What was already well known was made official on Monday afternoon when the Florida football program announced that former Los Angeles Chargers assistant coach Will Harris is joining the team as the defensive secondary coach.
The news was originally reported by On3 on Sunday and the official announcement came in a Twitter post on the Gators’ official account.
Head coach Billy Napier and Harris connected on a Zoom call last week as the Orange and Blue sought a replacement for Corey Raymond, who was a well-respected secondary coach but simply did not leave enough on the field this fall. The new hire has quite a road ahead of him improving a lackluster corps.
Harris initially made his mark with the Washington Huskies, with whom he helped develop several athletes who went on to play in the NFL, including corners Trent McDuffie, Kyler Gordon, Elijah Molden, Byron Murphy Jr. and Myles Bryant and safety Taylor Rapp. Prior to that, he had stints with Northwestern Oklahoma State (2013) followed by Humboldt State (2014) and Dixie College (2015).
The up-and-coming coach got his first taste of FBS experience on the San Jose State Spartans staff for two years before moving on to Seattle. After U-Dub, he took his first defensive coordinator job in 2022 when he joined the Georgia Southern Eagles.
Harris’ season with the Chargers this year is his first and only in the NFL. Hopefully, his return to the college ranks with the Gators will be the cure for Florida’s defensive secondary issues.
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