GAINESVILLE — Phil Trautwein’s return to his old stomping grounds at Florida feels welcoming, familiar and — he had long hoped — inevitable.
Much also has changed since the Gators’ new offensive line coach attended his first game in the Swamp in 2001 or lined up at left tackle for the 2006 and 2008 national champions.
The palatial $85 million Heavener Football Center dazzled him. The program’s recent struggles disheartened him. The talent he inherited reassured him.
Trautwein arrived in December determined to take the considerable tools at his disposal to build a better future rooted in past success.
“I want to win national championships. For me, it’s everything,” Trautwein said Monday. “Seeing what we did, what we can be: I want to get us back to winning national championships.
“That’s why I’m here.”
Trautwein has wanted to get back to Gainesville ever since he entered coaching in 2013, following an NFL career featuring four seasons at six NFL stops — mostly spent on practice squads.
The chance finally came when UF hired Tulane’s Jon Sumrall Nov. 30 as the next head coach.
Sumrall’s conference champions at Troy (2022-23) and Tulane (2024-25) were built from the lines of scrimmage outward. Meanwhile, the Gators struggled mightily in the trenches during Billy Napier’s four-year tenure, posting three losing seasons marked by inconsistency and undisciplined play up front.
Trautwein’s hire was one of Sumrall’s most critical offseason moves.
Former Florida offensive lineman Phil Trautwein was left tackle for the 2006 and 2008 national champions. He join coach Jon Sumrall’s staff after six seasons at Penn State. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
For Trautwein, it was a full-circle moment — the culmination of a 12-year journey with two stops at Boston College (2013-15, 2018-19) sandwiching a stint to Davidson (2016-17) before he landed at Penn State the past six seasons (2019-25).
“This place is special to me,” Trautwein said. “I learned a lot. I grew a lot as a person, as a player. I have an unbelievable love for the University of Florida. I always wanted to come back and coach where I played and where I learned football, where I learned how to be a man. Then being able to help young men through the same journey that I’ve been in.
“For the first time as a coach, I’ve been in your shoes. I’ve literally been in your shoes.”
At 39, Trautwein is quick to note how different the landscape has become. NIL opportunities, state-of-the-art facilities and luxury housing were unheard of when he was a player living in the Springs Residential Complex.
“They got digital screens in their bathrooms,” he said. “They’ve got some cool stuff. But it’s awesome. I’m happy for them because it helps them. But I wish we had it.”
What he lacked in amenities, Trautwein made up for with technique, toughness and discipline.
A 3-star prospect out of Voorhees Township, New Jersey, Trautwein was 6-foot-6, 320-pound tackle who overachieved under the guidance of coach Steve Adazzio.
“I worked eight weeks for my pro day, and I ran a 5.35 [seconds in the 40-yard dash], I did 225 [pounds bench press] 21 times — like average. But I felt like I had the best kick, so I could always gain ground. My kick was perfect; my punch was on time. Those little things in my technique and fundamentals made me be able to play.
“Everybody in the room right now here is more talented than me, but I would outwork them with my technique and fundamentals.”
The philosophy — passed down from Adazzio and before him Coach Bevere at Eastern Regional High School — forms the backbone of Trautwein’s approach.
“I call two coaches on Father’s Day: my high school coach and coach Adazzio,” Trautwein said. “They cared about me; they pushed me. But also they loved me and they did everything for me. That’s the kind of coach I am.
“Relationships are big.”
Those relationships won’t be built without hard conversations. Florida’s O-linemen can expect honesty, accountability and vulnerability, including lessons from their coach’s own struggles.
“I have to direct them and show them and just talk real with them,” he said. “Tell them things I struggled with because as a coach I still don’t have all of the answers. But I’m willing to learn. I’m willing to grow.”
Trautwein is the confident that growth will return the Gators to the standard he remembers. Two tattoos on his right arm are reminders — one bearing a Gator head with “2006,” the other commemorating the ’08 title team.
Two decades later, there’s room for another.
“Hopefully we can get another one,” he said.
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com