Florida Gators in the NFL: Eight Remain and at Least One Will Win the Super Bowl
Plus, Spurrier Protege and Wuerffel Backup Schottenheimer is Cowboys New Head Coach
Brian Schottenheimer started his college career at Kansas, but once he decided he was going to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father Marty and go into coaching, he transferred to Florida to learn from another legend - Steve Spurrier. Schottenheimer knew he wasn’t going to play much behind Danny Wuerrfel, Terry Dean, and Eric Kresser, but that didn’t matter. He was there to learn as much as he could from the Head Ball Coach.
So Schottenheimer held a clipboard and wore a headset for the better part of three seasons. If you cue up a Gators highlight from those years on YouTube, just about every cutaway shot of Spurrier includes a glimpse of Schotty (#16). He was Spurrier’s shadow.
He threw a grand total of 40 passes at UF from ‘94 to ‘96, completing 25 of them for 290 yards and two touchdowns. He didn’t throw a pick and ran for another score. All of his playing time came in mop-up duty. He picked a good time to be at UF - four seasons including a redshirt year in ‘93: four SEC championships and a national title. Just so happens, I was there for those four years too. #humblebrag
When Schottenheimer left Florida, he embarked on a coaching career that took him across the country mostly in the professional ranks with a couple of collegiate stops as well. He’s been an offensive coordinator with the Jets, Rams, Seahawks, Cowboys, and Georgia, in addition to other coaching duties with Syracuse, the Chiefs, Chargers, Colts, and Jaguars. The results at each stop were mixed.
Regardless of the ups and downs of quarterbacks and offenses, Schottenheimer has racked up the experience. His coaching career spans 28 years and he’s learned under some of the best coaches ever including his father Marty, Pete Carroll, Mark Richt, Urban Meyer, and Spurrier. And SOS taught him more than just X’s and O’s.
This week, Schottenheimer landed his first head coaching job when Dallas and Jerry Jones hired him. Achieving a lifelong dream, following in the footsteps of his late father, and taking the reins of perhaps the most popular NFL franchise - I can only imagine the emotions Schottenheimer is going through.
While initial reactions to the hiring are mostly negative, it’s important to remember no one really knows who is going to be a successful NFL head coach. Bill Belichick was a failure in Cleveland before becoming the greatest of all time in New England. Carroll struggled with the Jets and Patriots before reinventing himself at USC and then winning a Super Bowl in Seattle. And our beloved Head Ball Coach - who was coveted by the NFL for years before finally giving into temptation and taking the Washington job - flamed out spectacularly. Meanwhile unheralded hires like Mike Tomlin and Sean McVay won Super Bowls early and established themselves as all-time greats. You just don’t know. Give Schotty a chance.
CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND PREVIEW
As the NFL’s championship weekend approaches, the stakes are high for the eight remaining former Gators players. Every surviving team has at least one Florida player which means a Gators alum will earn a Super Bowl ring for the fourth consecutive season and the 12th time in the past 14 seasons.
Add in Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman - also a UF graduate - and there are nine total Gators to root for this weekend. The Eagles and Bills lead the way with three, the Chiefs have two, and the Commanders one. Let’s get to the games.
COMMANDERS AT EAGLES, SUNDAY, 3:00 PM ET
Dante Fowler has been Washington’s best pass rusher this season, and he’s been impactful in their two playoff games so far. But he’s still looking for his first postseason sack since 2018. That year, he and the Rams went to the Super Bowl. If he gets in Jalen Hurts face, he just might get a second chance at a ring.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson is the best former Gator left in the postseason. He is the emotional heart of the Eagles defense but will need to impact the game with some big hits and plays to contain Jayden Daniels.
Fred Johnson is the Eagles swing tackle and likely will only see action on special teams.
BILLS AT CHIEFS, SUNDAY, 6:30 PM ET
O’Cyrus Torrence and the Bills offensive line are dominating in pass protection and on the ground. If the Bills are going to finally break the Patrick Mahomes curse, it will be in large part to Torrence and his line-mates owning the line of scrimmage against Chris Jones.
Kaiir Elam has been inactive for the Bills first two postseason games. There is a chance he’ll be active because of some injuries in Buffalo’s secondary, and if he is, expect him to make an impact. Elam has a playoff interception in each of his first two seasons.
Jawaan Taylor just wants to be (un)noticed. If you don’t hear his name or number (74) on Sunday, it will be a great day. He’ll be his usually solid self in pass protection and run blocking, but it’s all about avoiding the penalties.
On the other side of the line, D.J. Humphries is once again expected to back up Joe Thuney at left tackle.
BEST PLAYER OF DIVISIONAL WEEKEND
The Lions loss was the shocker of the playoffs so far. They were heavy favorites as the #1 seed at home against a rookie quarterback and a Wild Card team. And yet, the NFL is cruel and Detroit is one and done this postseason.
Amidst the heartache and despair, Alex Anzalone gave everything he had - and then some. He returned to the team only six weeks after breaking his forearm and played the final regular season game and the Divisional playoff with a cast. In the loss, he made 13 tackles, two of them for lost yardage.
He’s been the heart and soul of Detroit’s defense for three years now, but even his fire, grit, and determination weren’t enough to overcome so many injuries on defense - and the offense’s worst performance of the year.
BEST PLAY OF DIVISIONAL WEEKEND
The Rams came so close to pulling off the upset in Philadelphia last week. Matthew Stafford made some incredible throws and his receivers made some ridiculous catches, none better than Demarcus Robinson’s at the end of the first quarter.
DIVISIONAL STAT LINES
Alex Anzalone, LB, DET
Divisional: 13 tackles, 2 TFL, 74 snaps (99%)
C.J. Gardner-Johnson, S, PHI
DIvisional: 6 tackles, 1 TFL, 71 snaps (100%)
Demarcus Robinson, WR, LAR
Divisional: 3 rec (7 targets), 74 yards, 64 snaps (90%)
O’Cyrus Torrence, G, BUF
Divisional: 61 snaps (100%), 5 ST snaps (22%)
Dante Fowler, Jr., OLB, WAS
Divisional: 3 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 QB hit, 40 snaps (58%)
Fowler set the tone for the Commanders on the second play of the game with a ferocious tackle for loss.
He should have had a second tackle for loss on David Montgomery later in the game but was incorrectly called for a face mask. The terrible call gave the Lions life and led to a touchdown that narrowed Washington’s lead to three. Luckily for Fowler and his teammates, they overcame it and won anyway.
Jawaan Taylor, RT, KC
Divisional: 51 snaps (100%), 5 ST snaps (19%), 1 false start penalty
Dameon Pierce, RB, HOU
Divisional: 4 rush, 10 yards, 1 KR, 11 yards, 14 snaps (21%), 7 ST Snaps (27%)
Tommy Townsend, P, HOU
Divisional: 2 punts, 41.5 avg, 36.0 net, 1 tackle
Fred Johnson, OT, PHI
Wildcard: 2 snaps (3%), 6 ST snaps (19%)
D.J. Humphries, LT, KC
Divisional: 5 ST snaps (19%)
Kaiir Elam, CB, BUF
Wildcard: Inactive
PRACTICE SQUAD
Kingsley Eguakun, C, DET
Richard Gouraige, OT, BUF