GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Bam Hardmon has been here, done that.

In Hardmon’s case, the phrase carries a literal and figurative meaning.

If you ask Hardmon, Florida’s new outside linebackers coach, what his focus has been in the first month since making the move from Tulane with head coach Jon Sumrall, he answers as one might expect.

“The transition piece, the recruiting piece and everything that comes with it,” Hardmon said. “It’s what we signed up for, right?”

Hardmon has worked alongside Sumrall at Troy, Tulane and now Florida, where Hardmon was a standout linebacker from 1999-2002. Hardmon’s UF playing career prepared him well for change.

A Jacksonville native who played at Ed White High School, Hardmon signed with Florida and joined a program that competed for Southeastern Conference and national championships regularly under head coach Steve Spurrier.

 

But after Hardmon’s junior season in 2001, Spurrier stunned the college football world by stepping down at his alma mater to become head coach of Washington’s NFL franchise. As the Gators prepared for their first season without the Head Ball Coach in more than a decade, entering Hardmon’s senior season, Spurrier’s shadow hung over the program like the Washington Monument.

When Hardmon was asked in the fall of 2002 about the transition from Spurrier to Ron Zook, and all the adjustments that it entailed, he answered as one might have expected.

“We’re still in the midst of understanding it,” Hardmon told reporters.

Meanwhile, more change was ahead for Hardmon on a personal level when, after a home loss to Miami in the second game of the season, Zook came to him and asked if he would move from outside linebacker to middle linebacker to help the team plug holes.

Hardmon said no problem, and then went out and totaled 168 tackles in his final season, the fourth-most in program history and more than any UF player in the last 48 years.

Almost a quarter century later, Hardmon is back where he met his wife, Danerica, proposed to her at UF Homecoming in 2007, and left a mark on Florida Field that still stands.

“It means a lot,” Hardmon said. “I’ve been cheering for Florida from the sideline, and now I get to get into the game. I get a chance to get into the game and actually make an impact from a coaching perspective. I’m extremely excited about it and get a chance to continue to be around the game while being involved with the place that helped me start my career.”

Unlike offensive line coach Phil Trautwein, the other former UF player on Sumrall’s coaching staff, the 45-year-old Hardmon has known Sumrall for more than a decade. The two former SEC linebackers met when they were hired as assistants at Troy in 2015 by then-Troy head coach Neil Brown.

They shared a similar background and passion for the game.

“We have a great feel for playing football at a high level, for one, and I think we both have a competitive edge while also wanting to be servants to the players,” Hardmon said. “We understand that our goal and our drive are to actually serve the players and develop them. I think we have both those things in mind when approaching our day-to-day activities, and with that, I think it breeds some of the success we’ve had.”

Sumrall departed Troy to become an assistant at Ole Miss in 2018, but Hardmon continued his career at Troy and, when Sumrall returned to the Alabama school in 2022 after three seasons as an assistant at his alma mater, Kentucky, the two picked up where they left off. They have been together even since, a four-season stretch at Troy and Tulane that includes four consecutive trips to the conference championship game.

When the Gators introduced Sumrall as their new head coach in early December, Hardmon’s cell phone began to blow up with well-wishers. He didn’t know exactly what that meant for him at first, but others pressed him for insight.

They wanted to know if he was headed home.

“You have some success, and then your name starts tripping around, and lo and behold, the Florida Gators part comes into play,” Hardmon said. “Next thing I know, they go in on him, and then I get all kinds of buzzes and texts saying ‘congratulations, congratulations.’ I’m like, ‘whoa, whoa, nothing for me just yet.’ We were in the College Football Playoff, and I was preparing for that. And then he presented the opportunity, and I said, ‘Let’s go do it.’ “

It’s an opportunity that originated when Hardmon became a graduate assistant under Zook at Illinois, which led to other opportunities, including a stop at Idaho as defensive line coach in 2013-14. Paul Petrino, who got to know Hardmon at Illinois, saw what Sumrall later would.

“I told my wife, ‘When I get a head coaching job, one of the first guys I’m going to hire is Bam Hardmon,’ ” Petrino, who hired Hardmon with the Vandals, told the Gainesville Sun in 2014. “He’s a great teacher and a great recruiter. He’s a great coach and a great person. He’s the whole package.”

