University of Florida head football coach Urban Meyer announced the hiring of Dan McCarney as a member of the defensive coaching staff Friday afternoon. McCarney comes to Gainesville after spending the 2007 season at the University of South Florida as the Assistant Head Coach-Defensive Line following 12 seasons as the head coach at Iowa State.

McCarney has 30 years of collegiate coaching experience, half of which has been spent specifically instructing defensive lines. While with USF, he mentored defensive end George Selvie, who was a consensus All-American as a sophomore and a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski and Ted Hendricks Awards. In 2007, Selvie led the nation in tackles for loss (31.5) and was second nationally in sacks (14.5). Overall, the Bulls ranked third nationally with 8.69 tackles for loss per game.

McCarney, who was the longest tenured head coach in the Big 12 at the completion of the 2006 season, led the Iowa State program from 1995-2006. He took the Cyclones to five bowl games and in the 116-year history of the ISU program McCarney led five of the 16 teams that have won seven games or more. He was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2004, when the Cyclones were the Big 12 North Co-Champions. McCarney's 2000 squad was the first Iowa State team to win nine games in 94 years. In addition, the win over Pittsburgh in the Insight.com Bowl was ISU's first-ever bowl victory and the Cyclones' first bowl appearance since 1978. McCarney remains the longest-serving (141 games) and winningest Cyclone head coach (56 victories) in school history. During his 12th season as Iowa State head coach in 2006, only eight head coaches among 119 NCAA Division I-A programs had been at their current school longer than McCarney.

McCarney has 30 years of collegiate coaching experience, half of which has been spent specifically instructing defensive lines.