As the Jon Sumrall era gets underway in Gainesville, the Florida Gators are moving quickly to shape their on-field coaching staff - and two key targets are starting to emerge for roles that directly impact the team’s playmakers.
According to reports, Florida is eyeing Auburn’s Marcus Davis to lead the wide receivers room and Kentucky’s Chris Collins to take over as safeties coach. Both names bring a mix of SEC experience, recruiting chops, and developmental upside - exactly the kind of profile you’d expect from a staff looking to build a foundation in one of college football’s most competitive conferences.
Let’s start with Davis. A Florida native and former Auburn wideout, Davis has been steadily climbing the coaching ladder since his playing days ended.
He began his off-field career at Auburn, working in player personnel and development, before transitioning into an offensive analyst role. From there, he made stops at Florida State (in an off-field capacity), Hawaii (his first on-field gig), and Georgia Southern, where he took over the receivers room.
Auburn brought him back ahead of the 2023 season, and he’s been guiding their wideouts since.
While Davis hasn’t directly worked with anyone on Florida’s current staff, he checks a lot of boxes for what the Gators need. He knows the SEC, he knows Florida high school football, and he’s already proven he can recruit - landing two of the top pass catchers in the 2025 class. That kind of in-state recruiting success is gold for a program that needs to lock down its borders to compete in the SEC.
On the defensive side, Chris Collins is another name to watch. He’s spent the last five seasons at Kentucky, working under new Florida defensive coordinator Brad White.
That familiarity is key. For the past two years, Collins served as co-defensive coordinator, helping shape a Wildcats defense that consistently punched above its weight under White’s leadership.
Before Kentucky, Collins was at Georgia State, where he wore multiple hats - assistant safeties coach and recruiting coordinator - from 2017 to 2020. His rise has been steady and impressive, especially considering that Kentucky was his first job at the Power Four level. Now, with White bringing him to Gainesville, Collins could be stepping into a role where his voice carries even more weight in shaping the secondary.
Both Auburn and Kentucky finished 5-7 this past season, but that doesn’t tell the full story of what Davis and Collins bring to the table. These are coaches who’ve earned their stripes in tough environments, recruited at a high level, and developed talent in systems that demand attention to detail and adaptability.
For Sumrall and the Gators, these hires - if finalized - would mark another step in constructing a staff that blends SEC experience with fresh energy. The wide receiver and safety positions are critical to Florida’s success on the field, and these two coaches bring the kind of background that could help elevate those units quickly.
As the staff continues to take shape, one thing is clear: Florida isn’t just filling seats. They’re building a team of teachers, recruiters, and competitors - and Davis and Collins fit that mold.