UF’s interim coach a familiar South Florida face

A familiar South Florida face will head the Florida football program — at least until the end of the season.

Randy Shannon, who spent four seasons as the head coach of the Miami Hurricanes and the six years prior as UM’s defensive coordinator, was named Florida’s interim coach after Jim McElwain was fired Sunday.

Shannon is a name South Florida sports fans should know. In addition to his years as head coach and standout coordinator at Miami, he also spent time with the Miami Dolphins as a defensive assistant and was an assistant at UM before that.

He’s also from Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood and played at Miami Norland High before playing four years for the Hurricanes and two years for the Dallas Cowboys.

He was fired from Miami on Nov. 28, 2010, after a season that started with promise ended with a 7-5 record. He was replaced by Al Golden. His final record with the Hurricanes was 28-22.

After a year off from coaching, he spent a season coaching linebackers at TCU in 2012 before Arkansas coach Bret Bielema brought him to Fayetteville to do the same thing there. He coached two season with the Razorbacks before Jim McElwain hired him to become Florida’s linebackers coach, co-defensive coordinator and associate head coach.

He’s currently ranked as Florida’s top recruiter, according to 24/7Sports, and is known for his recruiting prowess in South Florida.

He became Florida’s defensive coordinator following the departure of former defensive coordinator Geoff Collins, who left Gainesville to become the head coach at Temple before Florida’s Outback Bowl appearance in early 2017.

This story was originally published October 29, 2017 at 6:20 PM with the headline "UF’s interim coach a familiar South Florida face."