A wild few days after the end of a season that saw the Florida Gators close their 2020 campaign with three-straight losses has continued for Dan Mullen's program.
Mullen and the Gators were on the verge of further overhauling their defensive staff with one of the game's strongest defensive minds and a former Power-5 head coach; and then Urban Meyer landed the Jaguars head job.
Multiple sources tell FootballScoop that veteran coach Charlie Strong, who rose to notoriety in coaching circles in part because of his great Florida Gators' defenses, was planning to return to the Florida program to work alongside veteran defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, but appears instead to have chosen to go with Meyer.
Brett McMurphy is reporting this afternoon that Strong has agreed to join Urban's staff, "likely as linebackers coach".
Mullen parted with both of the Gators' secondary coaches after the season concluded, as Mullen did not elect to bring back Ron English or Torrian Gray, who accepted a position on Shane Beamer's South Carolina Gamecocks staff.
Florida snagged veteran defensive coach Wesley McGriff away from Auburn earlier this month.
The Gators also engaged in talks with former South Carolina defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson about joining the Gators' staff, but Robinson, a Miami native who was not retained at South Carolina when the Gamecocks fired Will Muschamp, instead accepted a position back his hometown with the Miami Hurricanes.
A former head coach at Louisville and Texas, both Power-5 schools, as well as South Florida, Strong spent the past season as a defensive analyst on Nick Saban's Alabama staff. The Tide earlier this week dominated Ohio State to win the College Football Playoffs title game, the seventh national title of Saban's career. Strong also was part of championship staffs with Urban Meyer at Florida in the mid-2000s.
Meyer this week formally accepted the head coaching job with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, and Strong quickly emerged as a potential candidate to join Meyer in the NFL.
Strong compiled a 74-53 record as a head coach, which included a pair of Big East Conference crowns.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest coaching news.