Zook...

[ibis]

I liked Ron Zook...the verb nestled in the past tense as he's officially out as coach of the Gators even though he finishes the season at Ben Hill Griffen Stadium at Florida Field...what happened to him happens to everyone who coaches college football...you put your career,your livlihood,your reputation in the hands of 18 to 22 olds...caught in a classic 'sandwich' game,the Gators rolled into Starkville and got smacked in the mouth by MSU...did his kids quit on Zook?...I think so...too many of the kids at these big time football schools are there only to play football and their agendas don't match up to the coaching staff and school administration....so,what happens now...Jeremy Foley,the Gators AD is a smart guy,he'll get somebdy good and the Gators will be just fine...in the meantime,we get to see Zook swinging in the wind thru the end of November...

 

[Gatorgirl]

I liked Ron Zook...the verb nestled in the past tense as he's officially out as coach of the Gators even though he finishes the season at Ben Hill Griffen Stadium at Florida Field...what happened to him happens to everyone who coaches college football...you put your career,your livlihood,your reputation in the hands of 18 to 22 olds...caught in a classic 'sandwich' game,the Gators rolled into Starkville and got smacked in the mouth by MSU...did his kids quit on Zook?...I think so...too many of the kids at these big time football schools are there only to play football and their agendas don't match up to the coaching staff and school administration....so,what happens now...Jeremy Foley,the Gators AD is a smart guy,he'll get somebdy good and the Gators will be just fine...in the meantime,we get to see Zook swinging in the wind thru the end of November...

Zook is a class act. He loved the guys he brought in, and they loved him. I just don't think Zook had control over these guys to begin with, so I can't really say the kids quit on him. He was a players coach...more friend than leader, and I feel like that can be detrimental to a team sometimes. These kids need to be more disciplined on and off the field, and with the new hire, I feel like we're going to see that.

 

[ibis]

Zook is a class act. He loved the guys he brought in, and they loved him. I just don't think Zook had control over these guys to begin with, so I can't really say the kids quit on him. He was a players coach...more friend than leader, and I feel like that can be detrimental to a team sometimes. These kids need to be more disciplined on and off the field, and with the new hire, I feel like we're going to see that.

...the new hire just might be the old hire...

 

[LaTunaNostra]

Zook is a class act. He loved the guys he brought in, and they loved him. I just don't think Zook had control over these guys to begin with, so I can't really say the kids quit on him. He was a players coach...more friend than leader, and I feel like that can be detrimental to a team sometimes. These kids need to be more disciplined on and off the field, and with the new hire, I feel like we're going to see that.

GG, I just don't get the rationale behind firing a coach now, and not hiring an interim coach while a search for a longer term successor is carried out. Terrible position to put anyone in. Zook's not just a lame duck, but a dead one.

Was it recruiting concerns, trying to shake some other coach loose...why couldn't the announcment, if not the decision wiat til ater Thanksgiving?

 

[LaTunaNostra]

...the new hire just might be the old hire...

Not if some of those kids recruited by the new/old hire have anything to say about it..something that will be listened to..

Which they won't, of course

 

[ibis]

GG, I just don't get the rationale behind firing a coach now, and not hiring an interim coach while a search for a longer term successor is carried out. Terrible position to put anyone in. Zook's not just a lame duck, but a dead one.

Was it recruiting concerns, trying to shake some other coach loose...why couldn't the announcment, if not the decision wiat til ater Thanksgiving?

...the AD Foley who I like,should not have made Zook a lame duck...since he's still around,Zook is doing his radio show where the mouthbreathers...hey,I'm Bubba from Bradenton are calling in and telling him why he had to go...BRUTAL...

 

[Hostile]

He sealed his fate by acting like a thug towards a fraternity that had a run in with some of his players.

Mature adult role models don't go stand in front of a fraternity house and call them out to defend some player's honor because they lost a fight.

99.9% of the Head Coaches in America would be asking their players why they were there, not going to try and play West Side Story Gator style.

 

[Midswat]

He sealed his fate by acting like a thug towards a fraternity that had a run in with some of his players.

Mature adult role models don't go stand in front of a fraternity house and call them out to defend some player's honor because they lost a fight.

99.9% of the Head Coaches in America would be asking their players why they were there, not going to try and play West Side Story Gator style.

Woah . . . whats the story that I missed?

A gator got beat up and then Zook tried to fight someone?

