Foley/Machen, I hope you're reading this.

Ditch Willy and his 8 year old boy haircut and tantrums. Florida regressed from a team featuring an unqualified and overworked interim coach and a sleepwalking coach who was counting his days until he was able to get out.

Go get Art Briles. NOW. You missed the boat on Sumlin. That's fine. Briles is right there. RG3 is going pro. The thought of rebuilding from the ground up with foolish fans might sway him.

Now, the easy path on this would be to suggest that Baylor is a decent gig - low expectations. Nonsense. This was their high water mark but you can rest assured, in 4-5 years when he's unable to duplicate that success because he's at BAYLOR and there are no RG3s just falling out of the sky every year, the fans will not care; they'll see 7-6 and wonder why he's "lost it"

If you're going to deal with foolish, unreasonable fans, might as well do it at a school that thinks 9-4 is a down year. That offense with Florida athletes would be a thing of beauty.

Now, his coaching history suggest he is, as Tim Riggins would say, 'Texas 4 ever" but with news of Mack Brown in line for an extension until 2017 and Sumlin getting the A&M gig, well, elite Texas options are off the table.

This guy returned Houston from the ash heap of history. He moved to Baylor and did the same. To say the man can coach is a gross understatement.

Now, having worked at Texas Tech under Mike Leach, he knows full well about meddlers, so that would be a deterrent.

However, with back to back shitty years, the "Urban Meyer shadow" really isn't a factor now.

I realize Briles isn't a spring chicken, but his experience has experience. And he apparently loves a challenge. At this point, what better challenge than restoring Florida to greatness with the SEC having expanded.

Also, we hear about Muschamp's inroads to Texas recruiting. Nonsense. he was there 3 years. There is no rapport. Briles has been there his entire life. THAT is inroads.

Get Briles.

Get him now !!!!!

I am thoroughly convinced they think us idiots.

I am thoroughly convinced that "Thud" is an idiot.

I am going to dissect some recent statements that are disturbing. Nobody expects Wm to have the deftness of a Belichick at this point. However, he's been around enough great minds to know how to keep his mouth shut.

I also will dissect the statement of a guy who has to pretend to be a sycophant, but first, WM >

There are a lot of reports circulating out there about who is going to be Florida's new strength and conditioning coordinator and who might be the Gators' new offensive coordinator.

But the reality is Will Muschamp isn't ready to fill either of the two vacancies on his coaching staff. That was the news from the UF head coach after the Gators' first Gator Bowl practice Tuesday.

“I haven't hired anybody,” he said. “I've talked to a lot of people at the strength position and the offensive coordinator's position. When I make the hire everybody will know. But no one has been hired, no one has been offered a job yet. So, that's it.”

Yeah, take your time Will. Leave the current roster (which has already been decimated by transfers) hanging. Also, leave recruits hanging.

There have been Internet and Twitter reports that Jeff Dillman, who works at IMG Performance Institute in Bradenton, is going to be the new strength coach. He previously worked at LSU and Appalachian State.

But Muschamp said Tuesday he's still going through the process of identifying and interviewing prospects for both the strength coach and offensive coordinator positions.

“I still have people I want to talk to,” Muschamp said. “I've talked to probably six, seven, eight people so far. Again some people over Christmas. Some people this week I plan on talking to. Then after the bowl game.

So, you don't know how many people you've talked to ? It's not like you said "we." You said you are the one who has talked to people. Why don't you know how many you've talked to ? Will, you might not think it's a big deal, but as the man who is supposedly running the ship, you should know how many people you've talked to. And, if you don't, say several. This just keeps getting worse every day.

“I've never put a timetable on it because it's the right fit for Florida, it's going to be the best decision for Florida. It's an important hire, both of them are. I've talked to multiple people on both situations.”

Yeah, we heard you say that last year. Right when you also admitted to not being strong on offense and wanting to hire someone strong. Then you meddled and drove him away. Here we are a year later and you're spouting the same thing. Maybe Foley should revisit this and take his time making the right hire for the head job.

Muschamp declined to mention names of potential candidates for both openings.

“No. We're not going to have a public search,” he said. “I've talked to people and their privacy is important to me, too.”

Yeah, is it ever. Like declaring the interim is auditioning for the job ? Everyone knows that's the case but to actually say it in print....

One of the most obvious, and visible, candidates for the offensive coordinator's job is running backs coach Brian White, whom Muschamp named the interim offensive coordinator for the bowl game.

Muschamp praised the work White has done with the offense preparing for the Gator Bowl game against Ohio State.

“I don't know that I've learned anything. I know he's a good football coach,” Muschamp said. “It's reassured my confidence in him as a football coach. He's done a nice job preparing our football team. It's all about situational football and being prepared for those situations when they occur in the game.

Yeah, we know you haven't learned anything Will. As for being prepared, yeah, the hallmark of your tenure thus far is adaptation.

“As a play caller, you've got a knack for that. He did a great job for Barry Alvarez for, I believe, nine years and won a lot of football games. When you've sat in that role it's different than being in a role where you've never been in that situation at a big program, in the light, in the Rose Bowl. And Brian has done that. That's exciting to me.”

