Former DC Patrick Toney Headed To NFL [Update #42]

Yeah, the ACC wasn't a P5 conference back then because it wasn't a thing, and the strength of your program wasn't necessarily tied to your conference in those days. Hell, I think half the teams were still independent until the Big East came along and things got shuffled and realigned in the 90's.

The bottom line is that Duke football was a small fish in a big pond. The equivalent of a "G5" school back then, and still nothing more than a lower tier "P5" school today.

 

When everyone is somebody, then no one’s anybody.

W.S. Gilbert - The Gondoliers

 

Toney isn’t the Arizona DC and will make less than he did at Florida

Not saying he was kicked out, as this may be his preference. But for the vast majority DC at Florida with a higher pay is a better job than what he got

 

Can anyone confirm Tony took a pay cut in this move?

 

Who cares? Toney was the assistant that people were screaming the loudest for Napier to get rid of. Here we are after the season, after signing day, after the NFL season is over, and Toney exits and makes a soft landing. Win-win for everybody. The whole sequence of events was handled with class. Toney is young with his career intact, and UF gets a replacement DC. Anybody who tries to put a negative spin on this is either a miserable person or a troll.
Go Gators

 

Toney was reportedly making 1 million per year as DC for the Gators. I could be wrong but I seriously doubt he is making anywhere near that as an NFL secondary coach. I wouldn't call that moving up.

 

It's not always about the income.

 

If Toney had stayed on as DC for a year or two and showed any improvement in the D, he would have not only made more money, but he would have been a much hotter commodity for the NFL. It's obvious to me that CBN was heavily thinking about upgrading his DC.

 

Experience in the NFL if far more valuable than coaching in college. That's why you see so many retreads at all positions.

If BN wanted to fire Toney it would have happened December/January, not a week before Spring Camp and when every other program had already solidified their staff. Now, I don't think BN encouraged Toney to stay once he expressed interest in leaving, but I don't think he went to Toney and said start looking elsewhere.

 

The writing was on the wall so to speak — Toney’s defense sucked and the fans and boosters were shaking the cage. And you know Napier was well aware of the heat Mullen took for hanging onto Grantham. He and Toney made a mutual decision is what it looks like, and that’s the best possible scenario for all involved. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

 

We can both think what we want to but the reality is that to depict this as Toney wanting to upgrade, IMO is absurd. I could see him realizing he was in a little over his head as SEC D coordinator and rather than getting demoted or fired down the road, he decided to move on to an NFL position coach gig to gain experience and settle in. If this was solely driven by Toney, it wasn't for an upgrade.

 

What do you think a secondary coach in the NFL makes? It won’t be a whole lot different and he doesn’t have to deal with all this shit anymore.

 

Tony will probably have much better quality of life for a little less than half the money but he will survive financially. Big thing is if he didn’t perform this year he would probably be without a job at all. As a secondary coach on a brand new staff, he is probably going to get a few years of income and the chance to move up.

 

He took a huge pay cut to go to the NFL.
What About Assistant Coaches?
Head coaches are unquestionably the highest-paid member of a team’s staff.

How Much Do NFL Coaches Make in Salary?.

 

I agree. No one knows the reason and we can call each others opinions absurd.

 

I read what you wrote and i wasn't necessarily directing my comments at you. The key word was 'upgrade' in my comment. Just on a generic basis, i don't think anyone would state that leaving from a DC at UF to go to a position assistant coach in the NFL is an upgrade.