What others have said about Muschamp and his Gators

[Mojave Gator]

From people who make a living from following, and writing about, college football.



It doesn’t matter that Muschamp is trying hard to lay all the blame at the feet of offensive coordinator Brent Pease. He hired Pease, and Charlie Weis before him. In three seasons, the flagship program in the state that produces more football talent than any other in the Southeast hasn’t yet had an offense that ranks even 100th nationally in total yardage. That’s a firing offense – for the head coach as well as the O.C. – right there.

It doesn’t matter if these Gators suffered a slew of injuries. So did Georgia, and the Bulldogs are 7-4, which isn’t great by their standards or their expectations but beats the heck out of Florida’s 4-7. And nothing excuses losing at home to Georgia Southern. Muschamp should have been able to win that game with his walk-ons.

It doesn’t matter that the Gators were 11-2 in 2012. That season was a fluke born of defense and special teams. Yes, Florida beat four very good teams – Texas A&M, LSU, South Carolina and Florida State – but the turnover margin in those games was a staggering 12-3. (The Gators led South Carolina 21-3 after a half in which they’d gained 29 yards.) When Florida made six turnovers of its own against Georgia, it lost 17-9 and couldn’t manage a touchdown.

- Mark Bradley, Atlanta Journal-Constitution




Of course, the 2013 Gators are not only falling short of expectations but are finding historical lows as their benchmark. The Gators have not reached these depths of losing since 1979 and losses at home to schools like Vandy and Georgia Southern reach back into ancient history for precedents.

- Brian Goff, Contributing Writer, Forbes Magazine




FCS Georgia Southern upset Florida 26-20 in Gainesville. The Eagles attempted three passes, none completed. They ran all over Will Muschamp’s defense, amassing 450 yards on 54 carries. There was a reasonable case for firing Will Muschamp before this game. Now, the Gators have suffered the worst loss in program history. Is Florida AD Jeremy Foley still 1,000 percent committed to the Muschamp regime?

- Ty Duffy, The Big Lead




University of Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley has so far been supportive of football coach Will Muschamp in public comments, and in private conversation.

Whether Foley can maintain that stance after one of the most embarrassing moments Saturday in program history – a 34-17 home loss to Vanderbilt for the first time since 1945 – is another matter.

This marks the second time in Muschamp’s three seasons that his Gators have lost four consecutive games. That explains why the UF crowd was booing before halftime, then again in the third quarter after Tyler Murphy threw his third interception that led to a third Vandy touchdown.

Things got so bad at one point, the Commodores were leading 24-3 despite accumulating just six first downs and 96 total yards. Not the kind of day the Gators want to be on display for recruits taking visits to Florida Field.

- Gene Frenette, (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union




The embattled third-year coach could only rub his forehead and eyes in disgust as Georgia Southern players went running across his field celebrating their improbable 26-20 win.

It was embarrassing for Florida and the lowest point for the program that probably didn’t think it could get lower following a loss to Vanderbilt two weeks ago.

- Graham Watson, Yahoo Sports




I’ve advocated giving Muschamp one more year, but getting thumped at home by Vanderbilt is a bit of a game-changer. Under no circumstances, even with Vandy's program on an uptick under James Franklin, should Florida ever get punked by the Commodores at home.

- Gene Frenette, (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union



The Gators had all their troops in place during a loss to Miami when the offense _ and particularly quarterback Jeff Driskel - fell apart. Driskel threw two interceptions and fumbled during critical points of the game.Muschamp can’t play the injury card for that one.

Muschamp also must be held accountable for recruiting whiffs. For a team that is a perennial Top 10 on recruiting lists every year, the Gators seem strangely devoid of playmakers, particularly at wide receiver. Busts like Latroy Pittman and Raphael Andrades come to mind.

