Craig Fitzgerald – Syndication Server

Florida makes new strength and conditioning hire official

After reports of Florida hiring a new strength and conditioning coach surfaced a week ago, the Gators made things official on Saturday.

Initial reports of Florida hiring New York Giants director of strength and performance [autotag]Craig Fitzgerald[/autotag] came in a week ago, but the Gators are just now making the move official.

“I’m extremely excited to join coach Napier and his staff, and to be part of Gator Nation,” Fitzgerald said in a press release from the UAA. “I look forward to being part of such a storied program and can’t wait to get to work.”

Napier praised Fitzgerald for his work over 25 years at the collegiate and professional levels. Fitzgerald has experience in the SEC and in the NFL, which should help prepare players for the next level.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Craig and his family — his wife, Mary, and sons, Mac, Joe and Luke, to Gainesville and to the UF community,” Napier said. “We’re very excited to add Coach Fitz to our team. He brings a significant level of experience in both college and the NFL. He will help each player on our team reach their potential. His reputation precedes itself and we are excited about the leadership he will bring and the impact he will have on our entire organization.”

Fitzgerald is leaving the New York Giants after four seasons for Florida. Before that, he was at Tennessee and with the Houston Texans. He also made stops at Harvard, Penn State and South Carolina when Steve Spurrier was the head coach.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Giants losing director of strength and performance, Craig Fitzgerald, to Florida

New York Giants director of strength and performance, Craig Fitzgerald, is departing East Rutherford to join the Florida Gators’ staff.

The New York Giants are likely to see some coaching staff turnover this offseason and the first domino has already fallen.

Jacob Rudner of CBS Sports reports that director of strength and performance, Craig Fitzgerald, is departing East Rutherford to join Florida, where he’ll lead the Gators’ strength and conditioning department.

Florida is expected to hire New York Giants director of strength and performance Craig Fitzgerald to lead its strength and conditioning department, sources informed Swamp247 on Sunday afternoon.

Fitzgerald’s hiring comes after Gators director of football strength and conditioning Mark Hocke was reassigned to focus on a “transition into the coaching element,” according to head coach Billy Napier.

With more than 25 years of coaching experience, Fitzgerald’s various tenures across the collegiate and professional levels have largely been associated with great success.

Fitzgerald joined the Giants in 2020 under then-head coach Joe Judge and survived the transition to the new regime of general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll.

Throughout his career, both at the NFL level and in college, Fitzgerald has had great success in his various roles. However, he was unable to help the Giants buck their long-standing trend of injuries. They were still among the league leaders in each of his four seasons in control and will again be near the top of the NFL in man games lost this year.

[lawrence-related id=721833,721826,721830]

Florida set to bring in new strength and conditioning coach from NFL

Billy Napier has landed on an assistant from the New York Giants to head the Gators’ strength and conditioning department next year.

Florida football is set to bring in New York Giants director of strength and performance [autotag]Craig Fitzgerald[/autotag] to replace Mark Hocke as the head of the team’s strength and conditioning program, according to Swamp247’s Jacob Rudner.

Head coach Billy Napier mentioned that he expected a change of leadership in that department on Wednesday, adding that Hocke would transition into a coaching role. Fitzgerald has over 25 years of coaching experience, working with elite college programs in the past — most notably with former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier at South Carolina from 2009-2011.

Fitzgerald recently coached in the SEC, spending two years at the University of Tennessee as the director of football sports performance. He’s also worked at Arizona State, Catholic, Harvard, Maryland and Penn State. Before UT, he was the head strength and conditioning coach of the Houston Texans.

Most players who come to the SEC are looking to get to the NFL, and having a strength and conditioning coach who’s already been through two stints in the pros is a valuable asset.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

A.J. Artis named Vols’ Director of Sports Performance

A.J. Artis named Vols’ Director of Sports Performance.

KNOXVILLE — A.J. Artis has been named the new Tennessee Football Director of Sports Performance.

Artis replaces Craig Fitzgerald, who accepted a similar position with the New York Giants during the offseason.

“A.J. understands the standard we expect in this role and will continue to push our strength and conditioning efforts to the forefront of college football,” Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt said in a press release. “Since he first joined our staff in 2018, he has helped instill physical and mental toughness in our program through his contagious energy, hard work and innovation. Our players have tremendous respect for him, and I have no doubt they will continue to develop under his mentorship.”

Artis has been at Tennessee since 2018, Pruitt’s first season as the Vols’ head coach.

“I would like thank Coach Pruitt and Coach Fulmer for the opportunity to lead a great group of young men,” Artis said in a press release. “I will give my all to our student-athletes and the Tennessee football program. I am excited for this opportunity and look forward to helping Vol football continue its resurgence.”

Artis spent two seasons at Duke as an assistant director of strength and conditioning prior to arriving at Tennessee.

Jeremy Pruitt discusses his ‘vision’ to replace Craig Fitzgerald

Jeremy Pruitt discusses his ‘vision’ to replace Craig Fitzgerald.

KNOXVILLE – Craig Fitzgerald left Tennessee on March 19 to join the New York Giants as Director of Strength and Performance.

He served as Tennessee’s Director of Football Sports Performance since 2018.

On Friday, Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt discussed Fitzgerald leaving UT for the first time during a Zoom conference call.

