FRZ: Our Picks

[gatorduck]

[glow=red,2,300]If FRZ.com = UF Athletic Director...[/glow]
You asked for months...well, here it is. Take some notes Foley...

Let me first state that I believe coaches who win at places they should not win are who I would consider first and foremost. I think the prime example of this to all Gator fans is when UF hired Steve Spurrier away from Duke. Having set that as the benchmark for putting together my list, I've divided my personal list into three categories:

• Coaches we would have to pry away from their current school
  
• Coaches that would not even have to think about taking the UF job
  
• NFL Coaches/Coordinators
  

The first list - coaches you would have to pry away - has three names: Bob Stoops, Mike Bellotti and Frank Beamer. Each has a great financial deal and a genuine love for their respective school. I think the records of all three men speak for themselves. Neither Oregon or Virginia Tech was on the football map before their arrival. We all know about the whirlwind courtship of Stoops. My only question was ... how serious was the proposal to Stoops? Only a handful of people will ever know that answer. I was concerned, however, that neither Bellotti or Beamer was contacted or considered according to Foley. Would either of these men have taken the job? Maybe not. But you can't tell me Florida Field is not the greatest home field advantage in college football...and that is hard to pass up. So, I have to assume (whether right or wrong) that neither of these men were approached because Foley was afraid of being turned down.

The second list names coaches who would have jumped at the opportunity to be Head Coach of the Florida Gators. This list includes Dan McCarney of Iowa State, Joe Tiller of Purdue and John L. Smith of Louisville. I think McCarney's stock has risen the most this year with the play of Seneca Wallace and the recent demolition of Nebraska. Let's face facts, people aren't lining up to spend four years in Ames, Iowa. Tiller has gotten it done at both Wyoming and Purdue. Wyoming's demise in the past two years is a clear indication of just how important Tiller was to them. All his recruits are gone and the place is in shambles. The last time I remember Purdue being competitive was the Mark Herrmann and Jim Everett days of the late 70's and early 80's. John L. Smith is a name every Gator fan should know now after the defeat of FSU in the monsoon on that glorious Thursday night. The guy has done wonders with Chris Redman and Dave Ragone and took a 1-10 team and turned them into perennial winners. I have a news flash...he did it at Utah State as well.

*** A subset of this list is guys who will be great candidates in two years after they've gained the necessary major college experience: Ralph Friedgen of Maryland (Off. Coord with the Chargers and Georgia Tech), Dirk Koetter of Arizona State (previously of Boise State) and Gary Pinkel of Missouri (formerly of Toledo). Come to think of it, throw in Urban Meyer of Bowling Green (previously Notre Dame) and John Bunting of UNC as well.

Finally, the NFL coaches. You have to mention them, because 2/3rds of Foley's list were current NFL coaches. I don't think Mike Shanahan would have been a good fit at UF (better than Zook, yes), so I will start there. Shanahan's ties were to the probation era of the early 80's, so that was 'iffy' from the start. I think Foley missed the boat on Jon Gruden as well...although Chucky was still a long shot. If you were going to go search for NFL Coordinators, wouldn't Jim Bates have been a good starting point? He was wildly successful as Spurrier's Defensive Coordinator before the Cowboys lured him away. I thought his kid was a lousy linebacker, but that's for another day. I must admit, however, that NFL Coaches were not and are not the answer.

Do you want to know the one thing that bothered me most? All of Foley's candidates had previous ties to UF. Do they want us to drive down Bear Bryant Drive on the way to the Bear Bryant Museum before the game at Bryant-Denny Stadium? We're not Alabama. I don't think having been at UF before was a mandatory credential, but Foley apparently thought otherwise.

Finally, we come to the actual choice, Ron Zook. Here is a man whose claim to fame is that he was a great Special Teams Coordinator and a "real trooper" after he was demoted by Spurrier. We have a litany of statistics from when Zook was Defensive Coordinator and how many abysmal performances the defense produced on other pages here at FRZ. I give you a three year window of the New Orleans Saints as the final exhibit. They went from being a playoff team with Bunting as Def. Coord...to a team that just plain quit with Zook as Def. Coord. Zook's gone now and, VOILA!, they're back on top of the division. Coincidence, I think not.

Hire any of these guys other than Zook and we're talking about the SEC Championship Game, the top of the BCS, and National Championship instead of mediocrity. I love Tampa, but not at 11 AM on New Year's Day for the Outback Bowl.

