First of all, a word of caution.
You are entering a construction zone. Please wear a hard hat and protective goggles. You don’t want to get a reader’s comment in your eye or an unnamed source with knowledge of the situation landing upside your head.
This is a dangerous area we are heading into.
Look, is that (coach’s name here) walking into the Hunter’s Crossing Publix? My pastry chef told me that the wife of (coach’s name here) was looking at houses in Gainesville. Scott Stricklin had dinner with (coach’s name here) at Ballyhoo according to a source/saucier.
Aren’t coaching searches fun?
Stricklin, the UF athletic director, is going to do everything he can to keep this quiet until the big unveiling. Good luck with that unless you plan to communicate only through morse code and leave the agents out of it.
Things will get out and a lot of them will be fairy tales. But there will be morsels of truth that are mighty tasty.
Here’s what we know for sure — Florida will hire a coach and there is no frontrunner. When Stricklin said Sunday night he has “an idea” he was speaking more about who might be in the pool than who he will reach in to pull out.
Let’s hop in and stay in the shallow end for now. In alphabetical order while remembering Will Muschamp wasn’t on any early lists before he was hired at UF after the 2010 season:
Candidate Dino Babers
Fun factor: The Syracuse coach soared to national prominence when his team upset Clemson and took Miami to the wire. And offense (ranked 29th this season) is his specialty.
Party pooper: He’s 56 years old and hasn’t really been on the big stage as a head coach.
Candidate Jeff Brohm
Fun factor: Really good offensive coach who won 30 of 40 at Western Kentucky before getting Purdue job.
Party pooper: Purdue is 3-5 in his first foray into the Power Five and the offense is 82nd in the nation.
Candidate Neal Brown
Fun factor: The 37-year-old Troy coach recently beat LSU and has a working knowledge of the SEC. Plus, he’s one of the brightest coaches out there.
Party pooper: Does hiring the head coach from Troy really move the needle in Gainesville?
Candidate Matt Campbell
Fun factor: The guy has Iowa State — Iowa State! — in the Top 25 and has two huge upset wins already this season.
Party pooper: The buyout is more than $9 million and his recruiting wheelhouse is the Midwest.
Candidate Dave Clawson
Fun factor: He’s winning at Wake Forest, which might get him a statue. He also has won at Richmond and Bowling Green. And he’s a really good dude.
Party pooper: We can’t unsee his one year as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator.
Candidate Scott Frost
Fun factor: Frost took over an 0-12 team and had it undefeated two years later with an offense that leads the nation in scoring. Checks a lot of the personality boxes.
Party pooper: It’s a small sample size as a head coach and Nebraska, his alma mater, is likely to call.
Candidate Justin Fuente
Fun factor: Won big at Memphis after taking over a wreck of a program and is winning big at Virginia Tech.
Party pooper: His buyout is $6 million, $5 million after Dec. 15, and he’s already making SEC money ($3.2 a year).
Candidate Mike Gundy
Fun factor: Oklahoma State is third in the nation in passing offense and has an outside shot at the College Football Playoff. He has built a consistent winner.
Party pooper: The buyout is $13.8 million and Florida would have to waive its no-mullet rule (kidding).
Candidate Chip Kelly
Fun factor: Nobody has ever questioned his ability to coach offense and his Oregon teams were never boring to watch.
Party pooper: His NCAA show cause means Florida would have to convince the SEC’s commissioner that hiring him is a good idea. We won’t even get into the personality issues.
Candidate Lane Kiffin
Fun factor: You know what he did at Alabama and he’s killing it offensively at Florida Atlantic at 482.4 yards per game.
Party pooper: Come on.
Candidate Mike Leach
Fun factor: You want fun, the lover of pirates gives great news conferences and knows how to run an offense.
Party pooper: Florida is looking for a certain type of personality and while Leach has personality, a guy who once talked about his players and their “fat little girlfriends” is not a great fit.
Candidate Chad Morris
Fun factor: The SMU coach knows offense and his smashmouth spread has turned things around for the Mustangs.