You BELIEVE ? Will, would it kill you to do some research before you open your cobbler gobbler please ? Also, he did a great job for Alvarez ? You mean he was a yes man who believed in three yards and a cloud of dust ? So excited for the direction the Mighty Gators are headed in !!!

Muschamp reiterated that the offense has not changed under White — and it will not change whoever he names as the offensive coordinator after the bowl game.

“We're going to remain what we do,” he said. “I like what we're doing offensively. We've just got to be more productive. That's simple. I like what we're doing.”
“There's not going to be a whole lot of change of what we do. Brian's and Charlie (Weis') philosophies are both the same. More than anything, it's my philosophy. It's what I want to be on offense, and that's where we're headed.”

That says it all, doesn't it ? So basically, the next OC has to run an offense not how he believes it should be run, but it must meet the criteria of a DEFENSIVE coordinator. This just keep getting better and better I tell you.

Muschamp said White's experience as a play caller weighed heavily in his decision to turn the offense over to White for the bowl game.

“No question,” Muschamp said. “Everyone has great ideas until they've sat in that chair.

Kinda like hiring an "up and coming" coaching prospect because he managed to miraculously coerce the best athletes in the country to play like.....the best athletes in the country ?

Then they understand the difference. They see the big picture, they understand all the things that go with running an offense or running a defense. No question his experience was very critical in our growth as an offense as we move forward.”

Yeah, sure Will. You mean like last year how you said you were deferring to an expert on O, now you believe you are one ?

Now, we have Pat Dooley. It's pretty obvious what his REAL thoughts are, but he has to placate the loyalists. I will argue against the "myself" entries.>

It shouldn’t be a debate.

But it is.

It wasn’t even being discussed in the Florida coaching offices during the holidays or on the bus ride over to Jacksonville.

“I’m just trying to win this game,” Will Muschamp said. “I don’t want to be 6-7.”
But in the Gator Nation, it was being discussed. And I can see both sides of the argument.

So … discuss.

Me: There is no way I let John Brantley play this game. What’s the point? We’ve seen what he can do. This was a lost season. 7-6 or 6-7, it will go down as the worst season of Gator football since 0-10-1. I’d let the two freshmen play quarterback. Maybe give them each a half.

Myself: Really? What a great message to send to your seniors. You ask for total commitment and then kick a guy to the curb before his last game of his career? Who are you, Todd Graham? Show a little loyalty to a guy who has been a Gator for life. Let him go out with some dignity.

You mean the seniors who are going through the motions, displaying full blown complacency and a sense of entitlement ? Who cares if you alienate them. Perhaps if the benching had come earlier, it would have lit a fire under them that seniors are subject to benching if they don't shape up.

Oh, and let him go out with dignity ?  He was given this whole season under Weis, having been given the benefit of the doubt that last year was a scheme issue. When it was apparent that the problem was between the center and the rb, he still remained the QB when healthy. He got his job back and in his last meaningful game as a Gator against their arch rivals, he unleashed his greatest bed shitting to date. The dignity ship has already sailed. Now you're simply advocating allowing him a chance to use a bit of Pepto in the hopes of removing the aftertaste of the vomit he choked on.

Me: Dignity? Behind that offensive line? He’s going to be chucking and ducking all game just like he did all season. I appreciate what Brantley did but he was 14-9 as a starter and six of those wins came against teams that were paid to be practice fodder. He’s under-.500 against real teams. He’s had his chance.

Myself: Look, he still gives Florida the best chance to win this game. He knows the offense and he’s a senior. He’s been through the battles and you know he’ll be fired up to finish with a flurry. He’s as healthy as he’s been since before the severe ankle sprain. I think he has one more big game in him. Don’t forget, this is a team that gave up 40 points to Michigan in its last outing.

Actually, he does not. He has nerves of egg white. He's playing against Meyer's new team. We've seen what happens to him when the pressure is on. The roster is stacked with read option guys. The best chance to win is Driskel running a read option as a one game stopgap.

As for being fired up to finish with a flurry, yeah we saw what happened against FSU in his last meaningful game against his arch rival. Supposing your theory is true, we want to see the ball handed to someone who can only get motivated after they outright shit the bed ?

Me: Yeah, against a mobile quarterback. If you base it on that one game, Florida should let Jeff Driskel have this game. Besides, this game isn’t about the 2011 season. It’s about 2012. It’s time for this program to move forward and out of the stench that was last season. This isn’t the last game of 2011. It’s the first game of 2012.

Myself: I might buy that if we knew who Florida’s offensive coordinator was going to be for next season.

I might peruse the catalog  if I thought the HC had a damn clue about what to do.

Me: Well, you’ve heard Muschamp. He wants to have some consistency. He doesn’t want to get away from what they’ve been running this year. So whoever it is will be running a lot of what they will be running in this game.

Myself: So what about the other seniors? You want to bench them as well? That will send a great message to recruits. Come to Florida where we use you up and toss you aside. I mean, have you ever heard of the concept of winning the last game for the seniors?

You know what else sends a great message to recruits ? No matter how unproductive and ineffective upperclassmen are, you aren't playing. Who cares if they practice well and play shitty, you sit. And if  there's a legacy player in front of you? Well, you might as well not even bother committing. Save yourself the transfer. Because if you do transfer and go elsewhere and succeed  at a high level, they'll call you stupid and accuse you of academic wrong doings while sheltering those who remain. They'll give you hell about owning a stolen laptop while covering for other real law breakers. They'll send you to the salt mines because your father told an outpost they'd have to cough up some cash for his church to get you to consider playing for a hole in the world instead of a national power. They'll do this, as their former QB and All Apple Pie Guy's family did the same thing, having managed to circumvent NCAA rules and obtain funding for their missions.

Yes, come to Florida, where the lazy and spoiled will play no matter what. Where DNA is the only true merit.

Me: Great, go win it for them. But if you want to bench them all it’s fine with me. Except Jaye Howard. Florida is too thin at defensive tackle.

Myself: Nice. So the one body you need will be allowed to play.

Wait, I thought the idea was to win ? What are those banners for ? Hey, let's commission a banner for JB. You are indecisive, and completely lacking awareness. You can't get out of the way of a helium balloon.  You are responsible for most of the things that went wrong with your tenure. Have a banner for enduring your own problems.

Me: OK, that came out wrong. Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey were a big part of two teams that went 26-2 and won a national title. They’ve earned the right to go out on their terms. This debate was supposed to be about the quarterback.

Myself: Yes and what did you see out of either of the freshmen when they got their chances during the regular season that would make you think they can handle this assignment? Don’t forget, their offensive coordinator is in Kansas.

Actually, as it turns out, the offensive coordinator is still in Gainesville. He's looking for a lapdog to assign the title to so when the heat comes, there'll be someone to take the blame. What did I see from the freshmen ? Nothing, really. But I did see the same thing people talked about last year with JB being in the read option. What we do know is you have a read option qb on a roster still stacked with read option players. Oh, I don't know, maybe try to win the game with what you have ?

Me: I’m not saying that Brantley isn’t the best option to try to win the game. I’m just wondering if it’s the best way to get started on next season.

Myself: This isn’t about next season. Next season starts Jan. 3. Do you really want to see this team go out with a losing record?

Actually, yes, if it serves a greater purpose. A win with JB further deludes the masses because it will just bring forth a bunch of "what if" nonsense. Or, are you under the impression that winning an exhibition game against an out of conference team somehow overshadows losses to FSU, SC and UGA, nevermind LSU Bama and Auburn ? This is Florida. 6-6 overall, 3-5 conference record  finishing 7th overall and 3rd in the weaker of two divisions, ONE game better than Vandy IS a losing season.

Me: I’m just not so sure it can win with its senior quarterback. And because I’m not sure, I’d just as soon watch the other guys play and give them experience.

Myself: We’ll just have to agree to disagree. By the way, you have chicken wing sauce on your shirt.

Give him a chance. That's what we hear. Give him a chance.

From him we hear "it's Florida, we'll be fine"

Some benefit of the doubt was given first to Brantley, then to WM. Why ? Personnel. You know, a roster full of read option guys trying to play "pro style."

We heard about Weis' so called stubbornness with regards to play calling.

I call bullsh*t. It's all on WM. We heard about tension with him and Weis. We heard about him meddling. We've seen, since Weis left, him reiterate his "preference" which is loosely translated to an unwavering desire to be a boring Saban clone.

Here's the kicker - while the Wet Tissue, Daddy's Boy Brantley, was injured, what happened ? Nothing. Nothing at all. Driskel was injured at one point but then was demoted.

Brisset showed more poise, but here's my issue and it's the crux of the matter with Muschamp - he had a roster full of read option personnel and he had a read option QB sitting on the bench. Why the F*CK didn't he use him ? Are you f'ing kidding me ? Maybe Driskel sh*ts the bed even running the read option. However, what we know is he showed a lack of poise running a "pro style" offense just like JB did running a read option.

What ever happened to going to battle with what you have ? He had an OC with multiple SB rings, one of the most decorated minds in the history of the sport, who made a name for himself by using a philosophy of planning game to game, rather than using one system and sticking to it. Yet, the wonderful mind of Florida's head coach, instead of tweaking the style to accommodate what he had on hand, insisted on forging ahead.

Adazzio took a lot of heat for doing the same thing but there's one key difference - Adazzio didn't actually didn't have the proper personnel to really fall back on, hence the Reed/Burton makeshift plan. Muschamp DID have the players in reserve. Yeah, JD was a true freshman, but the beauty of the read option is the running component simplifies it enough so that a true can come in and not be subject to as much of the usual "nerves" symptoms that a tosser is subject to.

So, yeah, it's all on WM. I want him gone yesterday. I don't care about being patient - Florida is not the place for OJT; get the OJT at FIU or FAU or some other kiss your sister program.Remember when VP Biden said about Obama that the Presidency isn't something that lends itself to on the job training ? People kind of forgot about that since BO named him his running mate. Same idea applies here.

The powerhouses are for powerhouse coaches, not some first time head coach whose only real accomplishments have been crafting top flight defenses with the best defensive players in the country. So basically, because he didn't shit the bed we're supposed to believe he's a brilliant mind ? Gary Patterson is a brilliant mind. Sorry, I just can't help but think of Chris Rock's "low expectation" skit.

