Ever Heard Of A 'GameChanger Coordinator'? Florida's Billy Napier Just Hired One
Gators head coach Billy Napier announced on Friday that he has hired another member of his staff at Florida. The position that was filled will be called the "GameChanger Coordinator" -- though it's still basically a special teams coordinator position -- and Napier has hired his former special teams coordinator Chris Couch from Louisiana for the job.
Couch spent the 2021 season under Napier, serving as the director of quality control and the special teams coordinator. In his new role as an analyst with the Gators, Couch will focus on the special teams unit in Gainesville. This is actually a smart move for the newly-hired Florida coach to bring on one of his key assistants in Lafayette.
The most intriguing part of this hire is the title it has been given. During his one season at Louisiana, Couch had his unit tied for 10th in blocked kicks, 17th in kickoff return defense and 15th in punting average. Gamechangers, indeed.
Prior to Tulane, Couch served as a special teams coordinator and linebackers coach at Point University (2015), a defensive graduate assistant at Georgia Southern (2013-14) and the slot backs coach at Missouri Southern State University (2012).
When he took the job at Florida, Napier promised he would build "an army" of coaches and support staff to help bring the program back to national relevance.
“We’re going to hire an army of people here. We’re going to create an infrastructure, not only in the personnel department but also from on-campus recruiting, creative media, name, image, and likeness. We’ve got a great vision for the organization that we’re going to create here."
Now, with Couch at the "GameChanger" position, Napier continues rebuilding the Gators.