Party pooper: His recruiting chops are in the state of Texas and he’s an A&M grad, which makes Kevin Sumlin nervous.
Candidate Dan Mullen
Fun factor: He knows Florida, knows how to develop quarterbacks and can take three-stars and make them play like five-stars.
Party pooper: Mullen’s bedside manner is not the best and Stricklin has an intimate knowledge of how difficult he can be to work with. His cause wasn’t helped when his wife, Megan, said publicly this summer that she was afraid to go grocery shopping in Gainesville if the Gators didn’t score in the 40s.
Candidate Mike Norvell
Fun factor: Has won 15 games in two years at Memphis and his offense is ranked 11th in the nation.
Party pooper: He’s another hot coach at a Group of Five school who hasn’t done it under the brightest spotlights.
Candidate Gary Patterson
Fun factor: The TCU coach is one of the best in the country and has turned the Horned Frogs into a contender. Plus, Steve Spurrier likes him.
Party pooper: There is no indication he wants to leave and he has a hefty buyout of $7.1 million.
Candidate Mark Stoops
Fun factor: He’s made Kentucky into a bowl team by building up the recruiting base. Hey, Bob Stoops isn’t getting back into coaching, but at least he’d come to some of the games.
Party pooper: Receivers left uncovered against Florida. Twice. That’s all you need to know.
Candidate Charlie Strong
Fun factor: Strong knows the culture, would fit right in and recruit the heck out of the state of Florida
Party pooper: His time at Texas is a big red flag whether it is fair or not.
Candidate Willie Taggart
Fun factor: A great offensive mind, the Oregon coach pulled USF out of a tailspin and he’s from Florida so he knows how to recruit here.
Party pooper: Taggart’s overall record as a head coach is 45-49.
Contact Pat Dooley at 352-374-5053 or at pat.dooley@gvillesun.com. And follow at Twitter.com/Pat_Dooley.
Where is Les Miles’ name? I know the reasons many may not like him, but he is a lot more viable than several on this list. Only 2 or 3 on this list do much for me–Fuente, Mullin, and Frost–in that order. Frost has nice potential, but has only been HC for 20 games, and at a group of 5 school with little competition at that.
I think anyone top level will have a large buyout. I know I am not writing the check, but this is big boy football and I think we have to decide do we pick an up-and-comer and hope he works out, or write the big check and get a proven winner? After 3 of 4 coaching fails, I think the answer is obvious. We can no longer just say, well this is Florida you should be willing to work here for free…Just the fanbase alone is probably gonna cost us $2M a year.
The reason Les Miles was run out of Baton Rouge, besides not being able to beat Alabama, was his inability to develop a consistent offense. Not exactly the type of coach we’re looking for. Been there done that.
Les Miles is stuck in the last century. You think Chump was a bad offensive coach, Miles makes him look good.
Les Miles is 3-6 vs Saban, thats pretty successful considering Saban might go down as the best coach of all time. 75% win percentage at LSU. 2 National championship games 1 title, consistent top 10 recruiting classes. Look at NFL rosters and see what type of talent he had at LSU. This guy is elite. Nobody on this list comes close. They are all experiments.
You think Saban is running some gimmick offense at Bama? Thats a straight forward approach difference being execution and talent. I have no problem running a pro style offense and playing D.
Florida doesn’t need any experiments. We need a proven winner in the SEC and thats Les Miles.
Keep in mind on any big buy outs that UF is still paying Muschamp his buyout and will have to begin paying Mac’s his as well, whatever that amount is finally determined to be. Paying another school big money to let us hire their coach and then later paying that same coach a lot of money to leave so that UF can turn around and pay another school to let us have their coach so that we can also pay him the big bucks is not a sustainable business plan. I think they teach that at the UF Business school! Little wonder why UF has fallen behind our SEC counterparts in terms of facilities. Hopefully we will begin making smart and insightful decisions on this.
Go Gators!!
