Jonathan Decoster enters his second season with Florida as the Gators' assistant offensive line coach.
In 2024, Decoster 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 16th 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.
Jake Slaughter was named a First-Team All-American by the Associated Press, becoming just the third center in school history to earn the prestigious honor. He was also named an All-American by ESPN and CBS/247Sports, while earning First-Team All-SEC accolades by the AP. Also along the offensive line, Bryce Lovett was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.
Statistically, the offensive line helped the Gator offense rank ninth in the nation in passing yards per completion at 14.11. Florida didn’t allow a sack in four separate games this season and only allowed 20 on the season, ranking third in the SEC. UF graded as the No. 11 pass blocking team in the FBS (79.8) and was second in the SEC behind Texas.
With a resume featuring over ten years of coaching experience at both the collegiate and professional levels, Decoster arrived from the Cleveland Browns organization where he was an offensive assistant. Decoster joined the Browns in 2021 after spending the previous eight years coaching at the college level. He spent his first season with the club as an offensive quality control coach before being named an offensive assistant in 2022.
In Cleveland, Decoster helped the Browns lead the NFL in rushing average in 2021 with a 5.09 mark, the highest average by a Browns team since 1966. The team's 6,090 scrimmage yards were the fourth-most by the club in a single-season.
Before his time with the Browns, Decoster made his first trip to the Southeastern Conference, where he spent three seasons (2017-19) coaching the tight ends at LSU. There, he developed future NFL tight ends Foster Moreau (fourth round, 2019), Stephen Sullivan (seventh round, 2020) and Thaddeus Moss (undrafted free agent). Moss set the LSU single-season record for receptions and receiving yards by a tight end. Decoster helped the Tigers capture the FBS National Championship after a 13-0 season in 2019. LSU led the nation in total offense, scoring offense and red zone offense in 2019 and finished second in passing offense.
Prior to his stint in Baton Rouge, Decoster joined West Virginia State where he served as offensive line coach, recruiting coordinator, strength coach and travel coordinator from 2015-16. His offensive line helped the team set numerous school records, including the most touchdowns and points scored.
Decoster began his coaching career as a graduate assistant offensive line coach at Nevada, where he helped develop future Browns All-Pro guard Joel Bitonio. Bitonio became the second-highest draft pick in school history (second round, 2014).
A native of Miramar, Fla., Decoster was a four-year starter at right tackle at the University of Louisiana and anchored an offensive line that finished seventh in the country rushing in both 2007 and 2008.
Decoster earned a bachelor's degree in management information systems from UL and worked in Baton Rouge as an IT project manager until pursuing a coaching career in 2013. He earned master's degrees in education leadership from the University of Nevada and liberal arts from LSU.
Decoster and his wife, Amber, have two daughters, Aria and Mia, and a son, Zeke.
Coaching Experience
2022-23 Cleveland Browns, offensive assistant
2021 Cleveland Browns, offensive quality control coach
2020 Old Dominion University, tight ends coach
2017-19 Louisiana State University, graduate assistant tight ends coach
2015-16 West Virginia State University, offensive line coach/recruiting coordinator/strength coach/travel coordinator
2013-14 University of Nevada, graduate assistant offensive line coach
NFL Players Mentored by Decoster (at the college level)
Joel Bitonio (G): Cleveland Browns, 2014, 2nd round
Foster Moreau (TE): Las Vegas Raiders, 2019, 4th round
Steven Sullivan (TE): Seattle Seahawks, 2020, 7th round
Thaddeus Moss (TE): Washington Commanders, 2020, UFA
