Florida football all-time roster: Coaches, kickers and specialists
We already presented our starting lineups along with our second team selections for the all-time greatest Florida football team on both offense and defense, which leaves the glue that holds the two together remaining: special teams and the coaching staff.
While it is often difficult to rank coaches based simply on the results on the field, and with the small sample sizes that special teams present, there are still coaches and players that stand out from the rest. Sometimes they benefitted from a cohort of exceptional talent while others seemingly found a way to make their name known, but at the end of the day, they were difference-makers for the Orange and Blue.
Take a look below at the starting lineup along with the backups for our all-time greatest Gators on special teams along with the best that Florida has had to offer on the sidelines.
Read more about the Orange and Blue at Gators Wire.
See the all-time Florida offense here.
See the all-time Florida defense here.
Check out our other College Wire all-time lineups: Alabama / Arkansas / Auburn / Clemson / Colorado / Georgia / Iowa / LSU / Michigan / Nebraska / North Carolina / Ohio State / Oklahoma / Oregon / Penn State / Rutgers / Tennessee / Texas / Texas A&M / USC / Wisconsin
Starting K: Evan McPherson
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[autotag]Evan McPherson[/autotag] is the SEC’s all-time leader in field goal percentage and was the first and went 149-of-150 on extra points during his career.
Backup K: Eddy Pineiro
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A converted soccer player who became one of the best booters in the business, [autotag]Eddy Pineiro[/autotag] had a career conversion rate of 88.4% and made 16 straight field goals to close his final season.
Starting P: Johnny Townsend
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The NCAA Division I FBS record-holder for the highest career average yards per punt until 2021, [autotag]Johnny Townsend[/autotag] also currently holds Florida’s all-time record.
Backup P: Shayne Edge
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[autotag]Shayne Edge[/autotag] was a second-team All-SEC selection in 1993 and 1994 while earning honorable mentions for All-American in all four years at Florida.
Starting Returner: Brandon James
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[autotag]Brandon James[/autotag]was a first-team All-American in 2007, a consensus first-team All-American, first-team All-SEC and SEC Special Teams Player of the Year in 2008, while serving as senior team captain in 2009.
Backup Returner: Chris Rainey
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A multi-sport standout with the Orange and Blue, [autotag]Chris Rainey[/autotag] holds the team career record for blocked kicks and was selected as team MVP in 2011 by his peers.
Head Coach: Steve Spurrier
AP Photo/John Bazemore
The Head Ball Coach made Florida’s football program what it is today, and is a legend both on the field and the sidelines.
Offensive Coordinator: Dan Mullen
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Despite his precipitous fall from grace as the Gators’ head coach, [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] developed both [autotag]Chris Leak[/autotag] and [autotag]Tim Tebow[/autotag] into proven winners.
Defensive Coordinator: Charlie Strong
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[autotag]Charlie Strong[/autotag] was a holdover from the [autotag]Ron Zook[/autotag] to the [autotag]Urban Meyer[/autotag] era, and rightfully so, as he would go on to a solid coaching career after his Gainesville stop.
Assistant coach 1: Bob Stoops
Scott Halleran /Allsport
Many forget that [autotag]Bob Stoops[/autotag] started early in his coaching career on the sidelines with Spurrier, where he built an oft-underrated defense that terrorized opponents.
Assistant coach 2: Mike Shanahan
USA TODAY Sports
Speaking of forgetting, most do not recall that Mike Shanahan served as an offensive coordinator for the Gators under [autotag]Charlie Pell[/autotag], but they do remember his prolific NFL coaching career.
Assistant coach 3: Gene Ellenson
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Gene Ellenson was employed by Spurrier largely for his inspirational pep talks and was best known for the “take it to the next level” speech ahead of the FSU game in 1991, which resulted in the creation of the Gene Ellenson Award.
Assistant coach 4: Greg Mattison
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Greg Mattison was a co-defensive coordinator under Charlie Strong who helped also shore up the D-line for one of the most menacing Gators defenses to take the field.
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