Report: Florida Hires Arizona Cardinals DB Coach Teryl Austin

According to an Arizona radio station, Florida has replaced departed defensive coordinator George Edwards with the Arizona Cardinals’ defensive backs coach Teryl Austin.

Austin has some connections to the current coaching staff at Florida, having spent three years on staff with interim head coach and offensive coordinator Steve Addazio at Syracuse from 1996-1998, and was solid recruiter during a three year tenure at Michigan from 1999-2001. He has no experience as a defensive coordinator, however, and has spent the past seven years coaching defensive backs in the NFL.

It’s an odd hire on the surface, but it fits the mold his predecessor Edwards fit: that of an NFL-minded defensive coach with the ability to recruit. Since things at Florida are typically done collaboratively with titles used as near-formalities, expect Austin to carry a co-coordinator tag or for some compensatory nameplate shuffling to be done between Austin and the existing assistants on staff.