He maybe only to make offense go backwards. If Strick hires him he would be fired the next Day. I like Frost and Babers and I don’t think his age should be a factor, IN my lifetime we only had one coach last a decade,
Of that list only Frost is a reasonable choice. Some have already indicated they are not interested, many already have jobs similar to ours, and many also don’t have the proper experience.
He’d be my THIRD choice. Why? Age. We need a coach who will retire right here. Frost is a decade too young and will leave for the NFL sooner than SOS did once he experiences success at this level. Kelly remains the obvious choice. His NCAA infraction was minor, has expired, and there’s no way the SEC will close the door on the prospect of having Saban-Kelly shootouts decide the conference championship.
NOBODY WILL CARE ABOUT PERSONALITY WHEN HE STARTS WINNING. For that reason, Mullen should be the second choice.
REMEMBER: Nobody gives fits to Nick Saban like Chip Kelly gives fits to Nick Saban. ONLY Chip Kelly has made Saban hysterical about a competing offense. Saban wanted to outlaw it when it seemed inevitable Bama would face Oregon in a major bowl. Saban knows the limitations of his own system better than anyone but CHIP KELLY.
Except for Urban Meyer, that is.
Unfortunately for us, Urban ran of like the beta wolf he was when Saban solved him. It’s been almost a decade since Urban Meyer registered anywhere on Nick Saban’s threat meter.
We should be going after Bob Stoops harder than anyone. And I can’t think of a logical reason why we shouldn’t consider Les Miles. Though my gut says no. How about this name: Larry Fedora. Yes UNC has just 1 win this season, but Fedora went 11-3 a couple of years ago and if not for a blatantly false “offsides” call on and onside kick, he may have beaten Clemson in the ACC Championship Game. Fedora’s offense scored 37 and threw for 400+ yards in the Doak erector set vs FSU last season.
As offensive coordinate for the Gators in 2004, Florida averaged 32 points per game. Chris Leak threw for over 3,100 yards and 29 TD’s. Ciatrick Fason rushed for over 1,200 yards. As HC, Fedora also led Southern Miss to an 11-3 record and conference championship before leaving for UNC. If we strike out on some big name guys, I’d rather take Fedora than some up-and-comer who is just starting out and succeeding at low pressure small school.
Excellent play caller too. When he was here with Zook you really couldn’t figure out what he was gonna call. Mixed it up good, especially that last game at the the then new Bobby Bowden Field.
Nick J, as a Gator alum and North Carolina resident, I think this suggestion has a lot of merit!! Thanks.
I like many of those candidates, but I would also like to see Dana Holgorsen on this list also..
I don’t understand why his name hardly shows up on these lists. I’m with you. Possibly the best option out there in terms of a dynamic, successful offensive coach. I heard he can be prickly, but wasn’t the Old Ball Coach the definition of prickly?
I read that Fuente’s buyout is 15 million. 6 million is nothing. We basically paid 5 million for Mac and we were also paying Muschamp. If Fuente’s buyout is truly 6 million, go after him, and go hard!
Les is too old.
After reviewing all the pros and cons, the two coaches that seem to jump off the page as the best candidates are Frost from UCF and Norvell from Memphis. But I sure wish Stricklin could talk Bob Stoops into coming out of retirement and coach the Gators.
“Big Game Bob” was not so named for his ability to win said big games, except for one in his (I think) second year at Choklahoma.
Pass…
Would you people please gelt over Bob Stoops. He quit coaching for a reason. OK fans were not happy, he could not win the big one. The Big 12 stinks, if you can not win that conference how are you going to win the SEC?
Between 2000 and 2008 Stoops took OU to three National Championship Games and won one. For a while Spurrier “couldn’t win the big one” either. Stoops deserves a ton of credit for our 1996 National Championship season — he inhereted a defense that gave up 62 points to Nebraska in what was, at the time, the biggest game in the history of Florida football. Stoops turned that unit into the SEC’s best defense for three straight years.
Pat: Don’t forget the likely best tracking tool is Airport flight schedules for Strickland and staff. When Strickland starts flying around, then he’s getting serious.
He doesn’t have to fly to Orlando to visit Frost.