Praising Will Muschamp for creating productive defenses with 4 and 5 star athletes is like hailing Greg Knapp as a good OC  because he scored points with Andre Johnson, Matt Schaub, Ben Tate and Arian Foster. You're not a good mind at all; you simply have to NOT f*ck it all up and you'll be good simply by happenstance.

When you stop and think about it, there's really only one way to see it - WM is more interested in doing it "his way" than winning games and/or developing players.  He had the means to adjust, but didn't. So in other words, he'd rather do it his way and lose, than adjust and deviate and possibly win.

John Elway and John Fox caught major shit from people on here  for SAYING Tebow needs to change, while actually using a playbook tailored to his skills and yet, I still see a lot of silence in calling for WM's head for doing the very thing people feared Fox and Elway TALKED about doing, all because it's his first year.

Let me just clarify a few things right away.

People think I am against Brantley from a hatred perspective. Not at all. Brantley seems like a nice kid whose timing in life was horrible, through no fault of his own.

When I say he doesn't have "it" that's not a slight to him; it's not his fault. A person can't make "it" as you either have "it" or you don't. If someone is not born with it, it's not their fault.

Seems to me Brantley tried to carve out his own niche but then was made to go to Florida and coaches were made to accept him, because of who his family is and what the power brokers want.

With regards to 2010, for sure it was part Adazzio but it was part Meyer and Brantley as well; Brantley in so far as he made terrible decisions. Again, not really his fault; he didn't give himself the recruiting ratings, and he certainly didn't create his own hype. He was a 4-5 star producer in a 2 star league with 2 star talent. Again, not his fault.

Now, this year, I blame the coaches. You know I think they should have been playing the kids to gear for the future. Whatever, it is what it is. However, vs Georgia, Brantley got a raw deal. The gimp QB was a sitting duck for the rushers to just pin their ears back and go mad dog. I don't even blame the line - one tackle had a cast on his hand and the gameplan forced them to do the impossible - slow a rush with ZERO amount of unpredictability.

Call this a short leash, but I want this regime gone. I tried to be excited, but it's a disaster. Why they are playing the guys who are leaving is beyond me. Loyalty ? "Experience?"

It sure as hell doesn't seem like they are playing the best. Of course, perhaps the youngsters are just plain awful.

I am thoroughly disgusted. This is WORSE than Zook. Worse than Adazzio. Think about that.

Those of you who remember, remember me clamoring for Kevin Sumlin. That still stands. Larry Fedora even, but preferably Sumlin. I know some might be inclined to tether Fedora to Zook but Fedora was good in spite of Zook. Sumlin, while coaching in CUSA, has a great resume. Of course, there may be other factors at play, some of which may have been at play with regards to Charlie Strong.

Regardless, while it may seem unreasonable to think it's hasty to be down on this current regime, can anyone say with any certainty that this team is improved from the Phantom Meyer and Sieve Adopeyo era ?

This is my take on how the Florida Gators arrived at their current state of affairs. Yes, they have just come off an impressive run, but it’s not without serious questions. Now, it seems the Gremlins are creeping out of the woodwork.

I have some theories on the goings on, and they pertain to a series of events that have transpired over the better part of the past 10 years.

First, I will start with a listing of relevant events. After I list the events, I will connect the dots with opinion and conjecture based on interpretation and extrapolation. That, and knowing a thing or two about how “spin” works.

These are the facts, in chronological order.

These are FACTS and they are INDISPUTABLE. I’ll connect the dots later but, for now, I’ve condensed them here. Reviewing these things that happened over the years paints a pretty clear picture of things and shows the ugly and cutthroat side of what some people still delude themselves into thinking is an amateur “sport” instead of a professional BUSINESS.

