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Billy Napier has announced 2 new staffers. The new hires, Nick Polk and Benjamin Elsner, are joining the Florida football program in front office roles.
Polk’s title is Associate Athletic Director/Football General Manager. According to a program release, Polk will oversee the front office for the Gators and be responsible for revenue share and NIL allocation, student-athlete contract negotiations, football budgets, roster management and work with football personnel.
We are excited about moving forward with building out the front office concept with the addition of Nick Polk,” Napier said. “His leadership and experience will prove to be extremely valuable to the entire organization. Nick has a college football coaching background, as well as extensive NFL experience to go along with representing a number of clients that are in college football and the NFL. This is a huge step forward for the Gators.
Polk has 13 seasons of college coaching experience, including 4 seasons as head coach at Lock Haven University as well as time as an assitant at Delaware State, Brown, James Madison and Southern Connecticut State. Polk is best known for his 17 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons as Director of Football Administration and Director of Football Operations. After his time in Atlanta, Polk worked at Athletes First, working in contract negotiations, search firm relations and professional development with players and coaches.
I am honored and privileged to have this incredible opportunity to be named Associate Athletic Director/Football General Manager for the Florida Gators,” Polk said via the team website. “I’d like to give a special thank you to Scott Stricklin and Coach Napier for their trust in my abilities to take on this new role. Every successful program has alignment with its leadership and it was evident throughout this process that this is the case here. I am excited to work daily with this football program’s great administrators, coaches, players and staff to build a championship program.
Florida’s announcement states that Elsner will be assisting Polk with management of the salary cap and contracts. Eisner will also lead the program’s efforts in analytics and A.I. for all parts of the organization.
Eisner is the team’s new Director of Football Strategy. He comes to UF after serving as Chief of Staff of The 33rd Team, a football analysis platform that provides in-depth insights on NFL teams and players.
Ben Elsner is one of the bright, up-and-comers in our profession and has unique and valuable experience in his early career,” Napier said. “He will be working alongside Nick in the salary cap and contract space. He will also help us use analytics and A.I. to evaluate all the data relative to strategy throughout the organization. He will be working closely with me to make sure we are continuing to evolve and are using the best practices throughout our program at all levels.
Eisner also has experience as a scout evaluating NFL and college players.
I am honored and excited to join the Florida Gators as the Director of Football Strategy,” Elsner said in a program release. “I want to thank Coach Napier for believing in me for this role, along with those at The 33rd Team who allowed me to grow and learn over the past five years. Throughout this process, I have been immensely impressed by the vision Coach Napier has set for the program and the alignment of the staff. I am excited to work with the coaches, players and staff to build a sustainable championship caliber program, on and off the field.
Napier is entering his 4th season at Florida. The Gators posted an 8-5 record in 2024, ending the season on a 4-game winning streak.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
