Todd Golden hires Carlin Hartman, Jonathan Safir to Gators staff
New Florida Gators hoops coach Todd Golden has now hired four members to his inaugural staff.
His latest hires are associate head coach Carlin Hartman and Jonathan Safir, who was named director of basketball strategy and analytics Thursday.
Hartman was announced Friday, joining Korey McCray and Kevin Hovde on the coaching staff.
“Carlin brings a wealth of experience and a highly-respected track record to Florida,” Golden said. “We’re excited to add his expertise as a basketball mind, a developer, a relationship-builder and a recruiter to our staff. He sets a great example for all of us as a family man, and he will be a tremendous mentor to our student-athletes off the court in addition to helping us collectively and individually become our best on the court.”
Hartman brings 22 years of coaching experience in college, including five years at Oklahoma under Lon Kruger before spending the past season at UNLV. He was also associate head coach at Columbia during Golden’s two seasons on staff there.
“I’m thrilled to join my good friend and former colleague Todd Golden at a national championship-caliber program such as Florida,” Hartman said. “The program’s success has been well-documented, starting over 30 years ago with Coach Kruger, who I had the pleasure of working for. For Todd to ask me and my family to join him is an honor, and I look forward to getting started in Gainesville.”
Safir (pronounced like the gem, “sapphire”) was an assistant coach on Golden’s staff at San Francisco, helping the Dons earn their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1998 this season. Safir oversaw all analytics and strategy for USF and played an integral role in scouting, recruiting and player development.
“Jonathan is a rising star in this business,” Golden said. “He was instrumental in the success of our historic season last year at San Francisco. He is well-respected within the profession as an incredibly smart basketball mind and someone who thinks about the game analytically at a high level. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him running an NBA franchise someday. I’ve been fortunate to work with him for the past four years, and he’ll be a great addition to our staff here at Florida.”
Safir has ties to Golden from his time at Columbia, where he served as the director of basketball operations at from 2015-16. Safir started working with Columbia in 2011 as a graduate manager and was there when Golden was on staff (2012-14).
“I am ecstatic to continue working alongside Coach Golden at the University of Florida,” Safir said. “I look forward to the chance to work with world-class student-athletes on a daily basis as part of UF’s historic men’s basketball program. I am incredibly thankful and grateful for this opportunity and can’t wait to get to work.”
