Gators part ways with defensive assistant coaches English, Gray

GAINESVILLE — Florida coach Dan Mullen fired secondary coaches Ron English and Torrian Gray as the Gators’ struggling defense looks to bounce back in 2021.

The news was first reported by 247Sports’ Thomas Goldkamp and confirmed by an Orlando Sentinel source. Mullen is shaking up his defensive staff on the heels of a 55-20 loss to Oklahoma during the Cotton Bowl to complete a disappointing season.

The Gators defense reached historic lows, with the secondary a primary culprit. UF allowed 28 touchdown passes — most in the SEC by a margin of four — as the defense yielded an average of 30.8 points, the most by the program since 1917.

English coached the teams safeties the past three season while Gray coached cornerbacks the past two seasons.

Gray was on the UF staff in 2016 when the Gators led the SEC in pass defense, allowing a nation best eight touch down passes. At the time, players claimed the fictitious title of DBU, or Defensive Backs University, over LSU, Ohio State and Florida State.

The Gators have not fielded an elite secondary the past two seasons, and 2020 was a severe dropoff from 2019 when the unit intercepted 16 passes, third-most in the 14-team SEC. UF managed just nine picks this season, and six of those were in two halves against Missouri and Georgia. Only five SEC teams had fewer intercept ions.

Goldkamp reported former Will Muschamp assistant Travaris Robinson was the leading candidate to coach the Gators’ secondary. Robinson also is an excellent recruiter who is familiar with the Florida program, having coached at the school from 2011-14.

COURTESY OF UAA UF defensive assistant coaches Ron English, left, and Torrian Gray, right, were fired after the Gators’ disappointing 2020 season.