Muschamp must also be held accountable for his failure to recruit a quality kicker. If you expect to win close games with a solid defense, a dependable kicker is a must. Florida’s field goal unit of Larry, Curley and Moe _ Austin Hardin, Frankie Velez and Brad Phillips _ seems to be a 50-50 proposition from the 30-yard line and beyond.

Muschamp also must be held accountable for all the silly and stupid penalties _ some of them the costly 15-yard type for unsportsmanlike conduct and such (see Georgia game) that speaks 100 percent to the ability to prepare players not only physically but emotionally for the weekend grind.

And finally, Muschamp must be held accountable for his emotional demeanor. Passion is a great thing, and when he’s at his best, “Coach Boom” can energize his players and the fan base. But when things are going south, as they did this season, the fire in Coach Boom is detrimental. You can’t have a coach teeing off on disgruntled fans.

- George Diaz, Orlando Sentinel



The staggering thing about Muschamp’s tenure is that he’s had talent to work with. Urban Meyer’s final three recruiting classes according to rivals.com were #3 (’08), #11 (’09) and #2 (’10). So it’s not like Meyer left the cupboard empty. Add that wealth of talent to Muschamp’s haul while in Gainesville: #12 (’11), #3 (’12), #4 (’13) and all the losing is dumbfounding.

It doesn’t look like the Gators have a talent problem. It looks like they have a coaching problem.

It’s better to fire Muschamp a year too early than a year too late. I don’t want my next article to be an obituary about the Gators’ football program at the end of 2014.

- Jim Lighthall, CBS Tampa Bay



Under no injury circumstances can Florida unravel like it did Saturday, losing 26-20 to a pedestrian Football Championship Subdivision team like Georgia Southern. That should never happen.

This wasn’t the late Erk Russell’s Eagles, a one-time Division I-AA power, that slayed the Gators in their own house. This was a middle-of-the-pack Southern Conference team that lost 38-14 to 4-8 Appalachian State.

In the aftermath of UF’s sixth consecutive loss, easily the worst in program history, Muschamp spouted the same tiresome explanations for the Gators’ malaise. He talked about how his team struggles to score points every week, adding: “My job is to get it fixed, and we will get it fixed.”

Sorry, but that sales job looks more like a coach with no answers on how the Gators can be repaired. It certainly doesn’t look fixable by next year, by which time Muschamp will already be sitting on the hottest seat in the country. That is, if Foley doesn’t succumb to the rising public criticism, call an audible, and dismiss his coach after Florida State ends UF’s miserable season in a rout on Saturday.

The problem with retaining Muschamp after the latest debacle is there’s little evidence of hope on the horizon. Florida has a pitiful offense that nobody wants to watch. Muschamp, with a 22-15 record in his third season, admitted recently that his team had a “woe-is-me attitude.” On top of that, boos and empty seats are increasing at Florida Field.

Losing at home in the same month to Vanderbilt and Georgia Southern is 100 times worse than Ron Zook falling on the road at Mississippi State, which got him fired midway through the 2004 season.

Foley has a huge mess on his hands. He either has to go back on his word and fire Muschamp, or stick with a coach that appears lost for answers.

The noise in the system is deafening. Hiring Muschamp is looking more and more like Foley’s Folly.

- Gene Frenette, (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union

[Mojave Gator]

Foley almost has to give up on Muschamp.

He can’t risk falling farther behind Florida State.

Miami is showing signs of life.

Central Florida is now the best team in the middle of the state.

I expect Muschamp to finish the season and then be fired after next week’s inevitable loss to Florida State.

- Andy Johnston, Atlanta Journal-Constitution



Want to know the current state of Florida's football program? Take a look at the tape of Florida's home loss to Vanderbilt.

You don't have to look at what's happening on the field. It certainly paints a bleak, unpleasant picture of what this team isn't capable of, but the real eye-opener is in the stands. There were too many empty seats to count and too many boo birds out to ignore.

Even coach Will Muschamp, who keeps his head so buried in football that he usually only notices fans after the final whistle, couldn't help but hear all the chirping after a 34-17 loss to the Commodores.