Reading all the posts from our passionate fan base, it is easy to see how much the fans differ in their opinions and how difficult an assignment Stricklin has taken on. My optimism comes from the fact that I can not believe that Stricklin would have started the ball rolling if he wasn’t confident he could bring in a good hire. I am content to let Stricklin make all of the decisions and support his choice.
Pat, you say you don’t enjoy the coach change drama, but I’m not believing you.
If Auburn want’s to fire Gus Malzahn we should get him because with this state’s talent and his great Offence mind..UP UP UP
I can’t believe Kiffin was mentioned as a candidate. If that jack@ss is hired there is no way I would continue to support Gator Football…that man is a walking circus.
Al Davis might have been crazy as cat shit. But he nailed it with Little Lainie Kiffin. The guy is lying, filthy weasel. If it weren’t for his hot wife lap dancing at his interviews, he wouldn’t get a job washing jocks.
Garbage
Does anyone know about Mike Mularkey. Played TE at UF and did some coaching?
Also, let’s not forget that some coaches will throw their own hat in the ring and we have no idea who that might be.
News flash!!! Chip Kelly’s agent is in Gainesville tonight!
Sorry Richard….that was Gainesville, Texas.
i would include gene chizik, uf grad that did win a national championship a few years ago. good recruiter. he may need some offensive help. now hes not necessarily my 1st choice, but I think he deserves mention and I would welcome him if chosen and if he felt like fooling with the earful coming if the team doesn’t put up 40 points a game. also, its big money, but gruden is also a theoretical possibility.
Seriously? The Barn bought Scam for a year, won the natty, and sucked thereafter until Malzahn.
Pass…
Sometimes you need to watch out for what you wish for on here. Coach Spurrier said you could win 10 games a year for 10 start years and Gator fans would not be happy and Dan Mullins wife said she didnt want to go grocery shopping in Gainesville if Florida didnt score 40 points in a game. Sounds like fans need to take some responsibility for the down turn in the coaching search. Arms chairs don’t score points either.
Frost, Taggart, then Norvell. Bobby Stoops can now be grouped with Gruden. Not coming….
Frost, young up and coming coach. Brillant offensive mind.
Perfect fit for the job for so many obvious reasons.
If UK can hire Calipari who cheated at UMASS and Memphis, not sure why we can’t take Chip Kelly, seems to have worked out ok for them. Also, why would we want the student (Frost) when you can have the teacher?
How about Josh McDaniels? Knows offense, coach QB, young, NFL HC experience, knows how to build winning culture and assess talent
Big 12 is better than sec top to bottom. Much better! I’d like bob stoops. If we can’t get a big name it would be better to bring back spurrier for a few years. Kids would probably want to play for a legend and it could boost recruiting. If a coach is hired that doesn’t generate excitement the football program is dead. Simply stated- it’s over. Uf is Arkansas or a place like that.
Kids playing today were just beginning to walk when SOS left his glory days at UF, so they have no recollection. I wish he was interim OC now instead of the moron Nuttsmeier, but he isn’t the answer at HC.
You know the truth, Jacob? There is so much parity these days all over the scene that I doubt any one conference is any better than any other top to bottom. Speaking for Power-5, that is. We love the SEC, that’s both emotional and logical since we all grew up in it.
Chip Kelly, Frost, Taggart… in that order…Kelly is the safest bet being that he DOMINATED college football at Oregon for 5 yrs…
Chip Kelly is also 1 phone call from an NFL team away from leaving. Guy has no desire to coach in college anymore and wants to coach in the NFL so bad he even said he’d take a coordinator job. People need to just remove his name from their minds all together. No shot in hell that guy’s coming back to college. They need to go after a coach that will be here for the long run.
I hope he isn’t holding his breath while waiting for the call from the NFL. After his stints with the Niners and Iggles, Kaepernick might have a better chance of getting that call.
Yeah, I don’t know why anyone would think and NFL team would want him. So considering the NFL is a long shot for him, perhaps he would like to come to a top tier college program in one of the premier conferences? I don’t know. Maybe he doesn’t want to coach at all, but the idea that he belongs in the NFL when he was not successful there doesn’t make sense.
