GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Brad White learned long ago how to be adaptable.

At 43, and two weeks into his new job as Florida’s defensive coordinator, White has earned All-Pro status at adjusting on the fly.

“My dad was in the military, so I bounced around a lot,” White said this week. “I was born in Massachusetts, did three years in Wyoming, three years in Germany, and then we settled in Rhode Island.”

If you need proof, all one has to do is glance around at his sparse office inside the Heavener Football Training Center. White hasn’t had much time to make it feel like his home away from home, other than a photo of his wife and four kids that hangs on the wall.

He points to a notebook on his desk that holds a daily to-do list.

“There are so many things that you have to get done,” he said.

Five days after White concluded an eight-season run at Kentucky, Florida head coach Jon Sumrall announced White as his first hire with the Gators. The veteran defensive coordinator, less than a month after helping the Wildcats beat the Gators 38-7 and limiting UF to 247 yards, found himself on the other end of a phone call with Sumrall. The two worked together at Kentucky from 2019-21 on former Wildcats coach Mark Stoops’ staff.

Sumrall invited White to a reunion party and didn’t need to do much convincing to coordinate the 3-4 scheme Sumrall runs.

“First and foremost, just knowing who I would be working for,” White said. “So much in this business is about being in a place where you know there’s alignment. Everywhere that Coach has been, he’s a winner. He’s just a winner. And he makes it enjoyable to be around. We all know we have to work. We all know we have to grind, but there can be joy in those moments and in that journey. And he makes sure that’s accentuated.

“So, when he called, it was a no-brainer.”

White is a veteran of the Southeastern Conference and the NFL, where he spent six seasons as a defensive assistant with the Indianapolis Colts. Following White’s first season at Kentucky in 2018, Stoops promoted him to defensive coordinator after Matt House left for the Kansas City Chiefs.

White was a rising star in the profession at the time and quickly earned the Wildcats’ respect as a detail-oriented leader and a coach not afraid to have some fun with his players.

“I’ll jump in and out of meeting rooms and prank on the guys a little bit,” he said. “My best prank – I have this rubber snake that I’ll throw into the meeting room to see who jumps out – down here, they may not even flinch.”

After working with White for only a season, Stoops saw why White was highly recommended.

“Our players have so much respect for Brad and what he has done and the way he can coach and how detailed he is,” Stoops told the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader in March 2019. “He did a tremendous job developing our players. He has always given great support with ‘big-picture ideas’ on defense.”

White’s impact helped the Wildcats to six consecutive bowl trips from 2018-23 and a pair of 10-win seasons. Meanwhile, Stoops departed after the season as the program’s all-time winningest coach, surpassing Bear Bryant.

Some defensive highlights during White’s stint at Kentucky:

• Kentucky’s defense ranked in the top 25 nationally in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022.
• The Wildcats limited opponents to 311.4 yards per game in 2022, which ranked 11th nationally.
• Kentucky forced 22 turnovers in 2020, tied with Alabama and LSU atop the SEC and tied for sixth nationally.

White prefers to let others analyze statistics and rankings. When he devises a scheme or develops a game plan for a particular opponent, he is laser-focused on the result.

“I’m not a stats guy,” he said. “There is only one stat that I care about. Well, two. Obviously, winning is the first. The true defensive stat comes down to scoring defense. If you told me we would give up 550 yards a game but hold teams to 12 points, I would absolutely take it. If you said we’re going to limit teams to 240 yards a game but give up 20-some points, that doesn’t help you win ballgames. It’s about points and keeping them off the board.”

Not surprisingly, White’s mindset is that of a former linebacker. Following a standout career at Bishop Hendricken High in Warwick, R.I. – he was a classmate of future big leaguer and Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli – White envisioned playing at Boston College.

However, the Eagles did not extend a scholarship offer, and White committed to play for Yale. But eager to test himself at the highest level, he applied to Syracuse, Iowa and Georgia. He received an academic scholarship to Georgia and joined the Bulldogs as a walk-on. He eventually was placed on scholarship, but when head coach Jim Donnan was fired after the 2000 season, White transferred to Wake Forest – and found a home.

White made 34 starts for the Demon Deacons and finished his career with 227 tackles, including 19 for loss (four sacks). He was also a strong student, earning three All-Atlantic Coast Conference academic selections while earning a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s in accounting.

But White knew his playing career was over after college.

“I played to the very tip of my talent,” he said. “I didn’t even do Pro Day. I just knew athletically that I wasn’t good enough for the next level. So, during my Pro Day, I actually did my Bank of America interview. I had to decide between the two.”

That’s right, before White started his coaching career, he worked as an investment banker for two years. He broke into coaching as a graduate assistant at Wake Forest, then moved to Murray State for a season, then spent two years at Air Force before joining the Colts.

Along the way, White earned a reputation as an astute teacher and cerebral coach.

“Brad’s one of the smarter guys, coaches I’ve been around at any level,” Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen, a former colleague at Kentucky, said when Sumrall announced White as his first hire.

White has been busy checking off items on that to-do list since joining the Gators. In his time at Kentucky, the Wildcats went 5-3 against Florida.

He is ready to reverse that trend and check out the view from the home sideline at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

“You talk about the tradition at this place,” White said. “Having to play against them eight different times when I was up there at Kentucky, you understand that when you walk into ‘The Swamp,’ you’ve got to take a deep breath and say, ‘OK, you ready for this? Let’s go.’ And the excitement that you get to do that for every home game now is pretty amazing.”

 

WHITE’S WORLD

A Q&A with Brad White, Florida’s new defensive coordinator:

Q: When did you first cross paths with Jon Sumrall in your coaching career?

