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Dan Mullen Hires Jules Montinar as Defensive Assistant

Escambia94

Aerospace Cubicle Engineer (ACE)
Moderator
Dan Mullen has hired Jules Montinar as defensive assistant, presumably as cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator. Jules comes to the Gator staff after a year with the USF program as cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator in 2020, defensive quality control assistant at Georgia in 2019, and cornerbacks coach at Texas State in 2016-2018 (where he won Sun Belt Recruiter of the Year in 2017), James Madison (2014-2015), Alabama (2012-2013), Purdue (2011), and his alma mater of Eastern Kentucky (2008-2009). Montinar has studied the finer points of SEC coaching under both Nick Saban (2012-2013) and Kirby Smart (2019). At Alabama the secondary was #7 and #4 pass in efficiency in 2012 and 2013. NFL intern for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2007 and 2008. He is a native of Naples, Florida where he was an all-state safety at the 5A state champion Naples High School before attending West Virginia and later, Eastern Kentucky.

https://twitter.com/CoachJules_UF

Jules is fairly young, so there is little information on him for gauging his skill level. His list of all-time recruits includes all 3-star athletes from Miami (FL), Tallahassee (FL), Saint Augustine (FL), and Duncanville (TX). He is considered by the Nick Saban and Kirby Smart staffs to be an up-and-comer.
 

DRU2012

Super Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
I just don’t know WHERE we are at as far as “upgrading the defense”...
This ISN’T the “dramatic move” likely to fix defensive technique, nor is it the big move towards “fixing recruiting” either.
Maybe I’m wrong, but it SEEMS more of a “potentially efficient interim, incremental move” towards a stronger unit—something to fine TUNE an already sharp, upwardly mobile squad.
As a “follow up” to retaining a Defensive Coordinator whose charges way UNDERperformed in the season just-past, however, it would seem to leave much to be desired!
Hope I’m wrong. Guess we’ll see.
BUT: Give a listen/watch to the latest “Josh Pate’s Late Kick” (YouTube, Sun Jan 24 edition), which, although provocative, makes some points about us (in the “Moods”-section focusing on us and Texas, wherein he takes the P.O.V. of the FANS) that are definitely “on the mark”—and in THAT context anyway, this thought becomes worrisome to say the least.
I could pursue that concern here, elaborate more fully on “where we’re at and where we’re going”—but I won’t.
I WANT to take our Coach at his word, that HE WANTS TO BE HERE, and enthusiastically PLANS on being here for some time to come—has a plan (and from what we’ve seen and KNOWN SO FAR from Coach Dan can reasonably expect him not just to voraciously pursue but to hold a number of ALTERNATE plans and wrinkles in hand close to his vest) for the off- and FULL IN- seasons ahead.
Which all makes the current spate of relatively small “adjustments” on what was mainly an abhorrent defense all the more baffling. Put it with the so far “good but not great” recruiting cycle, and we’ll, it just doesn’t bode well, does NOT engender rich confidence in dramatic improvement on that side come the Fall of 2021. Or am I WRONG??!
 

DRU2012

Super Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
...With the influx of “big fast guys” being added now to the freshman defensive linemen, this may all work out after all.
(I still think we woulda gotten Charlie Strong in here had WE not been looking EXACTLY when Urban Meyer had been signed at Jacksonville and had Pro-money to throw at the same group of guys...)
So. We wait and see. But Grantham’s Defense DID cost us a shot at a Natty in 2020 (I truly believe that!), after all.
I think our Head Coach may have waited a season too long before replacing him, but at this point we ALL gotta hope that he’s right and we’re wrong: That between who’s coming up and who’s coming in, this D will take a significant step forward after all. Really counting on freshmen, portal gains—and graduate transfers to shine again!
With Emory still probably needing at least the first half of the coming season to really hit his stride running the Gator offense under the best of conditions.
Under the circumstances, even if/when Jones indeed turns out to be the guy Mullen envisioned to run his ideal Gator “high-flyin”-offense (though we’ll need at least one hard-nosed runner to support him back there sometimes too), hard to envision this season’s turning out to be a Nationally-DOMINANT offense anyway...We’ll need to be sharpening the offense in the course of 2021 even as we build and reestablish ourselves on defense.
Of COURSE I’m worried—and if Grantham’s D isn’t a CLEAR improvement on 2020 from the very start, well, I guess like everyone else I’ll be pretty quick to look for Mullen to make a big change there (it’s the last year of Grantham’s contract; but at a certain point, why wait until the “BITTER END”?)...
It still really BOTHERS me that our DEfense essentially wasted the dazzling confluence of players and factors that put a historically talented Gator offense out there. Frankly, I thought Grantham was GONE, for that reason ALONE.
Either we are SUBSTANTIALLY better on that side of the ball in 2020, or he will be gone THIS time for sure.
We need better coaching from the DC, and we need better recruiting OVERALL, if we expect to get into that “annual playoff elite” we feel is our due.
I know: More from “Master of the Obvious”. So I’ll shut up and take myself off of here for now.
(God, we sure crashed badly in Winter to finish things THIS past season...As if “COVID-2020” wasn’t already bad enough!
Now, we COULD be on the verge of a fortuitous “BREAKOUT”, a reversal of so many DOWNTURNS by next late-summer...How great would it be to find the same to possibly be brewing in the August heat of Gainesville, too??!
But there are so many questions—and so far, not much in the way of answers, ANY answers, hopeful or otherwise so far. Got our eyes peeled; we’re waiting, baited breaths!
 

Escambia94

Aerospace Cubicle Engineer (ACE)
Moderator
I know that I am usually more of a positive person, but I am a bit worried about the last two hires. On one hand it looks like Mullen is adding new blood to his coaching tree. On the other hand it looks like Urban Meyer's job at Jacksonville has sucked away coaches that Mullen would have called upon.
 

DRU2012

Super Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
It would just be “typical”, if more or less inadvertent, if Meyer’s choice of place and time were to screw us one more time! But you have to accept the basic truth of it, no matter what it’s incidental nature.
I guess as time goes on we must also accept that while on the one hand there are so many positive aspects to Dan Mullens’ use of the various wrinkles now available in graduate and transfer portals, the way he is able to see potential in particular individuals (regardless of their original recruitment ratings) and then maximize those when he brings them on, and his general way not just with QBs but with offense in general, for the most part he is just not quite “FRONT LINE” when it comes to grabbing the very best recruiting prospects, not even in his own state—which let’s face it just SHOULD NOT BE! I keep hoping we’ll at least bring in some young coaches who are more known for that...our Coach, school and (with the now-planned, long-overdue) facility upgrades at what is currently FAR-AND-AWAY the foremost program in one of the 2 or 3 most talent-laden breeding-ground states in college football, after all.
I don’t know. So many questions, unknowns and unanswered still to be filled in over the winter and into early-spring: For eg., I’m far from alone in thinking that maybe getting the Gilbert kid transferring from LSU might be the one who could actually step in and immediately and restore at least ONE of those (recently EX-) “dazzling playmakers” as a target for our QBs..but (while we’re on on his list) he’s not due to make his call until well into Spring, as things stand now.
Still could be some surprises and potential positive moments, reason for greater hope as we move towards that Spring and seeing just what we GOT.
For now, I find myself leaning either way, depending on the moment, the news and my particular mood that day! So in the meantime I guess we’ll have our good days and bad days here at Gator Envy.
 

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