You’re absolutely right, Eric. Albert has made the mistake of thinking the NFL wants him. It does not. They saw him immediately abandon his own system when he got to the Eagles, then sell out further in SF. The owners are done with him. Note, he is not working the NFL side of the building at ESPN. Big clue. He WANTS to coach college ball again. That is his brand and his future.
Please god, let’s brake the mold,
Names such as wuerffel (OC) emmitt smith (rb coach) Bates (lb/secondary coach) tebow (any coaching responsibility) doering (Wr coach) kerwin bell (hbc) whatever…. the idea is that we have great talent with former players and these players have deep ties to the nfl… we need gator blood with strong ties to Florida, as an hbc. We need a hbc who loves Florida as much as our fan base… we don’t need another coach who is this up and comer. Gators do it for the love of Florida. This formula works for long term coaches at Florida. The best coach that’s came here post spurrier was Meyer and he couldn’t handle it. The new hbc needs to love Florida. Recruit our former dynasty players for the love of God.
I love your spirit. go gators. But thank GOD you are not the AD!
LOL. Yeah, glad he’s not the AD!
if randy shannon wins out, is he on the list?
No.
Florida has hired two former Bama coordinators who have not panned-out as HC at UF (though one is doing pretty good at South Carolina NOW). My initial thought was we need another offensive genius like the Old Ball Coach (sorry for quoting Bobby Bowden, but he was definitely right about the genius part). Kiffin comes to mind, but his propensity to jump ship at the perceived next best opportunity makes him a liability. Rather than try on yet another golden ring from a foreign land (i.e. another non-SEC program), why not consider former UF coaches Mullen and/or (I wish both) Strong? Mullen definitely has a mind for offense – remember his OC days under Urban Meyer (national title, anyone?). Charlie Strong was one of the two best defensive coordinators ever at UF (the other being former Oklahoma HC Stoops). If we land Mullen, we must ensure that our defense is in the best hands (this could still be Randy Shannon). If we land Strong, we will have a strong (no pun intended) defense, but will need to fix the now 10 plus year problem of our struggling (to say it nicely) offense. I would rather see Coach Shannon be our HC (as my 3rd choice) over any of the other “foreign” coaches, but he would need to make a major fix at OC, unless our former HC has kept our OC from designing, developing and calling our plays on offense. It’s true that the Gators have had more than their fair share of bad luck with suspensions and injuries, and yes this has adversely affected performance. In the end, though, it is the coaching. Whatever we do, let’s find the best solution for the Gator football team. Our fans are behind our team and our coaches, as well as our AD. “Let’s get’r done, Gators!”.
Mike Mullen is my pick. To boot, he is a former Gator player and NFL Player, OC under Urban Meyer and now a HC for the Tennessee Titans. Look what Supurrier did at Florida: a former player as head coach. Its also working for Georgia: a former player as head coach. In these scenarios, they bring the added punch for playing for the school theyve been asked to lead as the head coach. Its a winning formula.
You mean Mike Mularky? When was he ever an OC under Meyer? He has very little college coaching experience, having coached in the NFL for years. His NFL head coaching (the only thing to go on) is a losing record.
Please do NOT even speak of Lame Kiffen as a possibility of being the next head coach for the Florida Gators. Anyone who is a true Gator fan would remember when he accused the Gators of cheating when it came to recruiting while he was at Tennessee. Of course is was all fabricated by that idiot. Stay away from Lame Kiffen, he’s a head case and true Gator fans hate him.
As the character played by George C. Scott said of Paul Newman’s character, Fast Eddy Phelps, in the classic movie, “The Hustler”, when he played against Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason)……”I’ll put my money on the Fat Man, that other guy is a born loser: All skill and no character”. Pretty much sums Kiffen up, don’t it just?
Lane Kiffen is a troll who accused Florida of cheating while recruiting back when he was at Tennessee. True Gator Fans will never forget. Just say NO to Lame Kiffen!
