GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Consider former All-SEC Gators defensive lineman Carlos Dunlap a big fan of Florida's newest defensive line coach, Gerald Chatman.
Dunlap — who spent three seasons at UF, collected 19.5 sacks and 26 tackles for loss in that span and was named the Defensive MVP of the Gators' 2009 BCS National Championship victory over Oklahoma — offered praise for the coach he spent nearly two seasons with at the NFL level shortly following Chatman's Thursday hiring by Florida, away from Tulane.
“Gator Nation, we got another one! Coach “G” Chatman is definitely one of the most influential coaches I’d say impacted my career as an NFL player when he was an assistant coach. But as the defensive line coach at Florida now, I’m even more excited for him," Dunlap said in a statement released by UF.
Chatman was one of the original hires to current Bengals head coach Zac Taylor's assistant staff, joining Cincinnati as an analyst to work with the team's defensive ends and outside linebackers in March 2019. Additionally, Nick Eason was Dunlap's defensive line coach with Lou Anarumo calling plays as defensive coordinator.
It was that season, his 10th in the pros, when Dunlap saw a resurgence of sorts with the assistance of Chatman and Co., although he was steadily productive in the years leading up to the big campaign.
Despite missing two games, Dunlap produced nine sacks, 13 tackles for loss and 63 total tackles in 2019, the most he had recorded in each category in a single season since his 13.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss in 2015 and 66 total tackles in 2014.
Although it was with another team — he was traded to Seattle in 2021, then joined Kansas City via free agency in 2022 — Dunlap joined the NFL's 100-sack club not long after his work with Chatman. Dunlap won his first Super Bowl with the Chiefs and has been a free agent since.
Chatman departed from Cincinnati not long after Dunlap, venturing back to the college level to serve as an analyst at LSU in 2021. Chatman then oversaw the defensive line units at Colorado in 2022 and Tulane in 2023, before making the move to Gainesville to coach the same position.
Citing his experience with the coach, Dunlap made a recruiting pitch to prospective athletes who might consider playing under Chatman's tutelage at Florida.
"If I was a young player hungry to learn, compete in SEC against the best of the best with a coach I know is committed to helping me be the best player and the best man, I’m headed back to SWAMP again!" Dunlap said. "Congratulations to Coach G and thank you for coaching beyond the game. Excited for him to bring that to Florida.
"Go Gators! And as always, it’s Great To Be A F-L-O-R-I-D-A Gator.”
More must-reads: