Fact Or Fiction: Will Harris' Departure from Florida Will Hurt the Gators?

Will Harris will leave the Florida Gators after one season to coach at rival Miami, according to multiple reports.

New Florida secondary coach Will Harris directs his defensive backs during the Florida Gators as they held their final open Spring football practice before the Orange and Blue Game at Sanders Practice Fields in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun] / Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK

The surprise reported departure of Florida Gators secondary coach Will Harris to an in-state rival on Thursday continued to prove there is never a dull moment in Gators' football.

After just one season with the Gators, Harris is reportedly headed to the University of Miami to join Mario Cristobal's staff as the Hurricanes' safeties coach. While there had been whispers of him looking for a new job over the offseason, the move was still somewhat of a shock, especially being a lateral move to a rival.

In Harris’ time at Florida, the Gators unit saw great improvement, making his departure send fans into panic. Florida’s secondary improved from a lowly three interceptions in 2023 to 14 under Harris, moving from No. 87 in passing yards-per-game to No. 83 nationally.

The Gators also received a PFF tackling grade of 69.6 on the year, ranking 71st of 134 FBS teams graded. This was a whole 10 points higher than their 59.6 grade in 2023, which ranked 112th.

On top of their improvements on the field, Florida landed some impressive recruits while Harris was in town.

According to 247sports, Harris was either a primary or secondary recruiter with five top-200 commits at Florida, as well four recruits rated .95 or higher. He is credited for being impactful in the recruitments of big name defensive backs such as Hylton Stubbs and Ben Hanks III as well as, surprisingly, wide receiver Dallas Wilson.

Harris also aided in Florida adding safety Lagonza Hayward and corner Onis Konanbanny late into the cycle.

While Gators fans have been sent into panic over the move, it may not be as devastating as many have made it out to be. Though Harris did improve the secondary and was credited for some big-time recruiting wins, a deeper dive shows a less illustrious impact.

Though Florida saw a big turnaround on defense, the Gators secondary still had flaws.

The Gators finished the year with a 63.4 coverage grade according to PFF, ranking 111th of 134 FBS schools and 14th of 16 SEC programs. This grade was actually worse than their grade the year before Harris took over, 67.7, and far worse than Miami’s 76.4 grade this season.

Additionally, despite Harris being seen as a splash hire for the Hurricanes, his secondary at Florida was actually worse in certain aspects than a 2024 Miami defense often criticized.

Miami’s unit ranked 62nd in the nation in passing yards-per-game allowed at 220.8, 13.4 less yards than Florida, while also allowing 6.8 yards per pass attempt compared to Florida’s 7.3. Though Harris’ unit was far better at creating turnovers and tackling, Miami and Florida finished similarly in allowed completions per game, passing first downs per game and opponent completion percentage.

Harris’ impact in recruiting may be a bit inflated, as well.

While Gators fans prepare for a mass exodus of Florida defensive backs because of his departure, a look into the group may bring some relief. Of the 17 scholarship defensive backs on Florida’s current 2025 roster, eight were committed to Florida before Harris arrived, including every player of the 17 to play over 200 snaps last season. If you take out the ‘25 class, only four returning players committed while Harris was a part of the program.

On top of that, of the four defensive back recruits in Florida’s freshman class, two were legacy recruits, meaning their connection with the program goes further than just coaching relationships. While that does not take away from Harris’ possible impact, it does seem to point at a more optimistic chance of retention in the spring portal.

The spring portal window opens on April 16. It should be noted that players who enter during this window are barred from transferring in-conference, per SEC rules, but with Harris at a non-conference rival, he could recruit his now-former players should they decide to depart from Florida.

Fans should likely be more worried about the departure of elite cornerback commit Jaelen Waters, a four-star 2026 prospect who was primarily recruited by Harris and had already been showing interest in Miami before his departure.

Florida continues to battle for the former FSU commit yet must now face another obstacle with Miami adding Harris to the staff. Though Waters remains a Gators commit, it seems as if the Hurricanes are going all out for the Armwood defensive back nicknamed “Seatbelt”.

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While Harris’ impact at UF was definitely a positive of last season, the idea that Florida should expect huge portal losses and the panic amongst the fanbase seems a bit excessive at this time.

Though the loss will hurt, Florida is one good hire away from being in the exact position they were in two days ago: Preparing to make a push for the college football playoff.