One name that comes to mind and clearly underrated Coach Chris Peterson
He’s definitely NOT underrated. He would presumably be at or near the top of any list. While you do have to wonder if he could recruit in the South, his buyout is shockingly low ($1.5M) so he’s worth a check. Problem is he’s at a big program with excellent facilities already, and they are paying him $4.9M per year on a 7-year deal that was inked this Spring. That’s BIG money.
Bob Stoops is a dream. He couldn’t win the big game and he got out of coaching mostly because of fans like us wanting a championship every year. Gruden is happy in the booth and was fired at Tampa because he stopped winning. I think our best bet is a coach who knows offense, knows how to game manage, and is proven at the level he is coaching at right now. Les Miles was run out of LSU twice (the debacle of the school talking to another coach the year before Miles was fired). Yes he won, but Muschamp went 11-1 his second year and Mac won two SEC East titles. Frost, Strong, and Norville look like the best candidates from this list. They all won big at their previous college levels.
1. Frost – The right offense for Florida talent and he understands that (think he would pick Gators over Nebraska for that reason). Would kill it in recruiting.
2. Kelly – More of a proven commodity with an offense that has produced at the highest level. Big name that would also attract recruits and excite the fan base.
3. Norvell – Spread coach but is good at adapting the offense to his players. The best QB coach out of the three with the profile to recruit well. Also, apparently the nicest guy, a trait that will go far after the show that just left town.
Good list. The problem with Frost and Norvell is that they will bolt for the NFL in 5-7 years if they taste success in Gainesville. This would likely be Kelly’s last stop in much the same way Bama was Saban’s. Winning will make socially smooth southerners forget his edgy, New Hampshire personality.
NO Les Miles or Bob Stoops but gonna waste our time with Lane Kiffin and Jeff Brohm…CMOOOON MAN
Gary Patterson will be the next HBC. Ask the Ambassador, it’s his first choice.
Now that would be stunning, Hank. And very nice. Doubt he’ll come, though.
Good Choice Check out the Horned Frogs rises since he’s been there. It’s also been against a lot Bigger schools in the Conference.
Who says Bob Stoops is done coaching? He has had a year to enjoy “spending more time with his family”. So he’s probably ready to coach shuffle board on a cruise ship just to get out of the house. Unlike Kozo the Clown, he was successful and fondly remembered as Spurrier’s DC. He has big program coaching chops. He has a National Championship on his resume (and his team played for 2 others). He’s not an old man. He was always on JF’s wish list (even when he hired Urb). Beyond that, my second choice is Charlie Strong. Another successful former DC. He did really good work at Louisville. Texas maybe just the wrong fit. He knows how to recruit this State. Another former coach could be Steve Addazio. Unlike Larry Fedora, he doesn’t have the stink of that academic scandal at UNC.
Mark, Charlie Strong was more than just the wrong fit at Texas. First of all, the big $ boosters didn’t want him to begin with, second, he showed up with a white wife and despite the fact that Austin is the San Francisco of Texas, that set a whole lot of people off who you’d ordinarily think better of. Thirdly, he cleaned house, which needed doing for a long time. That didn’t cost him his job of and by itself, but it did translate to W-L record for a few years too long.
Give me a break. There is one reason Strong failed at Texas- he had a losing record. If he would have won, they would have loved him, white wife or not. But he didn’t win. He lost. He lost bad.
How About Jim Tressel?
No to Tressel. He has a bad past with the NCAA. Don’t need to travel down the probation road again
Les Miles is def not the answer. There’s a reason some is going after after him. He can recruit but is more stubborn and predictable than Muschamp. All I am is a New Orleans tow truck driver, but I can tell you people down here hated Miles even after a national championship.
My vote is for Frost or Mullen!
Better to take two guys that have never won a championship or dont recruit as well.
If LSU fans hated Miles just wait till that Bobby Bushay dude coaches there a couple years. They lost to Troy???
What offense does Saban run? A pro Style. And let me tell you its pretty predictable only thing is they execute and have better talent.