Right now, it isn't great to be a Florida Gator, and it's clear that if changes aren't made this program could become a laughingstock in the same conference it once sat atop.

- Edward Aschoff, ESPN.com



The fans in Austin who were upset when Will Muschamp bolted Texas for the head coaching job at Florida should be rejoicing that he is no longer set to replace Mack Brown.

Instead of being locked in to an unknown entity at head coach, Texas got to find out from afar that Muschamp might not make a great head coach. Now if, and when Brown is out of a job, the Longhorns can hire the best available candidate instead of rolling the dice with an unproven Muschamp.

- Sean Frye, Bleacher Report


While it's easy to criticize with the benefit of hindsight, the hiring of Muschamp really never fit the image of Florida football in the first place. Florida made its name as an innovative program among major colleges, with the Fun 'n' Gun and spread option giving the program a defined identity. In between Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer, Florida failed by hiring Ron Zook, a defensive coach and accomplished recruiter who has flamed out as a gameday coach, and now, for the last three years, the reins have been in the hands of Muschamp, the former Texas defensive coordinator who probably would have fit best a Woody Hayes staff. A good head coach is a good head coach, and a good defensive coach could succeed at Florida, in theory. Still, it's an odd shift in direction, given that the fan base came of age with Florida on the cutting edge of offensive football. It just makes it easier for fans to grow disenchanted with the direction of the program, sooner rather than later.

Fans really care only about winning, but if you're going to lose, there at least needs to be some entertainment value. Watching your team lose 49-38 may be unsatisfying, but at least scoring points creates the illusion of competence, offering some sort of hope that you'll someday out-score an opponent. Losing 17-6 in this era of football screams everything is hopeless, creating an existential crisis of fandom, in which one wonders why it's worth investing so much time, energy and money on such an unsatisfying product.

- Matt Brown, Sports on Earth



Florida’s offense is not bad. It is not abysmal. It is nonexistent.

Even the most ardent Muschamp supporters, the folks who have clamored that “he doesn’t have his own players,” are running thin on excuses for his team’s terrible offense.

In three years, Meyer took the Gators from 49th to 4th in points per game. Even in his first season, without “his own players,” Meyer put up a touchdown more per game than the group now.

Beyond that, how long is a coach given to find his own players? Florida’s defense is otherworldly. Those guys are Muschamp’s players. What about the offense?

The difference between Muschamp and the legends he’s chasing are that, while those coaches were more concerned with offense (and special teams in Meyer’s case), they found the proper assistants. Bob Stoops and Charlie Strong took their bosses to the promise land. Muschamp’s hires have not worked out well.

So where does this leave us with Muschamp? He’s a player’s coach who recruits well, but just can’t make ends meet. He sounds a lot like Ron Zook.

- Jonathan Bass, Gamedayr

[Mojave Gator]

According to former Florida Gators center Jonotthan Harrison, a fifth-year senior in 2013 who was starting in the middle of the offensive line for his third-straight year, Florida’s continuously declining play and subsequent 4-8 record had as much to do with the team’s off-field issues as it did on-field performance.

Discussing the situation with Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Harrison provided insight into locker room incidents, pre-game distractions and significant infighting that derailed the Gators as they dealt with mounting injuries, a growing number of losses and increasing fan unrest.

Dunne begins by relating Harrison’s view of an incident that occurred following Florida’s embarrassing loss to Georgia Southern in its second-to-last game of the season.


Pads were still on. Tempers were flaring. Head coach Will Muschamp ordered a player to talk to the team. Anyone. So, being a fifth-year senior, center Jonotthan Harrison stepped into the middle of the circle.

And then one defensive lineman — Harrison won’t use names — yanked him out and shoved a freshman linebacker to the center. The two shouted at each other with coaches grabbing Harrison and pulling him out of the locker room before punches were thrown.

