UF Holds Football GM Interviews

University of Florida AD Scott Stricklin reportedly interviewed four candidates for the football general manager position.

Sep 14, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators athletic director Scott Stricklin (left) and head coach Billy Napier talk before a game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The Florida Gators are taking the next steps to making its football program a more NFL-style organization.

Athletic Director Scott Stricklin, along with head coach Billy Napier and other staff members, last week reportedly interviewed four candidates for the program's open general manager position. The Orlando Sentinel's Edgar Thompson first reported the news with the list of candidates, all of which have NFL experience.

The group of candidates consist of former Jacksonville Jaguars GM David Caldwell, current Ole Miss GM Matt Lindsay, former Atlanta Falcons longtime director of football operations Nick Polk and current director of player personnel for the UFL’s Arlington Renegades Rick Mueller.

Caldwell, Lindsay and Mueller each have worked for current Philadelphia Eagles' GM Howie Roseman, a UF graduate, with Caldwell currently working with the organization as personnel executive. Lindsay previously worked under Roseman in the scouting department from 2013-14, while Mueller worked with the Eagles from 2012-16.

UF is expected to make a decision this month, which comes in the midst of impending assistant coaching contracts expiring on Jan. 31.

In November, Napier explained how a general manager could help navigate upcoming changes to the football atmosphere with the NCAA enacting roster cuts and a revenue share model that comes into effect this summer.

"I think that the big thing here is that we're really, literally going to be in a business model," Napier said on Nov. 20. "We have a cap, we have contracts, we have negotiation, we have strategy about how we distribute those funds, and it's a major math puzzle."

Not to mention, NIL and the transfer portal remain major factors while building rosters on a year-to-year basis.

"Man, it used to be simple five or six years ago, 25 hard cap (recruiting class), 85 scholarships. Now we're in the eight digits, something like that," Napier said. "So big-picture wise, that's the No. 1 skill set. We're going to build out a front office here in the next couple of months, and it's primarily that purpose is to help us manage that huge math problem. There'll be a ton of strategy around that, I'm looking forward it."