After a month-long search, Florida has its new offensive coordinator.
Gators coach Will Muschamp officially announced Thursday that he hired Duke’s Kurt Roper as Florida’s new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Roper was a finalist for the Broyles Award this year, given annually to the country’s top assistant coach.
“I’m excited to have Coach Roper join our staff,” Muschamp said. “He has a diverse, up-tempo background on offense and does a good job of adapting to what the players do best. The most important thing though is he has always remained balanced.”
Roper spent the last six years at Duke under David Cutcliffe. The Blue Devils won a school-record 10 games this season and will face Texas A&M in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Tuesday.
“(Roper) has had success calling plays in the SEC and has tutored three NFL quarterbacks. He has had players produce at every offensive position and he is one of the most well-respected coaches in the country,” Muschamp said.
Roper coached under Cutcliffe at Ole Miss (where he coached Eli Manning) and Tennessee and also had a stop at Kentucky.
Roper will replace Brent Pease, who was fired after Florida's 4-8 season.
- - -
Want to join the conversation? Hit us up on Twitter @YahooDrSaturday be sure to "Like" Dr. Saturday on Facebook for football conversations and stuff you won't see on the blog.