• Bernie Machen, having left his post at Utah, begins tenure as president in January 2004
• Ron Zook fired at end of 2004 regular season.
• Steve Spurrier removes his name from consideration
• Urban Meyer leaves post at Utah in 2004 and chooses the Florida job over his dream job.
• Notre Dame hires Charlie Weis as their plan B; Urban Meyer is at Florida now.
• Cam Newton, who is bigger, faster and with better mechanics than Tebow, commits to Florida in Sept 2006
• John Brantley, whose skills are the opposite of what is needed to run the spread and who’d been proactive in his commitment to Texas, decommits in December 2006 then commits to Florida, where his family played. Brantley also, it is said, mentioned not wanting to be away from his girlfriend was a factor.
• Cam Newton wins the primary backup job for 2007, seeing limited action while Tebow was in the midst of his Heisman campaign, but flashed a lot of potential.
• Florida signs no QB in 2008.
• Cam Newton and John Brantley, according to statements from the team, supposedly were fighting for the backup job in Urban Meyer and Dan Mullen’s SPREAD offense with Brantley supposedly winning the #2.
• September, 2008, Meyer’s book “Urban’s Way” comes out and it mentions the three teams his wife has no Veto power over – Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State.
• Cam Newton, supposedly #3 on the depth chart, is the first off the bench and injures ankle in opening game then is redshirted for the season. John Brantley now has no competition.
• Wednesday, December 10 2008, after having just won the SEC championship and en route to a BCS title game, Meyer declares again that Notre Dame is still his dream job.
• Wednesday, December 10 2008, Dan Mullen announced as new HC of MSU, leaving the Florida job, with formal announcement to happen December 11, 2008.
• January 5, 2009, Cam Newton announces his departure from Florida.
• January 8, 2009, Gators Win BCS title game over Oklahoma.
• January 11, 2009, Tebow announces his plan to return for his senior season.
• Florida recruits athletic QB Jordan Reed in 2009.
• August 2009, Meyer offered a 6 year contract extension.
• In 2009, Meyer looks unhealthy, extremely thin and almost zombie-like.
• Nov 23, 2009, with rumors of Charlie Weis’ imminent departure at Notre Dame, Meyer goes out of his way to declare “I’m going to be the coach at Florida as long as they’ll have me. So I want to make that clear”
• December 10, 2009, Notre Dame announces Brian Kelly is the new head coach.
• December 26, 2009, Meyer announces resignation.
• December 27, 2009, Meyer decides not to resign.
• Florida recruits and signs athletic QB Trey Burton in 2010.
• Florida recruits and signs athletic QB Tyler Murphy in 2010.
• Meyer and his staff continue in their trend of recruiting “spread players”
• January 8, 2010, George Edwards announced as DC
• Feb 4, 2010, less than 24 hours after national signing day, Edwards announces he is leaving to be the DC for the Buffalo Bills.
• February 28, 2010, it is revealed that Meyer has not yet signed the extension he was offered in August 2009
• March 24, 2010, Urban Meyer has a dust up with Jeremy Fowler for printing a quote of Deonte Thompson calling John Brantley a “real quarterback” when compared to Tim Tebow. It is believed this outburst shows Urban Meyer has regained his passion.
• Jeremy Fowler, shortly thereafter, receives a nice promotion.
• June 30, 2010 it is reported again that Meyer STILL has not signed the extension. It is also reported that extension was first proposed late in 2008. Late in 2008 was around the same time he reiterated that Notre Dame was still his dream, job. It is also remembered that Billy Donovan, coach of the basketball team, had coached without signing extensions with UF. Billy Donovan also had an interesting flip-flop a few years prior.
• December 8, 2010, Meyer resigns again.
• Dan Mullen, who recruited a lot of those players and did an impressive job at MSU is still at MSU.
• Bob Stoops apparently turned down overtures for a third time.
• December 11, 2011, Will Muschamp named coach of Gators.
• January 2, 2011 it is announced that Charlie Weis will be the Gators’ new offensive coordinator, making this the second school Weis was brought to after Meyer rejected it.
• January 2011, Meyer joins ESPN’s team, allowing him to be available for any openings that may come about.
• May 30, 2011, Jim Tressel resigns from OSU.
• June 23, 2011, it is announced that Meyer will team with former Ohio State player Chris Spielman and be part of the Big Ten team.

In my view, it’s pretty obvious what happened. Florida was reeling in 2004. Their legendary coach, Steve Spurrier, up and left suddenly after the 2001 season. Having missed the main hiring window, Florida scrambled and hired Ron Zook.

Zook was extremely unpopular. Why ? Oh, his incompetence as a coach spoke for itself. He inherited a national powerhouse of a program and his high water mark was an 8-5 record, first place tie in his division and an Outback Bowl loss. Obviously, after almost 3 years of this he was turfed.

However, he was disliked the moment his hiring was announced and websites went up demanding his firing within 24 hours of his hiring. Here is a guy who had been Spurrier’s defensive coordinator and then was demoted to special teams. Read that again. He was demoted to special teams. Demoted. That means he was told he was having duties removed. Rather than tell them to go to hell and look for defensive coordinator job at another school, he accepted it. Sure, towel boy at Florida probably pays better than some coaching positions around the nation, but it spoke volumes about him. Needless to say, when it was announced he was the new head coach at Florida, there was a collective “WTF?” amongst fans.

Anyhow, 2004 rolls around. Rumors of Spurrier’s return surfaced. It was said he should interview. Some fans did not like that idea. They felt he should be handed the job and that Jeremy Foley, Florida’s Athletic Director, was being petty. The way I saw it was, Spurrier bailed on them, leaving them in a bind. He said he was burnt out at the time. He already was known as a guy who wasn’t too serious about coaching, relying on Florida’s natural talent and preferring to spend his time golfing. His way worked early in the SEC when he could simply “out talent” everyone; by the end of his stint, the league had caught up. He went to the NFL and realized he couldn’t get away with that.

So, Florida’s position opened. The AD wanted the man who never was a committed coach to interview. Fans thought this was ridiculous. I liken it to the following; your wife/girlfriend leaves you. Says she’s burnt out, needs a change. You both date someone else. You are single, she finds out you’re looking and wants to come back. Are you just going to take her back because she’s available ? I would hope there’d be some serious discussions as to her commitment. That might seem like a crazy comparison but Spurrier is a Florida graduate, a legendary player turned legendary coach. He WAS Florida. So when Mr Florida walks away from his school, you’d damn well better quiz him if he wants to return. Anyhow, rumor has it Spurrier was pissed and took his name out of the hat then went to a rival school.