Love,
FireRonZook.com

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[glow=red,2,300]Updated! What the hell are we thinking now? Read on![/glow]

After the past year and a half, I think we all know the inevitable is coming. Probably not as soon as we here at FRZ would like (please fire him retroactively to 1/20/02, thank you!)...but coming nonetheless. So let's think about the future of the program and continue to identify possible and qualified coaching candidates to take over, shall we?

Florida's next football coach should meet certain basic criteria before even being considered (please note having Florida ties is NOT one of them):

• Must have proven himself to be a winner as a head coach
  
  Whether it has been at a lower level (Jim Tressel at Youngstown St.) or at a higher level (Ty Willingham at Stanford), Florida's next coach must have a proven track record of having a winning system and success.
  
  
• Must be committed to the University of Florida and not see the job as a stepping stone.
  
  I don't want the next Nick Saban or Dennis Franchione (although I would take either in a heartbeat over Zook). We need someone who sees the job of head football coach at Florida as the peak of their career and will want to be there for as long as he can.
  
  
• Must have an offensive mind and like to "pitch" the ball around.
  
  I think everyone will agree that Steve Spurrier put Florida on the map as a consistent winner, and did so by throwing the ball around all over the field and being aggressive on offense. THIS IS THE GATOR'S PERSONALITY. I don't want someone who thinks they can come in and win by pounding the ball and controlling the clock. That may work in other places, but Florida should not be one of them.
  
  
• Must not be a babbling clown in front of TV cameras
  
  What else can I say about that one? Go watch the post game interviews if you have no idea what I'm talking about.
  

So who are the most qualified candidates out there? Who are the men that fit these criteria and could bring Florida back to its rightful place as a football power as opposed to the mediocre team they are now? Here's an updated list (in no particular order) of possible candidates:

Jeff Tedford - Head coach Cal-Berkley, (age 42)

• Was a very successful offensive coordinator for Oregon (including the team that finished #2 in the country in 2001)
  
• Took over a horrible Cal program that had a 1-10 record and turned them around to be a 7-5 team in his first year
  
• Has a 3-3 record this year with 9 new starters on defense and new skill players on offense. Oh by the way, they just knocked off USC.
  

Kirk Ferentz - Head coach Iowa (age 47)

• Has turned Iowa into a winning program
  
• Runs a very balanced offense and is not afraid to throw the ball down the field
  
• Major down side is that NFL teams have targeted him because of his previous NFL experience
  

Walt Harris - Head coach Pittsburgh (age 47)

• Successful offensive coordinator for Ohio State in the mid to late 90's. Turned around a very bad Pitt program implementing an exiting offensive system
  
• Not a very likeable guy, but then again most people think the same of Spurrier
  

Houston Nutt - Head coach Arkansas (age 45)

• Won at Boise State with a very exciting offense
  
• Has a 43-23 record at Arkansas and has taken them to 5 straight Bowl games. Oh yeah, they're undefeated this year and beat Texas in Austin
  

Joe Tiller-Head coach Purdue (age 60)

• Won at Wyoming before coming to Purdue (has anyone checked Wyoming's record since he left? Not good)
  
• Has instilled a very innovative and un-Big 10 like offense and succeeded with it (Spurrier at Florida) taking Purdue to a Bowl game all of his 6 years there
  
• Downside -Tiller is an old fart
  

Urban Meyer-Head coach Utah (age 39)

• Worked as an assistant under Lou Holtz
  
• Turned around an awful Bowling Green program with a very inventive offensive scheme, going 17-6 in his two years there
  
• Has created excitement in Utah, of all places, guiding them to a 3-1 start
  

Dan Hawkins-Head coach Boise State (age 40)

• Guided the Broncos to a #12 ranking last year
  
• Has a 23-6 record in two-plus seasons and runs a very exciting, pass oriented offense
  

Jim Leavitt-Head coach South Florida (age 46)

• Asked to build a program from scratch
  
• Took USF from nothing to success as a 1-AA team, success as a 1-A independent and now a successful member of Conference USA
  
• Has a 46-23 record in his 6+ seasons
  

There are many other qualified candidates. Ron Zook is without a doubt in the bottom 10% of division 1-A coaches, so pretty much anyone is an upgrade. I have not included established coaches such as Bob Stoops, Frank Beamer, Ralph Friedgen, etc. because they have already made it clear that they are happy where they are and have no desire to make a move. I have also not included assistant coaches because as I mentioned before, we deserve a coach that has won as a head coach. The University of Florida should not be experimenting with unproven coaches. Any of these coaches would help bring Florida back to the elite level that we once enjoyed not too long ago. We will be able to respect and rally around our football program instead of having to live with the daily embarrassment that Ron Zook has created.

Let us be excited about Gator football again. PLEASE.

FRZ