GAINESVILLE,
Fla. –
The Gators have a new receivers coach and he is someone familiar with the
Southeastern Conference and the Florida program.
Very
familiar.
Florida
coach Will Muschamp announced Monday that former Kentucky head coach Joker
Phillips is joining his staff as receivers coach and recruiting coordinator.
Phillips will begin work at UF on Friday.
“We
are excited to have Joker join our staff,” said Muschamp. “His background as a
head coach and the number of years he has coached wide receivers will be a
tremendous asset to our coaching staff and players. Joker is obviously very
familiar with the Southeastern Conference and has always done a great job in
recruiting.
“Obviously
I had a number of experiences with Joker both on and off the field, as our
paths have crossed often, but I’ve been really impressed with Joker Phillips as
a man during this hiring process.”
Phillips
was a longtime receivers coach before taking over as head coach at Kentucky in
2010. In three seasons in charge of the Wildcats’ program, Phillips had a 13-24
record.
He
coached his final game on Nov. 26, against Tennessee. Kentucky’s biggest win in
Phillips’ final season came in early September when the Wildcats dealt Kent
State its only loss of the regular season.
Phillips
is energized to join Florida’s staff and work with a team that finished the
regular season 11-1 in Muschamp’s second season.
“I’m thrilled to become part of the Gator
family,” said Phillips. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to compete and
win at the highest level. I believe in Coach Muschamp’s philosophy and what he
has done in his short time here at Florida is phenomenal.
“I’m looking forward to contributing to the
long-term vision that he has for this program. In addition, it will be very
rewarding to be involved in the hands-on development of the players I will
coach.”
The
49-year-old Phillips made history in January 2010 when he became only the
second African-American to be named head coach at an SEC school. He became the
first coach in school history to take the Wildcats to a bowl game in his first
season and in his second season Phillips led the Wildcats to a 10-7 win over
Tennessee despite using receiver Matt Roark at quarterback because of injuries.
The
victory snapped Kentucky’s 26-game losing streak to the Vols. The victory over
Tennessee came soon after Kentucky defeated South Carolina for the first time
in 18 attempts.
Phillips
played at Kentucky from 1981-84 and started his coaching career as a graduate
assistant there in 1989. He became the school’s recruiting coordinator in 1990
and later served as the Wildcats’ receivers coach from 1991-96.
After
stops at Cincinnati, Minnesota, Notre Dame and South Carolina from 1997-2002,
Phillips returned to his alma mater as recruiting coordinator/receivers coach
in 2003.
He
was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2005 and head coach of the offense in
2009 before replacing Rich Brooks as head coach in 2010. In his time as
offensive coordinator, Phillips oversaw the highest-scoring team in school
history in 2007.
The
Wildcats started the season 6-1, including a 43-37 overtime win against LSU.
Kentucky capped an 8-5 season with a 35-28 win over Florida State in the Music
City Bowl that season.
The
receiving corps is an area Muschamp said the Gators need to improve in. Tight
end Jordan Reed was the Gators’ leading receiver this season with 44 catches
for 552 yards.
Among
the wide receivers, Quinton Dunbar led the way with 31 catches for 306 yards
and four touchdowns. Frankie Hammond Jr. had 20 catches for 273 yards while
Andre Debose, expected to be a factor at the start of the season, finished with
just two receptions for 11 yards in eight games. Overall, wide receivers
accounted for 34.7 percent (58 of 167) of the team’s receptions.
