Harris leaves for Miami; no reason to sweat, Napier will find a quality replacement

Will Harris, who coached Florida’s secondary in 2024, has departed for Miami. The Florida pass defense was vastly improved after Harris took over from Corey Raymond, in part because the Gators mounted a serious pass rush and also because the Gators were far more aggressive in their coverage. Interceptions went up from three in 2023 to 14 in 2024.

In Harris, Miami gets a coach who gets results and a proven recruiter. Harris was instrumental in the Gators landing Dade County’s all-time single season interception leader in Ben Hanks Jr., who picked off 13 passes last year. He also helped the Gators flip safety Hylton Stubbs from Miami, safety Lagonza Hayward from Tennessee and corner Onis Konanbanny, also from Tennessee.

The timing of Harris’ departure isn’t the greatest, but it isn’t like Billy Napier has few options when it comes to finding a qualified replacement. Since Vinnie Sunseri was hired as the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, Napier will be looking for an assistant to work with a young, but very talented group of corners.

One name prominently mentioned is Corey Bell, who was Florida’s secondary coach in 2017 when the secondary included Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Duke Dawson, C.J. Henderson and Marco Wilson, all future NFL draft picks. Bell, who is currently the secondary coach at Mississippi State, has deep ties to Dade County where he was once the head coach at American High School and Miami Edison.

While Bell seems a solid choice, Napier and Sunseri may prefer a coach with an Alabama background. Sunseri was one of the more feared safeties in the college game when he played for Nick Saban. He made life miserable for receivers going over the middle. He played in a secondary filled with future pros Dee Milliner, Dre Kirkpatrick, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and DeQuan Menzie.

One possibility with ties to both Alabama and Napier is Doug Belk, who coaches the secondary at Southern Cal. A Valdosta native, Belk was an Alabama grad assistant when Napier was Nick Saban’s wide receivers coach. Another possible consideration could be Nick Perry, the Arkansas secondary coach who was a free safety in the same secondary as Sunseri at Alabama.

Two things to consider regarding Harris leaving and the hiring of a new assistant coach:

1. College football is a business. Coaches, just like players, follow the opportunity. Head coaches leave for big contracts and what they perceive to be an opportunity to coach at a school that has a chance to win at a higher level. They coach one team to a successful season and then bolt because they are offered a high-paying, long term deal at another school, frequently before a bowl game. Assistant coaches don’t have the long term contracts for big bucks like the head coach, so there is always a feeling of insecurity, particularly if they don’t feel like they are in the head coach’s inner circle. Assistants constantly have their eyes and ears wide open for the next big landing spot. They also look for that place that will elevate their chances of becoming a coordinator and eventually a head coach. If they think the grass is greener somewhere else, they bolt. Now that players have free agency to go with NIL, there is very little in the way of loyalty. Head coaches and assistants will candidly tell you whether it’s recruiting high school kids or those from the portal one of the first things asked is “What’s in it for me?”

2. This is Florida. Despite the overall downward trend of Florida football since Urban Meyer retired after the 2010 seasons, Florida is still an iconic brand name. The brand coupled with the excitement generated by the final four games of the 2024 season is all you need to know about Billy Napier’s ability to land a quality coach to replace the departed Will Harris. The Gators are in nearly everybody’s too early top 25 predictions for 2025. With an offense that some experts believe will be as good as there is in the country and a defense that returns eight starters and a slew of talented backups, the Gators are considered a team on the verge of taking that next step to become a serious playoff contender. That makes Florida a very attractive landing spot for an assistant coach. Take for example the aforementioned possible contenders for the vacancy. Corey Collier is at Mississippi State. Mississippi State vs. Florida? No brainer there. Doug Belk is at Southern Cal. He pays a state income tax that eats up 11.3 percent of his paycheck and the cost of living is exorbitantly higher than Florida. Plus Southern Cal is spinning its wheels in mediocrity. Big advantage Florida. Finally Nick Price is at Arkansas. Arkansas vs. Florida? Another no brainer.