GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Offensive lineman Chaz Green is preparing for his final game at Florida.
A fifth-year senior, Green has experienced all his 6-foot-5, 300-pound frame can carry at one time during his Gators career. Recruited by Urban Meyer, Green dressed for every game during Meyer's final season in 2010 but did not play.
In 2011, Green started nine games and was named to the SEC All-Freshman team in Will Muschamp's first season. Green started 10 games in 2012 and then missed the entire 2013 season following shoulder surgery.
Green made a strong return this season and started every game for the first time in his career. He will share the UF sideline with his third head coach when the Gators face East Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl on Jan. 3 under interim coach D.J. Durkin.
Meanwhile, Green couldn't help but notice when another Gators head coach stopped by practice recently. As Jim McElwain settles in at UF, his primary focus is on recruiting and the future.
Still, McElwain has watched the Gators practice to get a feel for the team he inherited and evaluate players that return next season. For Green the transition is reminiscent of four years ago when Meyer prepared to face Penn State in the Outback Bowl and Muschamp would stop by on occasion.
Back then, Green was one of those young players Muschamp wanted to see as he planned for the future.
''I've been through that myself,'' Green said. ''The one thing you can do is go out there and work hard each and every day and have a good first impression because first impressions are everything. As a young guy, that should be your major focus right now.
''You want to start off on a good note. You don't want to have any off-the-field issues. You just want to stay locked in, competing each and every day.''
The Gators practiced Monday for the final time before their holiday break. Around the same time, McElwain was busy doing radio interviews to discuss Florida's future under his direction.
The juxtaposition of the program has created an odd dynamic that players and coaches are trying their best to approach professionally. McElwain announced Tuesday that he hired Mississippi State defensive coordinator Geoff Collins for the same role at UF.
For Durkin, Florida's defensive coordinator the past two seasons, that means balancing serving as interim head coach and evaluating his immediate future after the game.
''Unfortunately it's part of the job,'' Durkin said. ''It's not awkward. Everyone involved is professional about it and you understand you could be on either side of things. You learn a lot from when things go wrong and you learn a lot when things go right, if you look at it the right way.''
Durkin is 37 and has a few more years around the game than redshirt sophomore defensive end Alex McCalister.
As McCalister sat in the team's meeting room early on the morning of Dec. 8 to meet McElwain -- the same room where two weeks earlier Muschamp gathered the team to talk about the Florida State game -- the mood was different.
''It's weird. I ain't gonna line to you,'' McCalister said. ''It's my first coaching change, but it's something you get through. I understand it's a business, but (Durkin) being my recruiter, I felt a little bit about it.
''By the end of the day, I understand. It's a thing you just got to deal with.''
In his brief time around the program McElwain seems to be doing a good job of relating to the players. He spoke at his introductory press conference about how important it was to make sure the players feel welcome in his program the way they did under Muschamp.
While Green will be gone by the time McElwain coaches his first game, he likes McElwain's personality and approach.
''He seems like a really, really good fit for this program,'' Green said. ''He's come from success in the past and especially on the offensive side of the ball. I think that's something that we can definitely grow on, given our past history.''
McCalister quickly felt at ease during McElwain's first meeting.
''He looks like an exciting coach, honestly,'' McCalister said. ''Like a fun guy, not a straightforward, stern and look-mean coach. I'm ready to build a relationship with him.''
McElwain's hiring certainly got the attention of sophomore running back Kelvin Taylor.
Taylor quickly picked up the fact McElwain was Alabama's offensive coordinator from 2008-11 as Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy ran their way through SEC defenses on the way to the NFL.
''He switched it up a lot,'' Taylor said. ''It depends on the situation in the game. He could go balanced, he could go underneath center, he could go (shotgun). I think he could do it all.''
Taylor is anxious to see what McElwain has in plan for Florida when spring practice starts in March. By then all the hellos will be out of the way and it will be time to get back to work.
''It's like a new fresh start,'' Taylor said. ''He told us he is going to coach us hard, help turn this thing back around and just try to be the best coach he can be. We're just ready to go.''