Another coach explored was Bob Stoops, of Oklahoma. Stoops was the DC for Spurrier when Florida won the national title in 1996. He made his name at Florida. He was an obvious choice. He turned them down in 2002. Turned them down in 2004 and apparently turned them down again in 2010. Weird. Yes, Oklahoma has Texas to dip into for talent, but Florida has a backyard full of talent. He had a chance to go to one of the marquee schools in THE marquee conference with the most TV exposure and the richest talent pool in the country. Why on earth would he turn that down, especially after over 10 years at one school ? Perhaps there’s something at Florida, something he saw firsthand when he was an assistant, that has made him decide tornado land it way better than Florida. I’ll get to that.

So it’s 2004. Florida hires Bernie Machen as president, away from Utah. As the 2004 season comes to a close, Machen’s old school is making noise. Utah, this small program, is killing everything. It’s led by this young coach named Urban Meyer, a catholic guy in Mormon land, who is running some new fangled offense he calls the Spread Option. He didn’t actually create it, but he tweaked it and made it his foundation. Eventually Utah goes undefeated and gets a BCS bowl berth. Meyer is the hottest name in the coaching ranks since….well, I honestly can’t remember a coach being so in demand.

During Meyer’s ascension, it is learned that Notre Dame is his dream job. THE job for him. He’s a Midwestern guy. He has ties to Notre Dame. Notre Dame is just putting the finishing touches on a disaster of a season and release their coach. So, Urban Meyer is headed to his ultimate dream job at Notre Dame right ?

Wrong. Florida swoops in and magically secures Meyer’s services. How ? Well, for one, Florida’s new president Bernie Machen is the guy who hired Meyer at Utah. Florida obviously needed a huge splash after the Zook disaster and this time they needed someone with head coaching experience on the way up.

It’s still a mystery how they managed to coax him into choosing Florida over Notre Dame but there are a few obvious reasons. One of the reasons Meyer would later cite as a reason for retiring was missing his kids growing up. Well, coaching at Notre Dame, with no local talent pool AND strict academics, Meyer would have to spend pretty much all year on the road recruiting. At Florida, he can just hop in a car most of the time. So, coming to Florida means he could stay around his kids more.

So, if Meyer was to take his offense to Florida and run it with that talent base, big things would happen. Florida HAD to make a bang. And they did. In 6 years, Florida won two BCS titles. They are the only school to win 2. Meyer is one of two coaches to win two. Nick Saban is the other but he did it at two different schools.

However, one of the ugly pock marks on Meyer’s tenure is Florida’s arrest record. Over 30 arrests in 5 years. To me it’s not THAT big of a deal. The overwhelming majority of it is college kids being kids – beer in public, that kind of thing. Not to mention, a person has to think about where they are. Regions are different. States are different. Cities are different. Hell, counties are different. What I am saying is, do you think the police in Alucha County Gainesville, which is northern Florida, polices the same way as the police in, say Dade county Miami, which is on the southernmost tip of the US, would ? Do you think the police in Gainesville face the same challenges as those in Miami ? Do you think the police in Miami worry about the same things they do in northern Florida ? Of course not. To say that would suggest that the police in Kansas face the same challenges as those in LA, Phoenix etc. The majority of trouble in Gainesville is bored college kids trying to make excitement; in Miami there is actual gang violence, drug trafficking rings etc. There’s a reason Scarface made a point of emphasizing where and what Miami is. So, no, I do not worry about Florida’s arrest record because the police there target the things most other cities can’t be bothered with. However, make no mistake, I truly believe Meyer was given a “no matter what” mandate to win.

Now, I don’t believe Meyer ever really wanted to go to Florida. Meyer being a staunch catholic, he was as out of place in Florida as he was in Utah. But, Florida was an opportunity for him.

It is obvious Florida was never going to be a long term destination for him, that it was only a mutual agreement of “I’ll stay long enough to win and cement my name, and you’ll get a lot of money out of it” once he found out how things really work at Florida.

I believe he was slowly stripped of his power by the power brokers aka the boosters. Meyer needs a certain type of quarterback to run his offense. He recruited Cam Newton in 2006. Newton was bigger, faster and more fundamentally sound than Tim Tebow. By every indication, he was the future of football. The future that a Mike Vick or Vince Young never became. Then, out of nowhere at the last minute they secured a commitment from another highly rated QB named John Brantley. Brantley decomitted from Texas. Brantley is the son of John Brantley, nephew of Scott Brantley. The Brantley family is a Florida legacy. People were excited and a lot overlooked the obvious but some of us caught it and wondered – “wait a second. Brantley went out of his way to choose Texas because he is a pocket passer and wanted to start. He chose Texas because Meyer runs an offense that is the complete opposite of his skill set. Is Florida wasting a scholarship on this kid ? He’s a 5 star recruit so surely he doesn’t expect to sit on the bench and just be a backup. But Florida runs the spread and has Newton. Why is the 5 star recruit choosing to go to a school he’ll never play at ? Just because that’s where his family went?”

Right there is where it should have been obvious; Meyer didn’t recruit Brantley. Meyer was made to take Brantley. So in 2007 Cam Newton is the backup. He saw some time, but Meyer left Tebow to win the Heisman and to run his offense how it should be run. However, Newton saw some action and showed us glimpses of what to expect, so much so that some of us were left to say “we don’t really want Tebow to leave but damn this Newton kid will be better than Tebow”

Then, mysteriously, in 2008, Newton and Brantley are somehow tied for the #2 job, when Newton “hurts his ankle” allowing Brantley to ascend to #2. In spite of Tebow suffering injuries from being left in too long during the 2007 season, Meyer still rarely pulls Tebow from games already in hand, not allowing Brantley much time.

