Posted on 11/15/2005 7:32:27 AM PST by dnmore
All the chatter in South Carolina and Florida last week was a rehash of the backroom dealings behind the hirings of two high-profile football coaches -- Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer -- at two flagship state universities.
The questions were discussed and debated ad nauseam: Could the Gators have hired Spurrier if they'd tried harder? Did Spurrier mislead Florida when he already knew he was going to South Carolina? Did Spurrier choose South Carolina only because he knew Meyer was UF President Bernie Machen's first choice?
Those queries dominated newspaper columns all week while another question got buried on page D-7, right below the World Cup short track speedskating results: "Why didn't Florida or South Carolina interview black candidates during their coaching searches?"
While everyone argued about Spurrier-Meyer last week, the Black Coaches Association released its second annual report card for minority hiring practices in college football. The letter grades for college presidents and ADs were so abysmal you'd have thought you were looking at the report card of a Cincinnati basketball player.
Of the 30 Division I-A and I-AA schools that hired coaches last year, more than half received average, below-average or failing grades.
"This is worse than last year," BCA Executive Director Floyd Keith said. "In society, a 'C' means average. On this report card, it represents the status quo, and in terms of diversity that is unsatisfactory."
A school's final grade is based on five categories and although UF received passing grades in most categories, the school got an overall "D" because it flunked the final exam: The Gators failed to interview a minority candidate.
(Excerpt) Read more at orlandosentinel.com ...
Seems to me that most white guys also have "little hope" when vacancies open because there are always one or two candidates that a school is interested in. If you ain't one of those guys, you won't be considered.
The next time my alma mater has a chance to hire a coach who led them to six SEC titles and a National Championship, I suggest they hire him.
Ty Willingham spent plenty of time on the golf course . . .
Irish fans everywhere would like to thank the Florida AD for going with Urban - otherwise we would have him instead of Weis. What exactly is the mood among Gator fans nowadays about Urban? Are folks already calling for his head?
Oh some are. But I'll give him a pass, for this year. The team wasn't very deep to begin with, and we've had some crucial injuries, and yet we still managed to beat UT, UGA and hopefully, FSU. Meyer has tried to force a square peg into a round hole on offense and it hasn't worked. Leak is a nice QB, but he really isn't the guy for the kind of offense Meyer wants. I suspect two years from now they will look a lot different. People forget Spurrier had problems winning on the road at UF too. His first year, he got drubbed 45-3 in Knoxville.
But losing to the Head Ball Coach stung, it was like seeing your ex-wife with her new husband.
First of all universities "should" hire the best coach they can get and forget what race they are.
OU hired John Blake, a former Sooner, who was not ready for prime time and look what happened to us -- a disaster in the 90's. It wasn't because he was black, it was because he didn't have the experience to take over the Sooner program and rebuild it to prominence. Great line coach who needed more experience.
Tired of the numbers game on black coaches -- hire the best candidate and tell the NCAA to stuff it. Ty Willingham didn't have trouble landing another Div 1A position. It is not the color, it is the coaching experience. Instead of head coach, they should be looking at coordinator positions because if you haven't been a coordinator, I don't think you have any business becoming the head coach.
My two cents!
Why would people be calling for his head this soon? For not winning the SEC? Florida was one game away from going back to the title game, but were upset on the road. If they beat FSU next week and win their bowl, it will be a 9 win season. That's back in Spurrier territory.
A number of people may be understandably disappointed, but he did not inherit quite the team many presumed and the Gators, who seriously lacked depth before the season, have been beset by costly injuries (lost a top defensive lineman and best wideout in the third game, and a few games ago lost their best corner, just to mention a few). Word is Meyer's on the verge of an awesome recruiting class (way better than what the public committment list shows right now), and most alums are cautiously optimistic that once he gets the right personnel for his kind of football, the team will be contending for a number of championships.
Have to say I'm thankful ya'll lost the Ol' Ball Coach- ;0)
GAMECOCK PING!!
OK, then while we are at it, why did the paper hire Mike Bianchi instead of a minority?
Perhaps the paper can fire him and rectify the situation.
Although, it sucks we lost, I am happy for you guys, I'm rooting for UGA to lose to UK (although it probably won't happen), so y'all can go to Atlanta. It's a great story what SOS has done in South Carolina, and we'll look forward to his return to The Swamp next year, although I hope it's a better result for us.
You must be one of the typical Florida Fans, who are some of the nicest in college football! Being a Gamecock fan has not always been easy, and over the years fans and supporters from other SEC schools (and our unnamed instate rivals) have been malicious and trashy at best. Have to admit, Florida Fans have always been polite, nice, and a pleasure to be around. Appreciate your support for the Gamecocks, a lot of us are rooting for Kentucky on Saturday!
No matter what, SOS will always be a Gator. Many in the Gator nation call him a traitor, but the only reason why Florida is where they are is because of Spurrier, he is Florida Football, and that won't change.
Meyer will get it done in due time, but he's still a relatively young coach, and he is learning many valuable lessons this year about life in the SEC, the same lessons Spurrier had to learn his first few years coaching at UF.
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