“We were falling apart,” Harrison said, “crumbling as a team.”

Dunne then explains, in his own words, that Harrison painted a picture of “complete chaos top to bottom” within the locker room with “players point[ing] fingers” at each other and the coaching staff for the team’s problems.

- Adam Silverstein, Only Gators Get Out Alive



Will Muschamp has displayed no ability to hire a competent staff or evaluate and recruit offensive players. His brand of football is horrendous viewing, a constipated half-game played by NFL game management rules with a hopelessly overburdened defense asked to carry the entire team on their backs. Muschamp will now attempt to save his job by moving entirely out of his comfort zone and running a spread offense with one qualified quarterback and no threats at receiver AND a line learning a new scheme, all done against the usual meat grinder of a schedule. It will end just as well as that experiment did, and then none of us will have to watch this horrible bullzook ever again. The sooner this ends, the better.

- Spencer Hall, EveryDayShouldBeSaturday.com


If the size of a coach's signature is commensurate to his team's performance the previous season, you'd need a microscope to read Muschamp's John Hancock on those 2014 SEC footballs. The injury-ravaged Gators lost their last seven games to finish 4-8, their worst season since 1979, and bottomed out in a dreadful home loss to Georgia Southern. That leaves Muschamp's record at 22-16, the worst of any three-year period in school history since the Gators were 20-16 from 1987-89 coming out of major probation sanctions.


Thus if the '14 season bears any resemblance to the '13 season, there will be a different Florida coach signing the SEC footballs at this time next year.

- Pat Forde, Yahoo Sports


Upbeat evaluations are as common that time of year as springtime allergies. Optimism also does not hide the facts. No returning Gator wide receiver caught more than one touchdown in 2013, while the tight ends (not including Virginia transfer Jake McGee) combined for four receptions. Tailback Kelvin Taylor, son of former NFL star Fred Taylor, displayed a hard-running style as a first-year player, but the Gators lack a home-run threat anywhere on offense to change a game in one play.

“They don’t have a receiver on their football team that would start at another SEC school right now,” Scout.com national recruiting analyst Jamie Newberg says. “Think about that. This is the University of Florida.”

Offensive talent flocked to Gainesville during those days. Lately, top recruits are jumping ship. When five-star running back Dalvin Cook of Miami changed his commitment in January from Florida to Florida State, the Gators lost the kind of big-play threat they have lacked since Harvin. Cook also left Florida fans with a bad taste in their mouths when he explained his decision. “Coach Roper is a great coach, but I don’t think Florida has the athletes like Duke got,” Cook said. “That’s all I can say.”

- Athlon Sports


So while it’s probably too soon for Gator fans to give up on Muschamp, it’s a fair bet that some have. As modern college football history dictates, the big name coaches (Steve Spurrier, Bob Stoops, Lou Holtz, Pete Carroll, Mack Brown and yes, ex-Gator coach Urban Meyer, to name just a few) who’ve thrived usually had dominant teams by year three, and often year two.

Also notable about the successful coaches mentioned is that they replaced failed coaches, and in doing so, inherited relatively failed recruiting classes. In Muschamp’s case he inherited the blue chips lured to Gainesville by Urban Meyer; Meyer the Pete Carroll and/or Nick Saban of his time. Florida fans are not used to this kind of losing, and they’re surely impatient.

- John Tamny, Forbes Magazine


In the past three seasons, there hasn't been a more inconsistent coach in college football than Muschamp. His teams have a combined record of 22-16, including a 4-8 season last year. It was the Gators' first losing season since 1979.

If Muschamp wants to save his job, he needs to consider changing the way he thinks. There's nothing wrong with being confident, but if he truly feels there isn't any pressure, it's possible that this season could be his last considering the teams Florida will play in 2014.

- Matt Maddux, AL.com (Alabama site)

[Mojave Gator]

You can’t lose six of eight home games and survive.

You just can’t.