At year’s end Scott Frost will have been the head coach for 24 games. 24 games as a head coach, and you think this guy can be the man? Do not compare him to Urban. Urb had two very successful stops at Bowling Green and Utah. Not 24 games and we had over the keys. Not buying it. 24 games? we can do better. WE NEED A PROVEN HEAD COACH! Lets not make the same mistake for the 4th time, like the greatest AD (JF) of all time did.
Hank every coach has to start somewhere. You say do not compare him to Urban? How can you not make comparisons? Meyer had a 17-6 record and only 23 games coached at Bowling Green before he took over Utah and made them an instant 10 win team. Frost has 2 years of HC experience just like Meyer did and is 13-7 right now. Seems like a pretty even comparison. Coaches like Meyer and Saban and all the other greats had to start somewhere before they became great. That doesn’t mean Frost can’t follow the same path. Should the Gators wait till he proves himself to be a great coach and is winning championships at another power 5 school and same damn we should’ve grabbed him when we had a chance? Your argument makes no sense. Spurrier coached at Duke and was far from a proven commodity. That seemed to work out just fine.
I said greatest AD of all time I met MOST OVER RATED AD of all time, and that would be Jeremy Foley. He is the sole reason Gator football is in the mess we are in. Coaching carousel, (ran Spur out of town, Zook, Muschamp, McElwain) below par facilities, all goes back to Jeremy Foley.
Jeremy Foley worked his way up from the ticket office. No real experience. Spurrier was going to coach Fl regardless of Foley and Meyer came because of the President not Foley. I give him credit for Donovan. But Zook, Muschamp and Mac were his experiments. Adminstration’s fault for having him.
The athletic department is not just football. We had consistent success in several sports while he was here (plus 2 basketball and 3 football championships). Saying he’s overrated is laughable.
REMEMBER: Nobody gives fits to Nick Saban like CHIP KELLY gives fits to Nick Saban. ONLY Chip Kelly has made Saban hysterical about a competing offense. Saban wanted to outlaw it when it seemed inevitable Bama would face Oregon in a major bowl. Saban knows the limitations of his own system better than anyone but CHIP KELLY.
NOBODY WILL CARE ABOUT PERSONALITY WHEN HE STARTS WINNING. For that reason, Mullen should be the second choice. And Frost would be my THIRD. Why? Age. We need a coach who will retire right here. Frost is a decade too young and will leave for the NFL sooner than SOS did once he experiences success at this level. Kelly remains the obvious choice. His NCAA infraction was minor, has expired, and there’s no way the SEC will close the door on the prospect of having Saban-Kelly shootouts decide the conference championship.
CHIP KELLY is a great coach who has a Charley Pell problem. Oregon was put on NCAA sanctions as a result of some of the things Kelly did. Weve been down that road before in the mid 1980s. Dont want to travel down that road again. Other coaches available.
Not the same thing. Kelly’s show cause was a borderline case. They hired an out of state consultant that did sketchy things. Kelly was scarcely implicated. The worst thing that came out about Kelly is that he prefers to outsource recruiting, which is not a particularly good thing. That said, it ain’t paying players. If they want Kelly, his Show Cause will be ignored. Nothing else he did during his years there smells of misconduct at all.
This thread is what Stricklin and Dooley were talking about. Who is paying for the beer and snacks.
I LIKE THE SPURRIER MODEL
Meaning, I want a head coach who has worn the Orange and Blue, and played, sweated and bleed on Florida Field. I want our next head coach to show passion, not because a player made a mistake but he is upset that his “team” isnt playing well. I want a head coach who cares more about his team because its his school’s team, rather than just looking at it as a job. The University of Florida has plenty of former players who are in the coaching profession. Time for us to bring one home. Why not HC Mike Malarkey at Tennessee Titans or Kerwin Bell, HC for Valdosta State University. And certainly there is a bevy of former players who are assistant coaches around the country or retired NFL players – Emmitt Smith, Dwayne Dixion , James Bates, etc… who could fill in the needed player positions on the new coach’s staff.
