Florida Gators

Mike Peterson enters his fourth season with the Gators as an assistant coach, coaching the edge position.

In 2024, Peterson helped guide Florida to a late-season charge, winning the last four games of the season to finish with an 8-5 record overall, with victories over No. 21 LSU, No. 9 Ole Miss, Florida State and Tulane in the 16^th Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl. The Gators were one of just six unranked teams in the nation to post multiple top-25 wins on the year.
 
As a unit, the Florida defense finished the season ranked ninth in the nation in red zone defense (.725), 11^th in sacks per game (3.0), 11^th in fumbles recovered (11) and 13^th in turnovers gained (25). The Gators finished the year with at least one takeaway in 10-straight games and 12 times in 13 games.
 
The Gator defense improved in nearly every statistical category from 2023 to 2024, including sacks (+17), tackles for loss (+28), forced fumbles (+11), pass breakups (+12), interceptions (+11) and turnovers gained (+18).
 
Tyreak Sapp had a great season on the edge for UF, leading the team with 13 tackles for loss and seven sacks. He also totaled 47 tackles with five quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles.

In 2023, Peterson worked with Princely Umanmielen, who earned All-SEC Second Team by the conference coaches and the AP along with All-SEC honors by USA Today. He started all 12 games in 2023 and led the team with career-highs in tackles-for-loss (11.5), sacks (7.0), quarterback hurries (17) and tied his career-high in tackles (39).   
Powell-Ryland Jr. was one of only seven SEC defenders to have forced three fumbles in the season, which ranked tied for first in the league. He became the first Gator to force three fumbles in a season since Jonathan Greenard in 2019. He was also one of three SEC linebackers to force three-plus fumbles and finish with 6.0 or more tackles for loss.
 
In 2022, Peterson also coached Brenton Cox Jr., who led the team in tackles through the first seven games of the season and ranked third in the SEC and fifth in the nation in tackles for loss. Cox Jr. was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Green Bay Packers in 2023.
 
Prior to Florida, Peterson spent the six seasons (2016-21) at South Carolina as an outside linebackers / defensive ends coach.
 
During his time with the Gamecocks, Peterson developed two NFL Draft picks in Kingsley Enagbare (fifth round, 2022) and D.J. Wonnum (fourth round, 2020).
 
In 2020, he coached Enagbare to a first-team All-SEC selection and the conference leader in sacks and forced fumbles.
 
While under Peterson’s tutelage, Wonnum wrapped up his Gamecock career ranked ninth with 29.5 tackles for loss. He was a second-team All-SEC selection in 2019.
 
Peterson is credited with the development of Bryson Allen-Williams, who logged 10 tackles for loss in 2018 despite playing in just nine games, and finished his career 10th on the school’s all-time list with 27.5 tackles for loss.
 
In 2017, Peterson was instrumental in the development of Wonnum, who ranked tied for seventh in the SEC in tackles for loss with 13.0, while leading the team with 6.0 sacks.
 
With Peterson’s mentoring, Darius English turned in his finest season in South Carolina in 2016, garnering 9.0 sacks to move him into both the single-season and career (15.0) sacks top-10 lists in school history while earning second-team All-SEC accolades.
 
A member of the Florida 1996 National Championship team, he played linebacker for Steve Spurrier from 1995-98. His senior year, he served as a team captain and earned First-Team All-SEC and All-America honors. Peterson was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011.
 
He was selected in the second-round (36th pick overall) in the 1999 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. Peterson earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2005 and finished his career with 883 tackles, 21.5 sacks and 19 interceptions in 196 career games. A graduate of Santa Fe High School, he played 14 years in the NFL with the Colts (1999-02), Jacksonville Jaguars (2003-08) and Atlanta Falcons (2009-12).
 
After retiring from the NFL, he returned to Florida in 2013 where he finished his degree while working as an undergraduate assistant coach on the strength and conditioning staff. Upon graduation, he was named to a full-time position as a strength and condition coordinator.
 
Peterson and his wife established the Mike Peterson Foundation in 2004. The foundation was constituted in an attempt to support and benefit under-served youth and socio-economically challenged families in Peterson's hometown of Alachua and his NFL cities of Jacksonville and Atlanta.
 
Since its inception, the Mike Peterson Foundation has already served over 50,000 youth and families through several community events and programs, most notably the Top Dog Readers Club literacy program at the Grove Park Elementary School in Atlanta.
 
A Gainesville native, Peterson attended Santa Fe High School in Alachua.
 
Peterson and his wife, Chantal, have two sons; Mike Jr. and Gavin.
 
Peterson is the older brother of former Chicago Bears running back Adrian Peterson.

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MIKE PETERSON’S COACHING HISTORY
Year	School, Position
2022-present	Florida, Edge
2016-2021	South Carolina, Outside Linebackers Coach/Defensive Ends Coach
2014-2015	Florida, Strength and Conditioning Coordinator
2013	Florida, Undergraduate Assistant Coach

 

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NFL PLAYERS COACHED BY PETERSON
Name	Team	Rnd.	Pos.	College	Year
Brenton Cox Jr.	Green Bay	Undrafted Free Agent	OLB	Florida	2023
Kingsley Enagbare	Green Bay	Round 5, Pick 36, 179 Overall	DE	South Carolina	2022
D.J. Wonnum	Minnesota	Round 4, Pick 11, 117 Overall	LB	South Carolina	2020