Well thought I would start this topic separate from the Georgia - Florida topic. I was a big supporter of Mac and didn't want to see him fired. However there were apparently a lot of things going on behind the scenes that we didn't know about. I agree with Corey's comment about if we keep firing coaches every 2-4 years we will remain a not factor. I don't agree that we cannot quickly get competitive again with Georgia, Alabama or anyone else. Keeping in mind that I was supportive of Mac and very distressed when he was fired I also think its time for us to move on. Here is an article that appeared in a Colorado newspaper that isn't complimentary to Mac. I really don't know what to think of it but thought some of you might want to read it. Also more Gator fans that I know want Scott Frost. I am not sure what our chances are with Nebraska being close to looking for a new coach. Also Tennessee. http://www.coloradoan.com/story/sports/csu/football/2017/10/30/lyell-few-saw-jim-mcelwains-other-side-csu/814529001/
Bill, After reading the for mentioned article, I am inclined to think Florida is better off without his services. I hope Florida is successful in hiring a top notch coach. Don
Well that article doesn't paint an esp flattering picture. So the way things were maybe it was time to move on with him. As far as Scott Frost goes, I do wonder if offered both the Neb and the Fla jobs will he go home to Lincoln to revive the Neb program. It wasn't that long ago that it seemed like it was a slam dunk. But if UF is offering, they have a better recruiting base which of course we all know is the life blood of a program. It'll be interesting that's for sure. The Fla job is one of the plum jobs out there, but sometimes it's not always easy to fill it with the Home run hire. Texas found that out when they settled for Charlie Strong and then got what they thought and still think is a home run hire in Tom Herman which of course is still to be determined. It will definitely be interesting, but the real drama won't start till the season is over, the month of Dec will be rift with rumors of who the Gators are after. They likely won't actually talk directly to a coach, they'll talk with agents and maybe even hire an exec search firm which a lot of teams do now days. They do this because those exec recruiters will do all the work vetting the candidated. If you remember the Irish did not do that and when they made what they thought was a good hire in O'Leary it blew up in their faces when his academic discrepancies were outed after the hire.
Sure Will Grier had his incident with PED supplements.... knowingly or not... and he paid a severe punishment for it. McElwain's ego however could not let him reassure Grier that UF had a place for him so he left McElwain without a star at Qb.... and a big void there instead. That ego was very detrimental to the team this season.
This is kind of drifting from Bills point ..but players, college and Pros all know the risk of taking supplements that are not approved. Yet every year NFL players who really should know better get caught, they all feign innocence and all that...but they are all told all the time by their staffs not to take supplements that are not on the list of approved by the NFL. Yet they do. I don't know that the NCAA has a list, but I'll bet if players go to their Training staff and discuss what they want to do with regards to supplements that staff will give them the correct answers and keep them out of trouble. Why kids go outside the system to get supplements is beyond me. So I have little sympathy for players doing that, it's well known in the Sports world and yet they do it anyway. You know that they do it because somebody told them that this supplement really works and it's safe, OK so take that supplement to your training staff before you take it. I'm guessing they don't because they are afraid the trainers will tell them no and they are convinced 1) that it will help them and 2)that somebody told them that it was either safe or it can't be detected.
Back to Bill's topic. Names that are being bandied about that make sense to me... 1. Scott Frost 2. Dan Mullin 3. Justin Fuente ...I really like what he's done and doing. 4. Mack Campbell ...doing an excellent job at Iowa State I've seen Dino Babers at Syracuse...but is that win over Clemson enough to catapult him to the UF job...I don't think so. Willie Taggert...he's just in his 1st year at Oregon, would he really dump on them and what's his buyout? I saw D.J. Durkin name mentioned...but while he's done a good job so far at Maryland and seems to have them getting better...but I think he needs to show a lot more before he moves to an elite Power 5 job. He does have a history with UF though.
Pretty good list Terry. A lot of Gator fans don't like Mullin and quite a few do like Taggert. There is a rumor that we have reached out to Taggert. Grier, several things. First to get a one year suspension pretty well speaks to the seriousness of the charges. It was appealed and rejected. Second my memory of things on GatorCountry at the time is that once he was suspended he separated himself from the team and wasn't around to cheer them on. Also his father was very involved and some thought with Grier taking the supplement. But the biggest thing I remember at the time is that his father demanded that Mac commit to Grier getting the starting job back in midseason when he returned. No coach could make that guarantee. So the article was from Grier's point of view and you will never get Mac's side of the story. Like with Mac, it's water under the bridge and the Gators need to move on.
Probably... they are a little lacking in the smarts department. However, we are paying them with the money coming from Lame Kitten and USC. :lol:
In actuality, I would like for Fulmer to come back to UT on the condition that Tee Martin become the OC and head coach in waiting. He still needs to learn a few things before he is head coach material. When Tee is ready, Fulmer could step aside and take a position similar to that of Spurrier at Florida and Tee could take over. This is a realistic wish list unlike the normal Gruden pipe dreams. Tennessee is so far down right now that a top name would be stupid to take the position. Also, it is time we pay back USC... They took our idiot so we should take their valuable coach.
DJ Durkin would be an excellent back up option for Florida if the Gators cannot reel in one of their top choices. He has done a nice job recruiting and rebuilding a depleted program at Maryland and his team this year started off quite well until injuries decimated them. Their 4th string QB is now their starting QB.
What no Lame Kitten? Tom, who are the Vols looking at, my understanding is that Butch is dead man walking.
Big rumor going around in Gator circles right now is Chip Kelly. If so we could name him right away and hopefully save our recruiting class.