Posted on 10/28/2004 8:27:28 PM PDT by mlbford2
I think they fired Zook now precisely because Spurrier would not be willing to talk to them behind his back. Even if he was, he wasn't likely to tolerate being put in a position where suddenly Zook beats FSU or something and they feel they need to give him another chance. Plus, pressure from alums like me had to be unbearable. I had passed the point of being willing to wait a long time ago, and I decided to start emailing sports reporters. Judging by the response I got, I would hazard a guess I wasn't the only one.
I think it's hilarious that people who would prefer the Gators lose graciously (but most importantly, lose) feel it is somehow their obligation to warn us about having Spurrier come back. Give me a break. We were in the national championship hunt every year with him at the helm, and he had the highest winning percentage in SEC history. The only people who don't want him to come back are people who want Florida to be an also-ran, rather than a perennial powerhouse. The players love Zook? Really? Loved him so much they couldn't bother to show up and play for him against a 1-5 team when they already had two losses on the year? Spurrier left because it was his best chance to go to the next level and test his game in the NFL. He'd turned down big offers before, like the one from the Buccanneers. He gave it a shot and it didn't work out. No hard feelings from me, as long as he comes back to where I firmly believe he belongs.
(We'll see if we can't beat Zook in short order.)
>>I think it's hilarious that people who would prefer the Gators lose graciously (but most importantly, lose) feel it is somehow their obligation to warn us about having Spurrier come back.<<
I have no such preference. I generally root for UF in most games. I like Georgia better and I go back and forth on FSU as far as who to root for. I always root for Florida against teams like Tennessee, LSU, and the like.
But past success is no guarantee of future success. Ask Bill Parcells. The AD is setting a very dangerous precedent in caving to fans' whims.
It wasn't like you had a losing record, year after year. You won 8, at least, with Zook I believe. Sometimes you have to face the music and realize that college football is VERY competitive and there's no ordainment or entitlement to the national championship (or even being in the hunt) every year.
I believe that the firing of Zook was to pacify or placate the alumi. They're powerful.
According to the reports and interviews shown so far, the answer to that is an emphatic NO!
Of course, winning cures a lot of ill will, and Spurrier showed he could win before.
The question will be, can he do it again? He will bring back a tired offensive scheme that was being caught on to his final 4-5 years at Fla. That is the Elephant that gator fans don;t want to peek at.
Yes Spurrier won 6 SEC titles, and a nat champ -- but it comes down to "What have you done for me lately". And lately for Spurrier was losing consistently to Miami and FSU, no SEC titles in his last few years, and a 9-4 record in his final season.
Don;t get me wrong, if he comes back, Florida will get the athletes, and will always be a tough team, but if he hasn't changed his offense, etc. -- That is all they will be, a very good team.
Used to work with a UT grad, he would laugh about "Visor Boy", but you could tell that the Gators were their toughest opponent at the time.
Florida is far too good a school to not be in the national championship hunt every year. The people against Spurrier returning think 8 wins a year is "good enough" because they generally don't want Florida to do better than that. Well, tough. I don't care what other people think should be acceptable. Florida should be vying for number one every year.
So Spurrier's offensive scheme was "tired"? And what do you think is fresh? Running an option? The I-formation? When Florida had the talent at receiver under Spurrier, they were awesome. The problem is, his receivers were jumping early to the NFL and were hard to replace quickly enough. He still never won less than 9 games.
Sorry if alums like me aren't willing to settle for mediocrity. Spurrier got screwed out of one SEC title his first year (for some lame non-recruiting violation from the prior year), won six others, and Florida was a virtual lock to make the SEC championship game year in and year out. Have you ever been to UF's campus? Have you ever seen the female talent strolling among the palm trees? A school that good, with a campus that beautiful and with that many unbelievable women should have no problem recruiting the kind of athletes necessary to keep them in the top five most of the time. They just need the right coach. Sympathy for Zook around the SEC comes from the fact people liked Florida having a head coach they could beat. I'd rather we have a coach they resent the hell out of.
Great news for Gator fans in TN!
I realize I mistakenly attributed a comment to you about Spurrier's offense being "tired." I see that was another post after yours.
My point remains.
Couldn't have said it better myself. The Gators used to be the Yankees of the SEC (appropriate since Steinbrenner is a Bull Gator). You either loved us or hated us. Under Zook, Florida is just another team.
I've always had that "love to hate" thing going...all the way back to his playing days when Georgia beat him once and he beat Georgia once. (by replacing the regular kicker and kicking the winning field goal his own darned self... IIRC).
I get a kick out of calling him the "Evil" Genius.
But as least I no longer have any envy....I am more than happy with Mr. Richt.
Is this a hoot or what?
Of course the plan is to have Spurrier come back for five years to keep the chair warm for Bob Stoops until SOS retires, and Stoops' OU contract is up.
Man, I'll say this: you've got a really bad attitude. I've made clear I'm not against Florida succeding or winning, yet you jump on me as if I have no right to disagree with you. Some of your comments are ridiculous.
For one thing you are missing my point. You are assuming that a switch back to Spurrier will automatically mean wins, and I'm trying to suggest it isn't that easy. If it were, Spurrier would already have a job at one of a number of schools.
I see your attitude in the fans of the University of Texas. Like you and them are entitled to something, and if it isn't being produced, it has to be the coach. Never mind that you both are in very tough conferences and brutal divisions. Never mind that you both play in states against top notch competition and compete for talent with several other national schools.
Get over yourself. Striving for excellence is great. Being dilusional about what you are entitled to or "should" have is only going to drive you nuts.
Let's see ... Spurrier's first year we had the best record in the SEC, then went on to half a dozen SEC championships, several additional SEC title games, a National Championship, and never fewer than 9 wins in a season. Prior to Spurrier, we had never out-and-out won the SEC, because our administration was too busy believing people who told them we should be happy with being competitive. If Spurrier returns, so will the winning ways. Period.
Spurrier isn't the kind of coach who is just going to jump at any opening. It would have to be a prime position--warm weather, big school, big money. In other words, a perfect situation. He hasn't been scooped up by another program simply because he is not scoopable. Florida is one of the few schools that could meet his standards.
I don't necessarily think you root against Florida week after week. I think you are one of those who prefers Florida be mediocre rather than dominant, a school that wins some and loses some, and maybe wins a few more than it loses. Florida alums like me won't stand for that. Show me alums who are content with a program that averages 7 or 8 wins a season, and I'll show you a school that averages 7 or 8 wins a season. With everything UF has going for it, we don't have to settle for that. I know I won't.
What are you going to do if Florida wins 8 games the next two years with Spurrier? Are you going to scream for his head? Or are you going to assume that things will get better, even though you didn't give Ron Zook the benefit of the same assumption?
Answer my question. Don't say it won't happen. Spurrier failed miserably at Washington and owned the SEC East during a period when Georgia wasn't an elite team like they are now. With 2 more D-1A programs opening up in Florida (Atlantic and FAMU, I think -- correct that if I'm wrong) in the next year or two, there will be more competition for recruits. The fact is things are more competitive now in Florida and the SEC than it was in Spurrier's hey day.
I will scream for his head if we haven't been in the SEC championship game by the end of his second year.
Could be.
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