The LSU loss earlier in the season was crippling. This loss Saturday to a mediocre South Carolina team was a killer.

This wasn’t the straw, it was a whole bale of ineptitude. And yet, it was right there for the taking, a win that would have been huge for a coach trying to salvage a season.

Somehow, some way, this team and these coaches found a way to lose a game that didn’t look losable.

It wasn’t as if Florida was doing anything special to be in position to win. This was Muschamp Football 101. Run the ball and play defense and try to win 17-10.

But when you try to win by a touchdown, you’re always one touchdown away from overtime.

So of course, it happened.

Of course, Florida was called for holding on a game-clinching touchdown run.

Of course, the Gamecocks blocked a field goal that would have basically put the game away.

Of course, they blocked a punt with 39 seconds to go when you knew they weren’t going to drive 70 or 75 yards against this defense.

Of course, they did.


With an offense that chose to ignore all of those gaudy numbers allowed by the South Carolina secondary and throw only 11 passes.

With an offense that has become so predictable, the writers in the press box were calling the plays before they happened.

With an offense that managed all of five second-half first downs.

With a coach who talks about making the opponent one-dimensional yet self-inflicts it upon his own team.

Muschamp talked about the fact the Gators were in position to win the game. Ah, but they were also in position not to win it because of their inability and stubbornness when it comes to going for the jugular.

It’s difficult to make sense of this train wreck of a season right now. Florida is 5-4, 4-4 in the SEC. The chances are pretty good they will go 6-5 and end up in something like the Duck Commander Bowl, but is anyone counting a win over Eastern Kentucky (9-2) as an automatic?

So that’s four seasons of Muschamp as the Florida coach. And three of those years will be 7-6, 4-8 and 6-5.

Sorry, but that’s not Florida football.

Neither is the boring style of play that has permeated this program.

This is where I usually throw in the caveat that I like Muschamp and think he’s a pretty smart football coach when it comes to defense. But there is also this — sometimes you just have to cut your losses.


I don't have the answers as to who the next head coach should be. I just know this is not working.

And that I don't want to watch it anymore.

I think most of you out there will agree. Some of you have been all over me to demand that Florida fire its football coach. I have tried to be fair. And it’s not like this column is going to influence Jeremy Foley.

I just know the time has come to move in another direction.

I hate it for Muschamp and his family and all of the coaches here who are good people.

But this is an awful product that needs to be recalled.

- Pat Dooley, GatorSports.com


Spurrier may be the greatest Gator of all time, but he certainly doesn't speak for the vast majority of UF fans, who are rightfully ready for Muschamp to go. They've had enough of Muschamp losing home game after home game (he's only won two of his last eight at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium) and turning the once-proud Swamp into scorched earth.

This is why I say it's good the punt was blocked — because it will expedite the inevitable firing process. As UF Athletic Director Jeremy Foley likes to say, "What must be done eventually should be done immediately."


The plan was to fire Muschamp after Georgia, but the Gators shocked everyone by dominating the Dawgs 38-20. And then came another victory last week against Vanderbilt. And, suddenly, it appeared Muschamp could save his job by simply beating Spurrier on Saturday.

But, appropriately, Muschamp was done in by his own stubborn conservatism — because, once again, he didn't trust his offense to make a play. If the Gators could have recorded just one first down before the blocked punt at the end of regulation, they could have run out the clock and won 17-10. Instead, they called three running plays and attempted to punt.

Then, in overtime, the Gators got the ball first, ran on first and second down and threw a sideways pass for no gain on third down. They ended up kicking a field goal, South Carolina scored a touchdown, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Florida quarterback Treon Harris completed only five passes for 60 yards, which to Muschamp is no big deal. As he kept saying afterward, "We were in position to win the game."

This philosophy has been part of Muschamp's downfall. He never understood that Gator football isn't just about winning; it's about winning a certain way. It's about excitement and energy and passing pyrotechnics.

- Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel


Hopefully, it is the final season of Muschamp's excruciating tenure, as there is no longer any hope for his team to make the SEC Championship Game or play in a bowl somewhere other than Birmingham or Memphis or Shreveport. There are no excuses, no defenses, no words left to say anything in support of Muschamp. He must go, even if his team takes down Florida State or something with him, because his team took the hopes it had restored with wins over Georgia and Vanderbilt and smithereened them on this day.

- Andy Hutchins, Alligator Army

[Mojave Gator]

It wasn't pretty.

Using a one-dimensional offense that featured 49 rushing attempts and only 11 pass plays, Florida was on the brink of extending its lead to make it a two-score game with 3:31 to go. But a 32-yard field goal from Francisco Velez was blocked by Brison Williams to give South Carolina a chance.

The Gamecocks didn't capitalize.

Florida stopped South Carolina on 4th-and-10 and got the ball back with a chance to drain the clock. But after a drive went nowhere, Kyle Christy's punt was blocked with 39 seconds left to give the Gamecocks another opportunity.

South Carolina punched it in on a speed option that featured a bad snap and a fumbled pitch to force overtime, before quarterback Dylan Thompson strolled into the end zone during the bottom of the first overtime to finish off the Gators.

- Barrett Sallee, SEC Football Lead Writer, Bleacher Report



This time, the train might have left the track.

It now appears it's not a matter of if Will Muschamp will be fired, it's now whether or not he gets to complete his fourth season. The Gators have now lost six of their last eight games at Florida Field. Recruits are dropping like flies.

While UF athletics director Jeremy Foley has maintained he wants to let the season play out, most fans say that time has come. They actually spoke long ago. There are more reasons than just Muschamp — like the SEC Network and some miserable weather at times this season — but Florida's stadium has been filled with thousands of empty seats this season. More than ever before.

An empty stadium can do more damage to a coach's future than most losses. But after last year's misery, now booster money will dry up. Recruits have Caller ID. They aren't stupid. There's no reason to debate. It's time.

- David Jones, Florida Today


The question in terms of his coaching future became not when he would be fired, but was there any way back? Was there any scenario where he could somehow roll up enough momentum to turn around the SEC's worst recruiting class and change the perception of the program both nationally and within his own fan base?

That answer seems clear after another Saturday with another loss, at home, with everything on the line.

Florida's top target, five-star defensive lineman Byron Cowart, was in the house after a late change of plans. He's a guy who is seemingly begging for a reason to commit to Florida.

Donning a white Gators shirt, Cowart simply looked up at the scoreboard following the game with an expressionless face.

He's a defensive star, the kind Muschamp has had no trouble landing previously in his tenure. The kind Florida should lock down 10 times out of 10. And yet it seems anything but certain that he'll end up a Gator.

On offense, the picture is far worse. Who will come to play for a team that looks like this often enough that it never really has a chance to compete for titles? What receivers want to play in an offense like the one a potential star like Demarcus Robinson has had to play in the last two years?

It's been way too easy to negative recruit top talent away from Florida on that side of the ball during the Muschamp tenure, and Saturday was exactly the kind of game that keeps happening to make things all the more difficult just when it looks like there might be away out.

The clock has simply run out. The Gators can't salvage this situation.

- Thomas Goldkamp, GatorBait.net

[Mojave Gator]

For as great as his teams were at executing on defense, they were equally as bad on offense. Charlie Weis’ one-year offense did nothing. Brent Pease’s Boise State magic never made it to Gainesville. Kurt Roper’s explosive spread offense has been anything but that this season.

All that really needs to be said is that Muschamp lost two games when his defense allowed less than 120 yards of offense.

Whether Muschamp ever really got out of his own way when it came to offensive play calling or not, the truth is that there was never continuity. Having three offensive coordinators in four years didn’t help, but there was no creativity or adequate development on that side of the ball.

