Five Thoughts on the Florida Gators Promoting Garrick McGee to QB Coach

How will the internal promotion of Garrick McGee to quarterbacks coach affect the Gators offense moving forward? What does he bring to the position?

The internal promotion of analyst Garrick McGee leaves Florida in an even more curious position at quarterback than they were in when Kyle Trask declared for the 2021 NFL Draft.

Entering year four of the Dan Mullen era at UF, the quarterback position is preparing for a transition. Trask made the decision to go pro after finishing as a Heisman Trophy finalist, and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson followed in his footsteps, taking the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback coaching job earlier this week.

Instead of targeting a flashy, big-name hire for the vacant coaching position, Mullen quickly awarded McGee with an advancement opportunity. He takes on Johnson's former role as quarterbacks coach, however, he did not receive the offensive coordinator label that Johnson previously held.

Where does that leave UF as the Gators look to build upon one of the best seasons offensively in school history? What does McGee offer in his new role? We share our five thoughts on his promotion below.

Remember: Mullen is basically a QB coach, too

Johnson played an important role in developing Florida's quarterbacks over the last three seasons. So did Mullen, who UF's offense ultimately runs through.

Mullen ultimately serves as a second quarterback coach in addition to his head coaching and play-calling duties. The quarterback almost always checks in with Mullen once a drive ends to walk through their decision making and what they saw from the defense, and that won't change with a new position coach.

Although Johnson played a hand in recruiting other positions, he and Mullen primarily focused on finding a quarterback in each class - sometimes two. McGee will take over Johnson's role there as well, but with Mullen playing a large part in identifying their guy, McGee's job shouldn't be that difficult.

Losing Johnson isn't ideal, but with Mullen around, the quarterback position should be just fine.

Continuity is important

Florida's offense is already expected to look a bit different in 2021 with Trask no longer around, and Emory Jones set to take over as the starter. Replacing a pocket passer in Trask, Jones is a true dual-threat quarterback who should be able to help UF establish a better run game and will utilize his legs to throw often.

Mullen has a history of running an offense that fits Jones' strengths: The smashmouth-spread. It could be seen with Feleipe Franks behind center, and with Dak Prescott and Nick Fitzgerald during Mullen's time at Mississippi State. Transitioning from the West Coast spread that Florida ran with Trask to smashmouth-spread for Jones shouldn't be difficult for the assistant coaches who are familiar with it.

An outside hire could throw off Jones' development track as they'd have to learn Mullen's offense from scratch and Jones' strengths and weaknesses over time. McGee doesn't have to do that.

McGee hasn't been around UF for that long, but he's been able to observe Jones' game and learn UF's playbook throughout an entire season. That familiarity should help Jones make a smooth transition into the starting role despite losing Johnson's coaching.

Despite an up-and-down track record, McGee is experienced and intriguing

McGee is most recently known for his disappointing work with Illinois as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2016-17. In that stretch, McGee's offenses ranked No. 122 (19.7) and No. 127 in points per game, as well as No. 109 (174.6) and No. 107 (174.8) in passing yards per game.

However, if you look further into his past, McGee has done some good work to balance out recent seasons that didn't turn out so well. We'll go over the subject in detail later, but McGee helped develop Lamar Jackson at Louisville shortly after leaving his job as head coach at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

Prior to UAB, McGee spent four seasons as Arkansas' quarterbacks coach, earning a promotion to offensive coordinator two years into his tenure. 

There, McGee did some of his best work, specifically with quarterback Ryan Mallett from 2009-10. Following his transfer from Michigan, Mallett would produce 7,439 yards, 62 touchdowns, and 19 interceptions with a completion percentage of 60.3% under McGee's guidance.

Mallett was eventually selected in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. McGee would stick around Arkansas for one more season after Mallett's departure. That year, James Tyler Wilson replaced Mallett after developing for three years as a backup, throwing for 3,638 yards, 24 touchdowns, and just six interceptions. 

Although it was after McGee left, Wilson eventually set the Arkansas career passing yards record at 7,765 yards - a record that Mallett previously held.

In his 24-year coaching career, McGee has been with 12 teams in various roles, including two years in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars as a quality control coach.

McGee has an interesting history with Lamar Jackson

The skeletons in McGee's closet: His time coaching Jackson at Louisville ended in a way that McGee most likely regrets. 

McGee joined the Louisville staff as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2014, and landed Jackson in the next recruiting cycle. After Jackson posted 23 touchdowns as a true freshman in 2015, McGee would leave the Cardinals to join Lovie Smith's staff at Illinois instead of continuing to develop the talented quarterback.

It seemed like a step backward, but McGee wanted to work with Smith as the two had known each other for about two decades. However, the Fighting Illini would go 5-19 in the first two years of Smith's tenure, Illinois' offense ranked in the bottom ten nationally in scoring offense in that span, and McGee was subsequently fired.

Meanwhile, Jackson would win the 2016 Heisman Trophy, tallying 51 total touchdowns the season after McGee left for Illinois. 

McGee also shared on NFL Network's 'Move the Sticks' podcast that Louisville coaches, presumably himself, floated the idea of moving Jackson to wide receiver earlier in his career, according to the Louisville Courier Journal. That narrative, popularized due to Jackson's speed for the position, became popular around the 2018 NFL Draft when Jackson was a prospect despite his successful career as a signal-caller. 

He went on to win the 2019 NFL MVP Award as the Ravens QB.

Who could be the new offensive coordinator?

Last year, Mullen stripped wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales and offensive line coach John Hevesy of their co-offensive coordinator labels in favor of Johnson. Those two, respectively, took over new roles as passing and running game coordinators, and all three assistants continued to coach their position.

McGee's promotion didn't involve the offensive coordinator label, which could be an indication that he isn't taking on the role. Florida doesn't have any openings on the coaching staff to make an outside offensive coordinator hire, either, so someone is set to earn a promotion.

Of course, as mentioned above, this is Mullen's offense and he is the primary play-caller. The O.C. label - which comes in addition to coaching a position - isn't much more than a nice title and a pay raise as each position coach plays a large part in game-planning as is. 

However, the position is typically filled in some capacity. Whoever is trusted in that role can remove some responsibility off of Mullen's plate, allowing him to focus on the entire team.

The easy move would be to re-promote Gonzales and Hevesy as co-O.C's, or make one of them the lone offensive coordinator. Those two have coached with Mullen longer than anyone else on the staff, dating back to their mid-2000s days at UF. Gonzales would be the most logical solo promotion, as UF's wide receiver position has been one of if not the team's strongest position over the last two seasons.