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Florida's offensive coordinator search is likely to extend into January, according to multiple reports from FLORIDA TODAY's David Jones, Sports Illustrated's Andy Staples, and the Orlando Sentinel's Edgar Thompson on Tuesday.
Source familiar with search says #Gators OC hire should not come until after bowl season.
— David Jones (@DaveJonesUFbeat) December 3, 2013
Hearing Florida OC hire likely not happening until after the bowl season. Take from that what you will.
— Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) December 3, 2013
The implication here is that Florida is likely pursuing coaches who will be occupied for the better part of the next month, whether coaching college teams, like USC offensive coordinator-turned-interim head coach Clay Helton, or coaching NFL teams, like any NFL coach Florida might have its eyes on. Jones responded to a question about whether this means Florida is only considering "non-bowl playing names" with a "no", but the waiting until January to hire a coach Florida could concievably hire by Friday doesn't really make a lot of sense.
If Florida does wait, it also allows the school to cast a much wider net, and interview or re-interview multiple candidates, rather than jumping at the first appealing one. That might produce a surprise candidate for the role — much like prolonged searches did in 2010 and 2012, when Charlie Weis and Brent Pease emerged from nowhere as candidates late in Florida's process and were eventually hired.
