It’s official: Florida Hall of Famer Mike Peterson is joining Billy Napier’s staff at Florida. It’ll be his second on-field coaching gig and second time coaching for his alma mater.

There were reports that the former Gators’ LB was going to be hired in Gainesville on Tuesday, but now the news has been confirmed by the team. Peterson will now be serving as the team’s OLB coach, the Gators announced Thursday.

Peterson attended Florida from 1995 to 1998 for head coach Steve Spurrier, and played in 42 games for the Gators during his career, starting in 24 of them. He had 249 tackles, 3 forced fumbles, 13 tackles for loss, and 8.5 sacks during his time in Gainesville.

Peterson first came back to Gainesville following his NFL playing career. He was originally drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He was there from 1999 to 2002. Peterson also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars (2003-2008) and Atlanta Falcons (2009-2012).

Peterson’s first coaching gig was as a strength and conditioning assistant on Will Muschamp’s Florida staff. He followed Muschamp to South Carolina and coached Gamecocks outside linebackers from 2016 to 2021.

Peterson will be now coming back to coach the position he became famous for at the college and professional level.