During the run to the BCS title game in 2008, after having just won the SEC title, at almost the exact same time the following two announcements came within HOURS of each other:
1. Offensive Coordinator Dan Mullen is going to be the next head coach as Mississippi State.
2. Urban Meyer says Notre Dame is still his dream job.

Um, what ? During a title run ? Meyer is a calculating man; there was clearly a motive behind that. So, with Meyer seemingly letting people know he’s already thinking about leaving, why wouldn’t Mullen stick around to assume control of the team he helped build ? Meh, probably a coincidence.

January 5 Cam Newton announces he is leaving Florida. January 8 Florida wins BCS title vs Oklahoma. January 11 Tim Tebow announces he is returning to try for a repeat.

So now we’re into 2009. Florida hasn’t recruited a QB suited to Meyer’s talents. They sign one in 2009. One. The primary backup is now Brantley, a guy whose skill set is the complete opposite of the system in place.

During the course of the year, Florida’s offense struggles. It is believed they are playing to not lose, rather than playing to win. During the year, Meyer withers away, and looks….ill.

On Boxing Day 2009 Meyer announces his resignation. The next day he announces he’s changed his mind and will take a leave of absence. Meyer hires an NFL guy as a DC, closes out the recruiting class, which is heavy on defensive players, the DC then leaves to go to the NFL, then Meyer vanishes, avoiding most of his public appearances and media obligations, the very things that are part of his salary.

What makes it fishy is Notre Dame had just fired Charlie Weis and hired Brian Kelly. Meyer missed his dream job because he was coaching elsewhere.

In the spring of 2010 Jeremy Fowler, the local beat guy, publishes a story where underachieving Deonte Thompson more or less blames Meyer’s offense, plus Tebow’s style, for his inability to live up to his ratings by stating that John Brantley is a “real quarterback.” Urban Meyer flips out at Fowler for this. Fans who’d worried that Meyer lost his fire are relieved. Shortly thereafter Jeremy Fowler is promoted to the NFL beat. The whole thing seemed like a WWE style work, where everyone wins – Brantley gets some props form the player, the underachieving player gets an excuse, Meyer gets to look committed to Florida, and Fowler, long considered a sycophant, now gets to appear as a hard hitting objective sports writer.
It is discovered in June 2010 that Meyer has not signed the extension proposed in 2008, and announced in 2009. Florida management tries to dismiss this as common. Myself, I found it more proof that he didn’t want to be there.

At the end of the 2010 season, Meyer resigns again for good and later joins ESPN. The Big Ten is home to Ohio State. Meyer was born in Ohio. He earned his undergrad degree at Cincinnati. He earned his graduate degree at Ohio State. He got his coaching start at Ohio State. Urban Meyer IS Ohio State. In May, legendary coach Jim Tressel is canned from Ohio State due to scandal. His replacement, Luke Fickell, is announced as INTERIM coach. We then find out Meyer is part of ESPN’s Big Ten team. Oh and by the way, Ohio State is one of the teams Meyer told everyone his wife has no veto power over should he be in line for the job. So, now Meyer is merely sitting in a tv studio, not tied to a team coaching, available at any time, should Ohio State, one of his dream schools his wife has no veto power over, being coached by an INTERIM coach, decide that he is just an interim coach and be in need of a permanent coach for 2012.

The closer you look at the chain of events, the more obvious it is.

Where am I going with all of this ? Well, I am torn on whether or not Meyer ever really wanted Florida, but the one thing I am certain of is that he got tired of Florida’s power mongers very quickly. Remember, John Brantley’s family are boosters but he does not fit Meyer’s scheme. Pretty obvious Meyer was made to take him. Then Newton, who was born to play Meyer’s offense, mysteriously regresses and Brantley catches up to him on the depth chart ? Newton eventually left the school of course. During his amazing run at Auburn, some reasons were tossed around, such as he didn’t want to wait behind Tebow. Problem is, he announced his departure before Tebow announced his return (and of course he didn’t just decide all in one second he was leaving; it must have been a long time coming). Now, you can say it was known Tebow was coming back inside Gators headquarters. Ok, so it must have been known Meyer was thinking about leaving right? Mullen would have known this ? Why didn’t Mullen stick around to take Meyer’s position ? Could it be that he was going to have to work with a QB that doesn’t fit his system, that an ill-suited QB was being FORCED upon the staff ?

The other problem with that is NCAA rules required Newton to sit out a year or play at a community college. He chose community college and returned to the big leagues in 2010. Tebow was already in the NFL then. So, he had to wait until 2010 to play in the big leagues anyway, somewhat poking a hole through the “didn’t want to wait” story.

