Gators DC Christian Robinson Hasn't Discussed His Future With Billy Napier
Photo: Christian Robinson; Credit: Zach Goodall
Some of the coaches for the Florida Gators are in a sort of holding pattern as far as their future is concerned, at least that's what Gators interim defensive coordinator Christian Robinson informed reporters on Tuesday when asked about his future with the program under new head coach Billy Napier.
Napier has acquired many coaches to fill out his coaching staff thus far during his short tenure, but one of the few positions he's yet to fill has been the program's linebackers coach, the previous position that Robinson held under ex-Gators coach Dan Mullen and former Gators DC Todd Grantham.
On that note, however, Robinson has yet to really discuss his future with the new Florida head ball coach, simply discussing what the current coaching staff has to do to get the players ready for the Gasparilla Bowl on Thursday vs. UCF.
“We met and the main focus he brought to me at the time was to focus on the bowl game and to lead these guys one last time as much as I can do with all the things going on," Robinson said when asked if he's spoken to Napier about staying on.
"He’s been supportive in helping the kids stay organized. He has a couple more hands around to help us which is great.”
Robinson and Napier have plenty of connections, the young defensive coach said, dating back to his time at Georgia. The two hadn't previously crossed paths personally, but do have plenty of mutual contacts around the college football world.
“He’s a great person. We actually have a lot of coaching relationships back in Georgia, a lot of coaches, a lot of people that we both know that we both care about," he said. "He’s been great to us helping us through this bowl game and making sure the kids are on point and we really appreciate it.”
The Gators have had to juggle two staffs in preparation for its bowl game this week. The former staff, led by interim head coach Greg Knox, and the current staff, led by Napier, has been tasked with pulling the players from both sides, trying to get work done in two ways over the past couple of weeks.
While his has caused some stress for the players and has been something difficult to manage, Robinson says that his players have responded nicely to the change, able to adapt well, especially after what the team went through last year during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“I think after everything we dealt with in the 2020 season I think they’ve adapted to handling, 'Hey, this is new, this is different,'" said Robinson.
"I think our kids handle changes maybe better than some adults do. They’ve done a good job. I know I keep saying, but they’ve done a great job of handling what’s up next and being flexible with what we have to do and what the new staff has to do.”
Robinson originally joined the Gators under Mullen in 2018, following him and Grantham from Mississippi State (2017). Since then, Robinson earned the title of linebackers coach at UF, and has seen a couple of his players from Florida drafted, including Jonathan Greenard (2020, third round) and Vosean Joseph (2019, fifth).
It is unknown whether or not Robinson will be joining Napier, but it's safe to say he'd be one of the couple of coaches that are worth returning, if only for his apparent prowess on the recruiting trail. While the Florida defense hasn't shown enough on the gridiron of late, his experience at the university could pay dividends if he sticks around.
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