GAINESVILLE — Florida football coach Billy Napier has hired New England Patriots assistant Joe Houston to help fix the Gators’ woeful special teams.
Florida’s struggles in the game’s “third phase” topped the list of expected off-season changes by Napier, leading Houston to return to the college ranks from the NFL in the wake of iconic coach Bill Belichick’s Jan. 11 departure from the Patriots.
A former placekicker at USC under Pete Carroll, Houston will serve as an analyst in Gainesville, rather than one of Napier’s 10 assistant coaches, and serve alongside analyst Chris Couch.