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Will Muschamp hires former Kentucky head coach Joker Phillips as WRs coach

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Joker Phillips is headed to Florida and will start Friday. (US Presswire)

Coach Will Muschamp said last week he had a long list of coaches who wanted to work at Florida. Joker Phillips was on it.

Phillips, the head coach at Kentucky the past three seasons, joined the Gators as wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator today. He will begin working for UF on Friday and will be part of the staff for the upcoming Sugar Bowl.

“We are excited to have Joker join our staff,” Muschamp said in a statement released by the University Athletic Association. “His background as a head coach and the number of years he has coached wide receivers will be a tremendous asset to our coaching staff and players. Joker is obviously very familiar with the Southeastern Conference and has always done a great job in recruiting.

“Obviously I had a number of experiences with Joker both on and off the field, as our paths have crossed often, but I’ve been really impressed with Joker Phillips as a man during this hiring process.”

Phillips, 49, has been coaching since 1988, when he was a graduate assistant at Kentucky. He stayed there as an assistant through 1996 and returned in 2003. The Wildcats promoted him from offensive coordinator to head coach in 2010.

He also coached receivers at Cincinnati, Minnesota, Notre Dame and South Carolina.

He went 13-24 as Kentucky’s head coach before the school fired him this year. He lost his three games against Florida by a combined score of 134-24.

“I’m thrilled to become part of the Gator family,” Phillips said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to compete and win at the highest level. I believe in Coach Muschamp’s philosophy, and what he has done in his short time here at Florida is phenomenal.

“I’m looking forward to contributing to the long-term vision that he has for this program. In addition, it will be very rewarding to be involved in the hands-on development of the players I will coach.”

Former Gators coach Aubrey Hill resigned the day before training camp began. His name has been strongly connected to the ongoing scandal at Miami. Florida had been using graduate assistant Bush Hamdan in his place.


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