A: It was at Kentucky. I had just gotten the defensive coordinator job, and Coach was at Ole Miss, and we were looking for somebody who had a lot of experience to come in. And obviously, coaching the inside-backer position is such a vital position to this defense. There’s the quarterback on offense, and in this defense, those inside backers have a lot on their plates. A lot of responsibility. And it was instant. That first phone call we had. And then when he came in, both of our families are sort of in the same life cycle. Our kids are the same age. They hit it off. Our wives hit it off. He’s like a brother to me.

Q: What do you envision the Florida defense being under your watch?

A: First and foremost, we want our guys to play fast. Look, we’re going to find ways and try to attack pressure points. But it’s not about X’s and O’s. It’s truly about letting the players … it’s about getting them coached up, understand where to put their eyes, and then let them play fast. And it’s about development. It’s about getting them confident in their abilities to go make plays. Really excited about the talent that a place like Florida can accumulate. It’s our job as coaches to figure out how to use that talent and play at a high level. We’re putting together a staff that is a bunch of teachers and motivators. They are going to be high-energy. I want guys to enjoy coming into the building.

Q: What drives your passion for coaching college after a six-year run in the NFL?
A: I had opportunities to go back to the NFL. I get asked a lot, ‘What keeps you in college?’ Again, it goes back to the development piece. The NFL is not a developmental league. It’s about matchups up there. Here, it’s still about shaping and molding young men. And I know the environment in college football over the last five or so years has really shifted, but the grounding force is still about growing 18-year-old kids, and when they leave, and they graduate from this place, they are young men going into grown men that can handle their lives both professionally and then in their family. Having those relationships and being around a college campus, you will see my family at just about every sporting event, from softball to soccer to gymnastics to swimming. I’ve got four kids, and when I say they go, they are going to be all-in. They are going to be all decked out anywhere in town in all orange and blue, and they are going to be cheering and face-painting, and they’re going to know all the athletes in all the sports. That’s a huge deal for me, growing my kids in that. At the NFL level, it’s your NFL team, and that’s it.

Q: What are the priorities at the start here with the Gators?

A: Obviously, priority No. 1, it’s about taking care of the roster. We talked about it from the very beginning; it’s about the Jimmies and the Joes. We’ve got to make sure this roster is right. We’ve got to make sure that we solidify the staff with all the right pieces, because it’s a puzzle. There are a lot of great coaches out there, but not every coach fits, so you’ve got to find the one that fits that puzzle. And then you construct the playbook. You could walk in, and you can just drop your playbook on them and say, ‘Hey, everybody else learn it.’ I don’t think that’s fair to the kids. Part of my job is finding ways that I can take terms that they’ve had in the past, and then I can learn. If I’m going to be 24/7 football, then I should be the one who can do some rogue learning and change what I’ve done terminology-wise, maybe not scheme as much, but terminology, to fit what might be an easier transition for them. Going through and trying to meld playbooks, that’s a process in itself. Those have been the big factors early.

Q: What was the signature of the Kentucky defenses that led to success there?

A: The signature was we’re going to play sound, fundamental football. A lot in this day and age is about flash and big plays. It still comes back to, ‘hey, if you limit big plays, if you create turnovers, you put your team in position to win. Ultimately, one of the things I think Coach Stoops and you watch Coach Sumrall from afar at Troy and Tulane, that they’ve done a great job of is, it’s about winning the football game. So, whatever you need to do to win the football game, we’re going to do that. Sometimes you gotta slow it down, sometimes it’s gotta be a shootout. You know what kind of game you’re going into. Our goal on defense is to get the ball back as fast as possible and let those guys and the talent they have on offense, let it work. They can’t score points if they don’t have the ball. We’ve got to be effective on third down, limit big plays, because there is nothing that hurts you more. If you look at the stats, it’s usually the big-play battle: whoever wins that. The turnover battle is obviously huge, and for me, winning those wins games.

Q: What’s a perfect vacation spot at this point in your life?

A: I’m a staycation guy. I’ve got four kids. You ask them, they are going to go to a beach, and now, ‘Dad, how far away from Disney?’ I’d better get the year-long pass. But for me, just being still is unbelievable. A week of just being at home and hanging with the family, letting them throw the ball in the yard, that is vacation for me.

Q: If you weren’t a football coach, what would you be doing?

A: I’d still probably be in banking, I guess. I was a finance major with a master’s in accounting. I knew I didn’t want to be a CPA, so I’d probably still be in that.

Q: What is your favorite hobby?

A: I enjoy golf. I’m extremely average, and I’m extremely excited that I’m average because I don’t take it too seriously. So, if there is a day that I shoot a good score, that’s awesome. If there is a day I shoot a bad score, that’s awesome. I don’t enjoy playing with guys that take the game too seriously. ‘Guys, it’s not fourth-and-1 out here. This is supposed to be the break.’ “

Q: What’s a perfect meal?

A: I’m an off-the-grill guy. Two years ago, for Christmas, my wife got me a Traeger. In Lexington, I had two gas grills and a Traeger. I love to have the players over, so I will have chicken and burgers and hot dogs on the grill, and I’ll let the Traeger smoke something. The Traeger does it all for you, and it comes out perfect. I take no credit for that, but I’m cool with it because it’s delicious.

Q: What was your best day as an athlete?

A: Well, you’re using the term athlete loosely. It was pretty cool, so I scored two defensive touchdowns while I was at Wake. I had a 50-yard fumble return against Florida State on ABC. That was a pretty cool moment. And I had a pick six against North Carolina. Probably that scoop-and-score against Florida State just because it’s Florida State, and anytime you can beat Florida State, it’s a good day.”