Florida Shouldn't Be Scared of Hiring a Coordinator as Its New Head Coach

The coaching silly season got off to a quick start in mid-November, when Florida announced that head coach Will Muschamp will be stepping down at the end of the season after four years in Gainesville.

So where does Florida go from here?

Athletic director Jeremy Foley shed some light into what specifically he's looking for on Monday.

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"We would obviously like an individual that's been successful on the offensive side of the ball, I think obviously that's what the Gator Nation wants and we see that and that's what we're certainly going to try to provide for them," he said in quotes emailed by Florida.

So does that eliminate coordinators from consideration?

Muschamp got the role with no previous experience as a head coach, and the idea of going the coordinator route again might not sit well with the fanbase. When asked specifically if the new coach has to have head coaching experience, Foley dodged the question like Peter La Fleur in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.

"I commented I'm not going to get into the specifics of what we're looking for," he said.

If recent trends matter, though, it's likely that Florida's new direction will include a move to a more potent offense with a leader who knows what he's doing.

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"Lee Corso taught me this long ago," ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit told Bleacher Report as part of his tour promoting the Allstate VIP "It's Good" sweepstakes. "He said 'Watch when it comes to coaching. Whoever they fire, they'll bring in the complete opposite.' So, Will Muschamp—a coordinator and he's never been a head coach. They're going to go out and get an established head coach. Will Muschamp, defensive-oriented coach. They're going to go out and hire an offensive-minded head coach."

Florida shouldn't be scared to go the coordinator route again.

Sure, if candidates like Colorado State head coach Jim McElwain or Marshall's Doc Holliday are interested, they'd certainly be fantastic hires.

Would they be better than Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris, a coach who has proven that—with a quarterback who fits his offense—he can produce at an elite level?

Year	YPG	YPP	ACC Total Off. Rank
2011	440.8	5.85	2
2012	512.7	6.28	1
2013	508.5	6.38	2
2014	407.3	5.26	6

That's in the eye of the beholder.

First and foremost, Florida needs an offensive innovator. Whether he's an offensive innovator who has head coaching experience or has gotten the job done as an assistant, it doesn't matter.

Florida ranks 12th in total offense this season (373.3 YPG), has finished 10th or worse in the SEC in total offense in every season under Muschamp and five straight counting back to Urban Meyer's last season in Gainesville.

Finding a coach who can fix that is job No. 1.

Does Holliday's success at Marshall prove that he can run a program that can win in the SEC? How about McElwain?

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The risk by going the coordinator route is there, but it isn't much different than if Florida goes with a coach with head coaching experience at smaller programs. They still have to adjust to the talent level, hire a staff that knows the recruiting territory and learn what it takes to win at the highest level of college football.

Besides, as Andrew Spivey of GatorCountry.com points out, sometimes coordinators—like Morris—haven't taken big jobs for a very specific reason:

That's a good thing. That should tell Foley that, while Morris may not have the experience on his resume that Gator Nation wants, he knows that it takes to build a successful staff within the SEC.

If Florida can pony up that money—and there's nothing to suggest that it can't—the mere fact that Morris is currently a coordinator should have no bearing on Foley's decision-making.

Just because a coach is similar in experience to Muschamp doesn't mean he will suffer the same fate.

A hire is a risk, and sometimes the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward in the end.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.