:07 who's now in the National Football League or Austin, Jay Bateman's
01:10 in that tree of coaches.
01:12 So I think we get, you know, they call him the OG, the godfather,
01:18 whatever you want to call him, right.
01:19 We get him back in the building and he's he's going to make us better
01:23 and he'll make the players better.
01:27 These guys have always been productive,
01:30 the guys that he coaches and the units that he coaches.
01:32 So there's a track record of playing really good defense.
01:35 And we're fortunate to have him.
01:37 On that, I don't think executive head coach is a title I've seen before.
01:41 Is it? Are there any specific new duties with that?
01:45 Or can you elaborate on that?
01:46 Yeah, I mean, head coach for the defense.
01:48 You know, basically a guy who oversees,
01:54 you know, that side of the ball to some degree, Austin
01:56 obviously is the coordinator, calls the plays and runs the unit meetings.
02:01 But we're getting a guy who can coach the coaches, who can approve the
02:04 installation, the game plans that, you know, really can
02:09 get the best of that side of the ball.
02:12 Essentially, he's the head coach of the defense to some degree.
02:16 You know, so and I think the coordinator
02:19 relationship there is one that's, you know, those guys are
02:24 their love and life right now, you know, so
02:27 they're both ball guys.
02:30 And I mean, say we've got Mike Peterson, that room, Will Harrison,
02:34 that room, Gerald Chapman in that room.
02:37 You know, we promoted Callie James, who's a graduate assistant.
02:42 He's kind of the assistant defensive line coach
02:44 and is going to help us with the hybrid players.
02:47 It's a good room, and I think they're in a good place.
02:51 They're excited to work together.