Pruitt mentioned that Fitzgerald “had an opportunity to take several jobs” recently.

“It’s something that I learned a long time ago, if you embrace the job that you have and you do a really good job at it, opportunities present themselves,” Pruitt said.

The third-year Tennessee head coach said Fitzgerald working for the Giants was an opportunity for him and his family “to get a little closer to home” and “was something that he wanted to take advantage of.”

Pruitt will now look to fill Fitzgerald’s void within the Vols’ strength program.

“We have really good support within the guys that are on strength staff right now,” Pruitt said. “They’re doing a fantastic job – they’re very motivated.

“There will be a time soon that we’ll make the move with that position, just kind of going through talking to some folks out there and seeing what’s the best way that we can make that program better moving forward that fits my vision of where we want this program to be.”

Craig Fitzgerald’s title with Giants announced

Craig Fitzgerald leaves Tennessee for NFL.

NEW YORK — The New York Giants hired Craig Fitzgerald away from Tennessee.

Fitzgerald will serve as New York’s Director of Strength and Performance. He served as Tennessee’s Director of Football Sports Performance since 2018.

“I want to thank Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt, Director of Athletics Phillip Fulmer, Associate Athletic Director Tyler Johnson, our strength staff and the many student-athletes who have represented our program since the spring of 2018,” Fitzgerald said Thursday. “Tennessee is a first-class program and will continue to rise under Coach Pruitt’s and Coach Fulmer’s leadership. We will forever be grateful for our time in Knoxville.

“I will be returning to the NFL and joining the New York Giants. Thank you for everything and Go Vols!”

Giants hire Craig Fitzgerald as director of strength and performance

The New York Giants have hired Craig Fitzgerald as their director of strength and performance, replacing Aaron Wellman.

The New York Giants were sent reeling when Aaron Wellman departed for Indiana in early March, thrusting them back into the hiring phase as they sought a new director of strength and performance.

That hunt came to an end on Thursday evening when the Giants announced the hire of Craig Fitzgerald, who had spent the previous two seasons serving as the director of strength and conditioning at the University of Tennessee.

Fitzgerald holds the highest honor awarded in his profession, the certification of Master Strength and Conditioning Coach by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCa). He is also certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

Prior to his time at Tennessee, Fitzgerald spent four seasons as the head strength and conditioning coach with the Houston Texans. He also spent two seasons running the strength and conditioning program at Penn State (2012-13) and three seasons doing the same at South Carolina (2009-11).

Shortly after the announcement that he would be joining the Giants, Fitzgerald posted a goodbye to the University of Tennessee.

Thank you Vol Nation! pic.twitter.com/2bzuvkbfh8

— Craig Fitzgerald (@UTCoachFitz) March 19, 2020

[lawrence-related id=642991,642980,642974]

Craig Fitzgerald leaves Tennessee for NFL

Craig Fitzgerald leaves Tennessee for NFL.

KNOXVILLE – Tennessee’s Director of Football Sports Performance Craig Fitzgerald has left the Vols for the NFL.

“I will be returning to the NFL and joining the New York Giants. Thank you for everything and Go Vols!”

Thank you Vol Nation! pic.twitter.com/2bzuvkbfh8

— Craig Fitzgerald (@UTCoachFitz) March 19, 2020

Fitzgerald has been a staple within Jeremy Pruitt’s Tennessee program since 2018.

Remaining on Rocky Top: Craig Fitzgerald ‘in high demand’ for several jobs during offseason

2020 Tennessee football.

KNOXVILLE — Jeremy Pruitt enters year three as Tennessee’s head coach.

A staple within Pruitt’s program has been UT’s strength and conditioning program under Director of Football Sports Performance Craig Fitzgerald’s direction.

Fitzgerald has received job offers from other schools during his time at Tennessee, but has elected to remain with the Vols.

Following Tennessee’s first practice during spring football, Pruitt discussed Fitzgerald remaining at UT and consistency within the strength and conditioning program.

“I can’t say enough about Craig and his guys and what they have done over the last three years,” Pruitt said. “Our guys continue to get bigger, stronger, develop discipline and a lot of mental toughness.

“In the offseason, Craig is a guy that is in high demand. That is no secret. There have been several jobs that have been open across our league and Craig was the first guy that they called. He decided to stay here. He is in demand because he is good at what he does.”

Pruitt also discussed how Tennessee’s players have adapted and grown within Fitzgerald’s program.

“When you look at our guys, you can see in this offseason, the growth,” Pruitt said. “I think our strength staff has done a fantastic job getting these guys ready for spring ball.

“You can see it how their bodies have changed over the course of the last year. We’ve got to continue to work hard in the weight room during spring.”

A look at Tennessee’s offseason winter workouts

2020 Tennessee football.

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee will begin spring practices next month, kicking off preparation for the 2020 season.

The annual Orange and White spring game is slated for April 18 at Neyland Stadium.

Ahead of spring practices, the Vols have been taking part in winter workouts under the direction of Craig Fitzgerald and Tennessee’s strength staff. Fitzgerald enters his third season as the Vols’ Director of Football Sports Performance.

Scroll through to view photos and videos of Tennessee’s offseason winter workouts.

NEXT: A look at Tennessee’s winter workouts

Pages: 12345