 

[ibis]

He sealed his fate by acting like a thug towards a fraternity that had a run in with some of his players.

Mature adult role models don't go stand in front of a fraternity house and call them out to defend some player's honor because they lost a fight.

99.9% of the Head Coaches in America would be asking their players why they were there, not going to try and play West Side Story Gator style.

..ahhh,the sanctity of fraternity row..with the amount of pressure on him,I'm surprised he didn't level the House with semtex hisfate was sealed because he wasn't Heisman 66...the thing with Bullgators in this State is that they don;t like being second,let alone third fiddle,to anyone...

 

[Gatorgirl]

GG, I just don't get the rationale behind firing a coach now, and not hiring an interim coach while a search for a longer term successor is carried out. Terrible position to put anyone in. Zook's not just a lame duck, but a dead one.

Was it recruiting concerns, trying to shake some other coach loose...why couldn't the announcment, if not the decision wiat til ater Thanksgiving?

LTN, I think the quick hire of Zook by Foley should never have happened. I like Zook, but did not think he was ready to step in as head coach at a program like Florida. Had Foley taken his time, I think we would never be in the position we are in now (firing a coach midseason). Is recruiting concerns why Foley fired him midseason? Possibly. That is why the search after Spurrier was so quick. Spurrier left the cupboard empty. Now, with that being said, Zook is TOPS IN THE COUNTRY as far as recruiting goes, and has recruited us MEGA-TALENT! We are stacked now. I don't really see any reason why we couldn't have waited.

We just need a coach that can get them disciplined on and off the field and bring home the championships. Our defense has been leaky like a sieve for the past two seasons. Kinda hurts when someone says our team is going to the Kaopectate Bowl this year...because that'll "stop the runs!" We just need a coach to take us to the level we were at and beyond.

I know a lot of the Spurrier recruits don't want the Ol' Ball Coach back...my theory on this is that they didn't like that he was tough on them. They can't possibly like losing like we have been this year. They are seniors this year, so even if he was hired back, they wouldn't have to be coached by him.

 

[ibis]

LTN, I think the quick hire of Zook by Foley should never have happened. I like Zook, but did not think he was ready to step in as head coach at a program like Florida. Had Foley taken his time, I think we would never be in the position we are in now (firing a coach midseason). Is recruiting concerns why Foley fired him midseason? Possibly. That is why the search after Spurrier was so quick. Spurrier left the cupboard empty. Now, with that being said, Zook is TOPS IN THE COUNTRY as far as recruiting goes, and has recruited us MEGA-TALENT! We are stacked now. I don't really see any reason why we couldn't have waited.

We just need a coach that can get them disciplined on and off the field and bring home the championships. Our defense has been leaky like a sieve for the past two seasons. Kinda hurts when someone says our team is going to the Kaopectate Bowl this year...because that'll "stop the runs!" We just need a coach to take us to the level we were at and beyond.

I know a lot of the Spurrier recruits don't want the Ol' Ball Coach back...my theory on this is that they didn't like that he was tough on them. They can't possibly like losing like we have been this year. They are seniors this year, so even if he was hired back, they wouldn't have to be coached by him. I don't care who Coaches at Florida...they will get great recruits...there is just so much talent in the State that Florida being Florida will always get its share...there is one caveat to that...the amount of scholorships that are available at any given time...this year Miami has only 15 to give...last year 23...

 

[LaTunaNostra]

Interesting stuff, ibis, Gator Girl, and TH.

I wonder where Zook will coach next.

 

[Hostile]

Woah . . . whats the story that I missed?

A gator got beat up and then Zook tried to fight someone?

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/61-10132004-382208.html

 

[Gatorgirl]

Interesting stuff, ibis, Gator Girl, and TH.

I wonder where Zook will coach next.

Thanks. If he doesn't end up as head coach for a school that really, really needs a new coach in a major way, then he will definitely be a coordinator for a big program or NFL team. In other words, he'll land on his feet!

 

[ibis]

Thanks. If he doesn't end up as head coach for a school that really, really needs a new coach in a major way, then he will definitely be a coordinator for a big program or NFL team. In other words, he'll land on his feet!

..but alas...he will never stand,at the end of the game,in Ben Hill Griffen Stadium... (ole Ben made his onions in orange groves...if I can mix a metaphor) and sing..."The boys of old Florida"...whenever I'm up in the Swamp.I get up and hummm along...