Golden, 36, is a former college point guard with SEC ties and now charged with returning the Gators to national relevance.
The Florida Gators struck fast in replacing head basketball coach Mike White with up-and-coming San Francisco Dons head coach Todd Golden set to take the ...
He was St. Mary’s all-time leader in free-throw shooting (.832) at the time of his graduation, and as a senior, he was second nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio. Golden, an American-Israeli, walked on at St. Mary’s where he helped lead the Gaels to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. Golden went 24-10 with San Francisco this season, leading the Dons to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998 and a top 25 KenPom defensive ranking. One comparison shared with OnlyGators.com by a veteran coaching agent source was Mike McDaniel, the former San Francisco 49ers running game coordinator recently hired as head coach of the Miami Dolphins. “Todd brings a smart and analytics-driven approach to the game and a relational approach to leadership that puts student-athletes first. Prior to taking his first head coaching job, Golden served in off- and on-court roles at Columbia (2012-14) and Auburn (2014-16) before heading to San Francisco as an assistant (2017-19). He was promoted to the top job ahead of the 2019-20 season when former coach Kyle Smith left for Washington State.
Golden spent the last three years at San Francisco turning the Dons from a good program to one that made the program's inclusion in this year's NCAA Tournament ...
But it made one on Donovan, too, and made many of bets like these on coaches a lot like Golden over the course of Foley’s tenure. “Todd brings a smart and analytics-driven approach to the game and a relational approach to leadership that puts student-athletes first. “I’m energized by the opportunity to lead an elite program at Florida, and I’m ready to get started,” Golden said. But Golden, unlike White, has an NCAA Tournament appearance to his name, if not a win. They will also get a chance to take on an excellent team without high-major advantages — though, as I will get to, not without athletes — in this Big Dance, with No. 7 seed Murray State opposite them on their dance card. A flat pay progression with no room for escalation would be an unusual deal for college athletics, however.
The 36-year-old led the Dons to their first NCAA tournament appearance in 24 years.
Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said he didn’t necessarily want a big name coach from a huge school, and that was more focused on finding the best fit for the program. His only prior SEC experience was working as an assistant coach under Bruce Pearl at Auburn from 2014 to ’16. CBS Sports reports that Golden’s deal with Florida will be for six years.
The University of Florida is hiring University of San Francisco men's basketball head coach Todd Golden for the same position, sources confirmed to The ...
The University of Florida is hiring University of San Francisco men's basketball head coach Todd Golden for the same position, sources confirmed to The Athletic. ESPN first reported that USF was targeting Golden. The Dons' season ended Thursday night — after making their first NCAA Tournament since 1998 — with a 92-87 overtime loss to Murray State. The Dons went 24-10 this season, 11-14 in 2020-21 and 22-12 in 2019-20 under Golden. Florida went 20-13 this season, losing in the first round of the SEC tournament, but won its first-round game against Iona in the NIT on Wednesday. Florida is replacing Mike White, who was announced as the new coach at the University of Georgia on Sunday. White was at Florida for seven seasons, amassing a 142-88 record, including four NCAA Tournament appearances.
Golden, who guided San Francisco to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 24 years, will replace Mike White, who left for Georgia.
Sources in recent weeks told CBS Sports that Stricklin wasn't concerned with bringing in a big name from a power conference; he was focused on hiring the best fit and in fact wanted to go young. In December, Stricklin hired away Louisiana's Billy Napier to lead its football program. "I'm energized by the opportunity to lead an elite program at Florida, and I'm ready to get started," Golden said.