While Muschamp signed some hefty defensive classes during his Florida tenure, he missed on a lot of offensive guys and never brought in the type of game-changers the Gators should be consistently reeling in with the school nestled in the middle of a recruiting hotbed.

For Florida not to sign more than one elite wide receiver or have any consistency at quarterback in four years is inexcusable.

During Muschamp’s 27-20 run at Florida, the Gators have yet to finish a season ranked higher than 103rd nationally in total offense. Currently, the Gators rank 88th nationally in total offense, averaging a paltry 373.3 yards per game. They are 63rd nationally in scoring offense, averaging 29.3 points per game. Both are highs during Muschamp’s tenure.

While Florida’s offense has been statistically better this season, the losses have shown just how inept this offense has been for the majority of the past four years.

In Florida’s four losses this season, the Gators have averaged just 266.8 yards and 20.2 points per game. Conservative play calling with a talent pool lacking substance has continually kept the Gators from advancing.

Clinging to embattled quarterback Jeff Driskel for too long is on the coaching. Driskel showed strides in practice and other coaches have said he has NFL talent, but it never translated to the field.

Even in a new spread offense that was supposed to suit Driskel’s skill set better, the junior looked lost and regressed this fall. Bad losses at home to LSU and Missouri were mired in awful offensive execution that goes back to the quarterback position.

The move to freshman Treon Harris was appropriate but might have come too late. That temporary spark faded Saturday when a limited playbook led to an overly conservative plan that contributed to the final backbreaking loss against South Carolina.

There were no mass injuries to lean on. Muschamp had time to find his quarterback. The excuses are gone, and change is coming.

- Edward Aschoff, ESPN

[Mojave Gator]

People liked Muschamp. They loved his fire. He was quirky.

That's nice and all, but at some point, people will look back at this as one of the worst, most destructive big hires in modern college football history. Charlie Weis might be off the hook. Twice.

What did Muschamp accomplish at Florida? Put it this way: Four years ago, Florida had all the momentum anyone could have had in college football. Tim Tebow. Urban Meyer. National championships. In that time, a dynasty is gone because of the Big Mistake, hiring Muschamp because he had been called the "head coach in waiting'' at Texas.

Still waiting.

It was an impulse hire, and Florida is now lost in the SEC. Its big budget isn't going to be enough to stop the momentum of Alabama, Auburn and now the Mississippis.

- Greg Couch, Bleacher Report



Will Muschamp is getting off easy.

Muschamp did terrible things to the Florida program. He’s destroyed Jeff Driskel — for the time being — and the Florida Gators will take years to rebuild. Some poor soul will have his hands full (of money and problems). And Muschamp will walk away with a library of photos depicting his sad face (pictured above).

But again, he’s the one that gets to walk away. He’ll take a shower — lather, rinse repeat. And it will be new chapter of his career. Florida’s got to live with what he’s done. They’ve got to clean up his mess.

- Henry McKenna, Sportsgrid


On November 16th the Gators in essence signed the equivalent of 10 five-stars when Jeremy Foley, albeit a year too late, dismissed Muschamp as the head football coach at the University of Florida.

No one in modern Florida football history has done as much damage to the Gators football brand as did Muschamp.

Not Charlie Pell's 0-10-1 record in 1979. Not Ron Zook's threatening of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity in 2004. Not even the 30-plus arrests during the Urban Meyer era.

Nothing has crippled the Gators quite like four years of Muschamp.

From diminished crowds in the Swamp, to reduced national exposure, to an apathetic fan base, to rivals and even lesser foes no longer respecting what the Orange & Blue was capable of doing, Florida was standing on the edge of a cliff, and verging on irrelevance for a prolonged period of time if Muschamp were to be retained for even one more season.

From the first losing season in 30 years, to losing for the first time ever to an FCS program to … well you know the drill. You name the low and the chances are Florida reached it over the last four years.

- Mark Wheeler, InsideTheGators.com