After 'several' interviews, Scott Stricklin lands his No. 1 pick in Todd Golden

For the second time in four months, Florida Gators athletics director Scott Stricklin got his guy with the hiring of new men’s basketball coach Todd Golden. 

Stricklin zeroed in last November on Billy Napier, who was the only football coach he interviewed for the job. For the opening in hoops, however, Stricklin spoke with “several” candidates about the position. 

“We had several conversations,” Stricklin said Wednesday following the introductory press conference for Golden. “He was a person of interest early on.”

As Stricklin started his search to replace Mike White, who left for Georgia, he contacted college and NBA coaches and said Golden’s name kept surfacing. Stricklin also began looking at metrics and NET rankings, with Golden’s teams standing out. 

“It was interesting just how many different NBA people told me about him,” Stricklin said. “National media people, I called and picked their brain, and he was a name mentioned. Coaches and just people in the business, Todd Golden’s name just kept coming up. 

“And it was always, “That guy’s going to be really good.” So when I hear that phrase, “That guy’s going to be really good”, I’m like, ‘Why would you wait?”

Two of the head coaches he had conversations with were Chicago Bulls’ Billy Donovan and Oklahoma City Thunder’s Mark Daigneault, who was an assistant coach under Donovan at UF from 2010-14. 

“Obviously I talked to Billy. I talked to Mark Daigneault,” Stricklin said. “He made a comment to me and said, ‘Everything in the NBA — everything in the NBA — is analytics and data-driven.’ And he said, ‘I’m surprised it’s not gotten into college as much.’

“That’s where the college game is eventually going to go. And the fact that Todd is already there puts you on the edge of innovation. … He’s incredibly bright. His mind, I think, is really special. And you combine that with his personality, drive and work ethic.”

Golden’s analytical approach to coaching stems from his time as a player at St. Mary’s, where he played under Randy Bennett and Kyle Smith. Their system of collecting data and teaching tools helped him go from walk-on to starter. 

“Randy and Kyle back in 2003-2004 were on the cutting edge of analytics all the way back then,” Golden said. “To be honest, if it weren’t for that foundation and that system at Saint Mary’s, I wouldn’t be here today. I wouldn’t have played as much as I did. 

“It gave me an opportunity to break in the rotation as a walk-on. I saw what it did for me and the opportunities that it provided me, and thought that it would be silly if I didn’t take advantage of that as a coach.”

Golden, 36, led San Francisco to the school’s first NCAA tournament bid since 1998 this season and compiled a 57-36 record in three years. His success with the Dons not only put him on Florida’s radar, but he was reportedly a top candidate for the job openings at LSU, Louisville and Maryland. 

“There’s no question, you gotta get on it pretty quick. Gone are the days where you can have a three-week search process and have a committee and bring candidates to campus. It just doesn’t work that way,” Stricklin said. 

“Good thing about the University of Florida is we usually get the No. 1 draft pick. And so, it was good to be in that position. I knew Todd wanted to be here and felt like we had time to vet that properly because I knew what his desire was.”

Todd Golden’s interview process

The feeling was mutual. 

After Stricklin interviewed him with executive associate athletics directors Lynda Tealer and Chip Howard and associate AD Duke Werner, they knew Todd Golden was the hire to make as soon as he left the room. 

“When you get the right one, when the interview’s over you just look at each other and no one has to say a word. You just know,” Stricklin said. “This is the guy.” 

Golden is not the splash hire some Florida fans hoped for. He isn’t a well-known name or a veteran coach who’s already won big. Perhaps one of the several candidates Stricklin talked to fit that bill. 

But with a young, forward-thinking coach in Golden, Stricklin is banking on a fruitful future. 

“Sometimes people think that because you’re Florida, you can’t hire a guy from San Francisco. But it’s like we’re buying fruit in the grocery store at the produce section: You don’t want something that’s ripe today, you want something that’s going to be ripe for a long time. And is going to have a shelf life,” Stricklin said.

“The Wayne Gretsky quote, ‘Don’t skate where the puck has been, skate where the puck is going.’ To me, that’s part of it. Obviously, Todd has three years head coaching experience. But his upside is so tremendous, and you hear him talk and you listen to his plan, and you see that intellect and the way his mind works. And you see that he not only understands the new tools but knows how to use them. I think it gives us a chance to be really innovative.”

Golden’s intellect, innovation and “magnetic personality” is what attracted Stricklin and his team during their interview, and he opened his introductory press conference Wednesday by thanking each one individually. 

After winning them over for the job, Golden is now tasked with winning championships in Gainesville. 

“Scott and his team of Lynda, Chip, and Duke, who allowed me the opportunity to join you guys here today. I really appreciate you guys for your belief in me, and I will not let you down,” Golden said. “As we all know, this program, the University of Florida men’s basketball program, has a championship pedigree.

“If Scott didn’t want that, that would concern me. If he thought, ‘I don’t expect you to compete to win SEC Championships, to do those things. I just want you to be middle of the pack’, that would have concerned me. I want those expectations. We’re going to do everything we can to get there.”