On the heels of the firing of Billy Napier and with two weeks to prepare for heated rival Georgia, Florida is making some additional staff adjustments. 

Interim Gators head coach Billy Gonzales, visiting with media Wednesday morning on the SEC’s weekly Zoom, disclosed some additional changes to Florida’s offensive staff and its operating system moving into the season’s final month.

The Gators (3-4, 2-2) next face the No. 5 Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1) Saturday, Nov. 1, at 3:30 p.m. in Jacksonville, Florida.

Ryan O’Hara, who has been Florida’s quarterbacks coach, now will call the offensive plays from upstairs in the coaches’ box, per Gonzales.

“Ryan O’Hara will call plays from the booth and Steve Spurrier Jr. is going to have a more active role on the field with the quarterbacks,” said Gonzales, who has more than a decade’s experience coaching at Florida for multiple head coaches but now gets a five-game stretch to put his own stamp on the top spot.

Further, Gonzales said that Jabar Juluke and Rob Sale will “spearhead the run game.”

Spurrier Jr.’s role is an elevated one from his standing as an offensive analyst with the team.

With Gonzales now head coach, he said that Chad Lucas, Eric Kiesau and David Doeker all three will work with the Gators’ wideouts. Gonzales stressed his desire to have a familiar voice speaking with quarterback DJ Lagway on gamedays. 

“I think it’s going to be a flow,” Gonzales said. “I talked about Russ being our offensive coordinator, and Russ does an incredible job; he leads the offense. As I’m speaking to you now, they’re in there game-planning together as an offensive staff.

“So, he’s going to be heavily involved with everything we put on paper. Russ has got the okay, the final okay on it. I think it’s just important from my standpoint where we are at right now. Again, we are in a different situation than most teams out there across the country. But Ryan O’Hara coaches DJ on a daily basis in the meeting room and he has that voice and that relationship right now with him.

“With the ability to speak to the quarterback through a microphone (via the in-helmet communication device) I want it to be familiar to DJ coming across as somebody he’s heard the voice over and over, throughout meetings, throughout practice and then on gameday.”

There will be no changes to Ron Roberts and the defensive staff at this time, per Gonzales.

But elevating the role of Spurrier Jr. Gonzales explained, was done so with Lagway in mind.

“First and foremost, Coach Spurrier has been with us all season long, working with quarterbacks and with Coach O’Hara,” said Gonzales, who also praised Spurrier Jr.’s offensive knowledge from being around his father, the legendary Steve Spurrier. 

“This allows us to move Coach O’Hara upstairs and have somebody who’s been communicating with DJ all season long.”