Reports out of Arizona have stated that the Cardinal defensive back coach, Teryl Austin, has left the Cardinals for the Gator co-defensive coordinator position. Although, some reports based out of the University of Florida have stated that the claim is wrong on Thursday evening.

George Edwards was the previous defensive coordinator for the Gators but soon after accepting the job in Gainesville, he left Florida for the Buffalo Bills. As his seat was vacant, Austin was named as one of the considerations for the job. Charlie Harbison, who coached at Clemson as the co-defensive coordinator, took his name off of the list for possible candidates. This opened a larger window of opportunity for Teryl Austin to fill the vacant position.

The Arizona Cardinals website reported that Austin left the Cardinals for the Gators along with a local radio station in Phoenix. Teryl Austin has coached in the NFL for seven years at Seattle and Arizona. If the Gators happen to hire Austin, this will be the second time in a month that the Gators picked a coach from the NFL to serve as a coordinator. Austin has a bit of background to his career also. He has appeared in two Super Bowls while coaching in the NFL. He has also coached at Penn State, Wake Forest, Syracuse, and Michigan for a grand total of 12 years in college ball. Austin has also coached with Steve Addazio (offensive coordinator) at Syracuse and with Scot Loeffler at Michigan.

If the reports turn out to be true, the Gators will look to be in great shape come Fall with Teryl Austin having a hand in coaching Florida’s defense as they look to rebuild with some of the top recruits in the nation. Austin has had 19 years of experience in coaching various defenses of NFL and collegiate teams. After Austin was hired to a team, they have turned out to be quite successful as he has coached two teams that have appeared in Super Bowls under his control. Therefore, Austin looks to be a great addition to the Gator coaching staff if he is hired. Could this mean the Gators could be on the road to a fourth BCS National Championship with a previously successful coaching staff and the best recruits in the country? We will have to wait until the upcoming football season to find out.

(Information collected from GatorSports.com. Photograph from Life.com)
By: Justin Rectenwald