Florida has hired Joe Houston to lead special teams as a senior analyst, the All Gators have confirmed. Houston, 37, joins the Gators after spending four seasons as the assistant special teams coordinator for the New England Patriots. The upcoming move was first reported by Swamp247’s Jacob Rudner. Houston gives the Gators eight seasons of special teams coaching at the college level and four seasons as a professional player.
He coached special teams at Alabama in 2020 under Nick Saban before getting the opportunity to join the Patriots. In New England, Houston worked with head coach Joe Judge and special teams coordinator Cam Acord to organize and plan the Pats’ special teams, while also assisting in the development of the team’s players. Houston spent four seasons at Iowa State, including a year as special teams coordinator in 2018, before joining the NFL.
He coached two kickers, Cole Netten and Garrett Owens, to All-Big-12 honors in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Redondo Beach, California. Houston originally played kicker at the University of Southern California from 2007 to 2010 and joined the coaching staff after a brief semi-pro career. He took over the starting duties for the Trojans in 2010, converting 10 of 16 field goal attempts and all 43 extra point attempts. After graduation, he played for the Chicago Rush and Nebraska Threat of the Arena Football League, scoring an AFL record 11 points in a Rush game in 2012.
Chris Couch took on the analyst role of “Game Changer Coordinator”. After signing with Florida in 2022, he led the Gators’ special teams off the field the past two seasons. In the process, the results of the device left much to be desired. The punts and punts improved somewhat each year due to personnel changes, but Florida committed a total of 24 special teams penalties, roughly one per game, between 2022 and 2023. Most glaring is the use of two players with the same jersey number.
Same game with Utah in 2023. Individual divisions with fewer than 11 players on the field were also frequently seen. Couch will work with Houston on Florida’s special teams and situational football teams.