Florida played in back-to-back SEC Championship games in Hardmon’s first two seasons as a player, losing to Alabama in 1999 and beating Auburn in 2000. The Gators opened Hardmon’s junior season ranked No. 1 in the country and were in the national championship hunt until a home loss to Tennessee to end the regular season. And as a senior, Florida went 8-5 in Zook’s first season.

Hardmon finished his playing career with a 37-14 record, a stretch of success Florida fans would gladly trade in for the 29-34 mark over the last five seasons.

Hardmon is determined to help the Gators get their bite back. While he is coaching outside linebackers, one of the linebackers in the room is junior middle linebacker Myles Graham, the son of Hardmon’s former UF teammate, Ernest Graham.

Hardmon has also caught up with Spurrier since he returned, taking a photo with his former coach and sharing stories at Spurrier’s restaurant.

“It will be a challenge, but I think we are up for the challenge,” Hardmon said of the task ahead. “I definitely understand the tradition here, what the standard is here, and I’m looking forward to getting it back to that point. It’s going to take some hard work. It’s going to take some dedication. But all those things are something I’m willing to do.

“I know what it looks like. I’ve done it here personally, and I’ve had a chance to do it from a coach’s perspective at other places, and I want to do it from a coaching perspective here now. That’s what I’m bringing as far as the passion and energy to try and get it done.”

 

HANGING WITH HARDMON

A Q&A with Bam Hardmon, who played at Florida and recently returned to his alma mater as the Gators’ outside linebackers coach:

 

Q: Did you envision becoming a coach when you played?

A: I did not. Really, at the time, I had just had surgery from playing [professionally] and was hopeful of re-signing, and I actually got a call from Dan Disch, my high school coach. He was at Illinois coaching under Ron Zook, my college coach. They presented me with an opportunity to get into coaching and be a GA there at Illinois. I never thought about that. I didn’t know the whole process of becoming a coach. Researched it, thought about it, prayed about it. I was one year married and went off to be a graduate assistant at Illinois.

Q: What about Coach Sumrall that resonated with you at Troy?

A: He has some really good leadership skills, an Alpha mentality, a competitive edge – all the things you would want in a leader and a coach. The fact he is passionate and cares about the kids and people. He is very personable. Those things, I believe, help him be a successful head coach. A lot of guys schematically that become and have the opportunity to be a head coach, but I think some of his true characteristics of leadership, how he treats people, I think a lot of that comes into play with him having success as a head coach.

Q: Do you remember much about him as a player since he played at the same time as you?
A: We definitely had some carryover. The only time matching up would have been on special teams. He talks about being on kickoff and maybe facing me. He talks about it being an impactful play while on special teams against Florida. I don’t know if I remember that. That’s some of the research that we need to do here [laughing].

Q: What comes to mind when told no Gator has had as many tackles since your last season?

A: I was blessed. Coach [John] Thompson being the coordinator, Coach Zook being the head coach, we had a team. We didn’t quite have the year we wanted, but we worked and grinded and did the things we needed to do to win. I’m excited about pushing along and just sharing some of those pieces.

Q: What have you and your wife told the kids, ages 11 and 4, about Florida?

A: They’ve visited and heard about the Florida Gators and understand that my wife and I went here. I’m looking forward to winning and bringing back some of the tradition they have heard about.

Q: Your perfect meal?

A: Probably shrimp and French fries.

Q: Best day as an athlete?

A: I tell you, the feeling of winning the Florida-Georgia game in 2000. I actually got a game ball from Spurrier that game. That was a good one. Scoring a touchdown against Miami in my last season was really fun. Those are some of the good moments. And winning the SEC Championship Game, I remember that. The good thing is, I never lost to Georgia, and I’m trying to bring that tradition back for sure.

Q: What is a day away from football for you?

A: I just like to relax. I play cards and watch sports on TV. And playing with the kids a lot.

Q: What would you be doing if not a coach?

A: I’d probably be coaching at some level or teaching. The more I think about this, the more I think I would probably be at a recreation park, coaching or training. I would be around athletics and also trying to help individuals attain higher goals than I had. That’s what I’m all about, giving back.

Q: Most interesting place you’ve been?

A: It would have to have been over in Germany playing in NFL Europe. Having a chance to see the Berlin Wall and the cathedral in Cologne, I had a really good experience going over to play in NFL Europe, seeing things, and competing at a high level. I really enjoyed that experience.