Florida needs to hire a coach that has experience going up against big name teams. No offense to memphis but they don’t play Georgia every year, or LSU, or FSU, or Tennessee, or even Alabama. We need a coach that has heart and can get fired up. That’s what Florida lacks is passion. Sure the talent is there, but the players and coaches hardly ever seemed pumped up for a game. When Tim Tebow was at UF he pushed everyone and we dominated. Now the team isn’t pushed. However we also need a coach that can go big. I suggest Les Miles because he has SEC experience, however most likely he won’t come to Gainesville. I also read somewhere that John Gruden (who is the only coach to ever lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a super bowl win) was considering about going to Tennessee if Butch Jones is fired at the end of the year. Why not have him come to Gainesville? There are many options that Florida can lay out on the table but they need to pick a guy that can go big or go home.
The best current Gator Coach is Brian Schottenheimer in Indy.
I’m for Mullen. Proven coach. Proven great offensive schemer. Proven developer of talent. Knows how demanding the fan base is. Knows how bright the light on him will be. Let’s quit gambling on these supposed up and comers. We need experienced and proven leadership after the last two hoodlums stole our souls.
None of the coaches on this list excite me. We need someone else. Someone better.
All you Gator’s that are touting Dan Mullen just remember back when Gator fan’s booed him a lot when he was the Off Cord here. By all mean’s Bull Gator’s get Chip Kelly if we can, and if not get Scoot Frost, and if not get Brian Schottenheimer, and if not, ?????????????
Given that UF will be paying three head football coaches when we hire whomever we hire this time around, money is going to play an even bigger role in AD Strickland’s decision making than it might otherwise. Several of the people on Pat’s list are just going to be too expensive I fear. Patterson’s $7.1 million buyout will rule him out I think, even if he were interested in the job. Justin Fuente at $5 mil, Mike Gundy at $13.8 mil and Matt Campbell at $9 mil are, unfortunately, all likely no goes too. Dan Mullen has never had a buyout clause in any of his MSU contracts, but he does have a high salary. With no buyout, he would probably be affordable though, if Stricklin wants to work with him again. Obviously, Chip Kelly has no buyout. His NCAA show cause, which has now expired, is less off- putting to me than Pat I think. He was gigged by the NCAA for paying street agents who are only allowed to provide scouting info to schools and not the inside information about a recruit’s school likes and dislikes, his parents’ likes and dislikes etc. And they aren’t supposed to steer the recruit. Willie Lyles did all these forbidden things, but the reality is lots of schools used him and Baron Flournoy to do this before the NCAA made an example out of Oregon for doing it. The list of players that Lyles steered to various schools includes most of the SEC west and at least a dozen other schools that have never been penalized for doing exactly the same thing Oregon was doing. So I would be OK with Kelly. My only concern with him would be his dislike for schmoozing boosters. He hates it, and that is part of a head coach’s job. Frost and Norvell have buyouts, but they are not prohibitive, $3 mil and $1.5 mil respectively. If we can’t get Kelly, I would like to get either of them.
Nobody’s mentioning the second Golden Boy after Steve Spurrier, Kerwin Bell, won Florida’s Two ‘Original’ SEC Titles before stripped because of NCAA infractions. He built Ocala Trinity Catholic into a football powerhouse, turned John Brantley III into a Gatorade Parade All American Player Of The Year, made Jacksonville University Dolphins into a winning non-scholarship football program whose offense was always ranked in the top 25 of FCS (coached in same conference where John Harbaugh coached the Univ of San Diego Toreros). He was born in Florida, played for Univ of Florida, knows Florida better than any other coach Mr. Stricklin is interviewing. He’s been a winner on every level of football coached. All he need is a chance to prove himself on the big stage. If he can sustain a winning program with non-scholarship players usually the 4th, 5th string players along with the water boys and team managers, just think what he can do with 5 star, 4 star even 3 star athletes, it would be amazing.
Who ever we get,he must be a hellof a recruiter,thats what we need,any one with coaching ex can call the plays,remember THE PLAYER runs with the ball,think about that for a while