During the course of the season, as Newton was becoming the Heisman favourite and, possible #1 overall draft pick and Auburn on the way to a title, more info started leaking, like Newton was going to be expelled from Florida for cheating on tests so he left before that could happen. He had bought a stolen laptop and gotten in trouble for that. All of this info came out as Newton, the former Gator, was excelling at Auburn in the spread option while Florida was tanking with the QB ill-suited to run the spread was tanking. Sure looks like Florida insiders were trying to protect their decision any way possible. Oh, and there was the story that Newton’s father asked Mississippi State for $150k for Newton to go there. Personally I think it wasn’t so much wanting to get paid as it was Auburn has national power potential and Mississippi State has been an outpost and it was more of a “you want my son to forgo national prominence to play in no man’s land ?”

So, in spite of all the other players getting in trouble at Florida, cheating on tests in the breaking point. Oh, and cheating on tests for football players is a no no at a football factory? When did this happen ? Now, in spite of all of this evil by Newton, Dan Mullen, former OC at Florida, wanted Newton.

Of course, then Meyer resigned for good. STILL Dan Mullen did not go to Florida to take the job. Why ? Was he not offered ? Why not ? Last time they chose a head coach with no experience it was a mess. They had a team full of players recruited for Meyer’s offense which Mullen built. They opted for Will Muschamp, a defensive coach who was a real up and comer. He then hired Charlie Weis as his offensive coordinator. The same Charlie Weis who was Notre Dame’s Plan B when Meyer rejected them in 2004 is now Florida’s Plan B since Meyer rejected Florida.

Just looking on the surface, it seems like nobody wants to deal with meddlesome boosters. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I am partially right and there is much more to it than that.

Basically, what I am saying is that it seems like the coaches at Florida rarely get to be coaches for long, before they become administrators of the boosters’ whims.

In 2009, Meyer said he’d be the coach at Florida as long as they’d have him. Some viewed it as him being happy there. Others viewed it as a backtrack on his “dream job” comments in 2008. Me, I viewed at as him cleverly saying “Me, I want to be the coach here as long as they’ll actually let ME be the COACH”

Think about it – Urban Meyer himself became a lame duck coach, through no fault of his own.

OK, so I am going to give an early assessment after one single game against a cupcake.

Offense:

I liked the protection. It wasn't perfect and it was against a cream puff, but not bad for the first game. There certainly is some potential as they get more cohesion.

I liked the running game. Demps appears to finally have a little wiggle and Rainey looks great on his first cut. Seems having a FB is going to pay off for them.When Burton gets healthy, motioning him as a co lead with Joyer has great potential, especially against the 3-4 teams.

Reed looks ok as a TE in what limited plays we've seen thus far. Dunbar looks like a good one, as Hammond looks poised for a breakout. DT still looks hopeless, and Debose looks positively lost on downfield plays, but I liked Debose's willingness to lay a hat on people, so that counts for something.

It'll be interesting to see how Hines and Clark factor in.

Brantley still looks like a lost cause. When you take away his swing completions and yardage, his numbers were on par with last year. That's particularly disturbing since the apologists blamed it on him being miscast, a square peg in a round hole as it were. We heard non stop about how his skill set is better suited for Weis' offense, that it's similar to the offense he ran for Kerwin Bell.  I (and others) warned people that Bell's offense was prolific because it was a run first league that teams were not built to stop and Brantley's high school stats were inflated because of this - much like Shane Matthews' numbers when Spurrier first arrived were an illusion because of the opponents. We saw what happened when Matthews went up against elite athletes (read: FSU, Bowls) in top flight OOC games. The same can be said against Brantley - the defenses he is facing now are all geared to stop the run and the pass, so he'll have no advantage derived from scheme specific personnel.

Brantley just doesn't have "it."

Defense:

Hard to gauge based on the competition, but I did like a few things.

For starters, Easley looks like a beast. The level of competition doesn't play a factor in how one fires off the ball, and his first step is freakish. Whether he can knife past the better players he will face is another matter, but his first step automatically means teams HAVE to account for him.

Powell was still a non factor. Where is this freak we heard about ? He had a coverage sack on a cleanup play. Where was the steady menacing expected ?

I like the instincts of the D coming up to tackle. From the DBs to the LBs I loved the quick reactions and beelines they made on plays at or behind the LOS and the way they stormed up. This bodes well, as they seemed to have learned how to force the play, rather than let the play come to them while they are flat footed. They'll miss some tackles, but they'll also force some ballcarriers to the inside on occasion where they'll have their bells rung and/or cough up a turnover.

I like the way Elam patrolled the middle. He wasn't tested, but that has as much to do with his positioning as anything else.

All in all the season hold promise. While they stand no chance of winning the SEC title, they could challenge for the EAST. I don't think they will though. While they will most likely beat Georgia, Tennessee, and SC that triple header of Bama, LSU and Auburn will likely cause them to lose out on the east. They have to steal the Auburn game to have a chance. They need a 6-2 SEC record. Georgia has a cupcake schedule, with SC being the only other opponent of note. Florida needs Georgia to lose to SC, then they need SC to lose to Arkansas or MSU. This works on the idea that Florida beats both Georgia and SC thus having the head to head edge. I haven't mentioned UT because they have Arkansas, LSU and Bama from the west. They are losing at least 2 of those, plus I am assuming they lose to Florida and probably SC as well as Georgia.

Special teams:

Like the 51 yard bomb. Like Patton's block. Like the return (not the nullification)

So, all in all, decent first outing. Lots of potential for down the road. In reality, I think we should temper our excitement for this year, and think 2012-2013.