Gators add USF's McCarney to staff

<p>Florida football coach Urban Meyer filled one of the vacancies on his coaching staff Friday, hiring former Iowa State head coach Dan McCarney as a defensive assistant.</p><p> Meyer did not specify the area on defense that McCarney will coach, but he's a veteran defensive line coach and there's a chance the Gators will be losing co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Greg Mattison to the NFL's Baltimore Ravens.</p><p> One media outlet reported Friday that Mattison had accepted a position as the defensive line coach for the Ravens. Baltimore and UF officials would neither confirm or deny the report, and there's a chance Mattison could remain at Florida.</p><p> McCarney, the head coach at Iowa State for 12 seasons, spent 2007 as the assistant head coach and defensive line coach at South Florida.</p><p> "Dan is a great addition to our coaching staff," Meyer said in a statement released by UF. "His experience as a head coach will be invaluable. He has a proven record as a recruiter and a development of talent and I have a tremendous amount of respect for him as a coach and a person."</p><p> McCarney has 30 years of collegiate coaching experience, half of which has been spent specifically instructing defensive lines. While with USF, he mentored defensive end George Selvie, who was a consensus All-American as a sophomore and a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski and Ted Hendricks Awards. In 2007, Selvie led the nation in tackles for loss (31.5) and was second nationally in sacks (14.5). Overall, the Bulls ranked third nationally with 8.69 tackles for loss per game.</p><p> "I’m thrilled about joining the Gator Nation," McCarney said. “I have the utmost respect for Coach Meyer and the Florida football program. It is a dream come true for me and my wife and we are looking forward to the opportunity.”</p><p> McCarney was the head coach at Iowa State from 1995-2006. He coached the Cyclones to five bowl game and was the Big 12 coach of the year in 2004. He is the winningest coach in Iowa State history with 56 victories.</p><p> Under McCarney, the Iowa State defense was ranked among the Big 12 leaders in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005.</p><p> If Mattison does leave for the Ravens, Meyer will still need to hire two more assistant to fill out his staff, replacing safeties coach Doc Holliday and running backs coach Stan Drayton. Holliday is now the assistant head coach at West Virginia, while Drayton is the running backs coach at Tennessee.</p><p> After having no turnover in his first three years at Florida, Meyer may be replacing almost half his coaching staff.</p>