McElwain is the new ball coach

[awebbf5]

Really don't know how I feel about the hire, but I think it is better than what we had. Hope he can snag some recruits and get this thing turned around quick!

 

[Leakfan12]

http://espn.go.com/college-football...-5-million-buyout-colorado-state-jim-mcelwain

I hope he's worth it.

 

[Escambia94]

I am excited about the hire, but I am convinced that nobody on the market other than NFL coaches are worth $7M plus $3M per year. I hope Coach Mac proves me wrong.

 

[DRU2012]

Don't care about the $...Gotta good feeling about the hire, more I look into it and consider (first reaction re "repeats pattern of prev success" actually holds truer, and makes more sense on closer examination, than even my first hopeful "gut-reaction" rendered elsewhere here moments after announcement).
Bottomline: Let's face it, if he pans out and is able to achieve the level of success in shortish-order as the two previous "offensive-minded up'n'comers" brought in to do just that managed, none of us'll care HOW much money we agreed to heap upon him...far as we're concerned, he'll be worth every penny.
Best sign in immediate aftermath: His first statement doesn't hedge. Talks about QB especially, along with passing game, having been the biggest sticking point for us over last few years since TT and co. (truth, clearly), rest of tools there (above all on defense--just feels that standard "set by Muschamp needs to be retained"), "expects to be back in the thick of things" in the SEC immediately--and vying for Championships shortly thereafter.
Sounds like a good plan, if he and his staff (more good news--almost complete replacement with "his people" on way) can make it stick.
Not gonna even bother with the "what might have beens" left over from my starting-to-consider what I'd heard were the choices and possibilities...In truth, though it comes a BIT out of left-field, this so far strikes me as having as much or more potential as any of those relative few I knew something about and tentatively approved of--and I really like the way thought, legwork, decision and acting on it all happened so quickly and decisively. Among all the reasons I say that, its potential in our managing to somewhat recover on the recruiting trail stands out immediately, if this new bunch have the chops and get to it IMMEDIATELY (with the aid of the one or two guys from the "old" staff that will be staying, from what I hear, at least one of whom happens to be the one guy on Muschamp's staff who was in personal touch with and generally plugged into the Florida prep-scene).
(...And BTW, after all the bitchin' I did about some "Foley-to-Muschamp as Muschamp-to-Driskel" thing and all, I gotta give Foley credit all around here, more I hear about it all: From what I understand, Foley had McEllwain at the top of HIS "personal list" from the start here, quietly suggested him, among a couple of others but making clear this was who he leaned toward, if we could get him, to the few others that comprised the "rarified Gator braintrust" for this hire, stepped back and let them make their own quick'n'quiet study/inquiries--then moved VERY fast once they came back to him after a few days with generally enthusiastic support for that "first choice". He took the lead, "had his ducks in a row", but used them to first create an environment in which a solid consensus could form--albeit in as short a time as it could be managed without it being like we rushed into anything--it's still a "bold move", as I think this hire HAD to be, but though necessarily somewhat of a gamble as ANY "Coach steps up in class" hire was and always is going to be, somehow not quite the "shot in the dark" that Muschamp was...Where I was "hoping for the best" with that announcement, for eg., I am more "excited, feeling good about it" this time.)

 

[DRU2012]

(PS Ever see the Rams move the ball under McEllwain? Yeah, been a LONG time since we saw that in the Swamp--at least feels that way. Imagine Treon in that kinda quick-strike/pinball offense, combined with our slew of great and varied RBs PLUS the Gator D, and, well, gotta feeling the more you think about it, the bigger the grin you'll find on your face...'Course, all the more reason they gotta get recruiting on-track to pull some receivers and O-line talent and depth in too, but you get the idea here.)

 

[miltongator]

I hear that one of the potential "keep" coaches is the O-line coach. Although I'm certainly not in the know on such things, that would be a head-scratcher for me. He must be a helluva recruiter.

 

[Escambia94]

Florida's assistants are all still under contract with the university. Durkin, Robinson, Lawing, and Summers have all been mentioned often as potential retention targets.

Durkin and Robinson have tenure at Florida, as both were on staff for the entirety of Will Muschamp's span as head coach, and Durkin, brought in prior to the 2010 season by Urban Meyer, is the longest-tenured UF defensive coach.

Roper, White and Leak are the least likely to be retained, but you never know.

 

[awebbf5]

He killed the press conference. He is on the road recruiting next week. Kids will love this guy and want to play for him. Very happy with the hire just hope he gets some one good to run the D. We will be back soon !!!#

 

[DRU2012]

Florida's assistants are all still under contract with the university. Durkin, Robinson, Lawing, and Summers have all been mentioned often as potential retention targets.

Durkin and Robinson have tenure at Florida, as both were on staff for the entirety of Will Muschamp's span as head coach, and Durkin, brought in prior to the 2010 season by Urban Meyer, is the longest-tenured UF defensive coach.

Roper, White and Leak are the least likely to be retained, but you never know.

Gator powers-that-be are resigned to "taking a bath" vis-a-vis the salaries-under-contract that they are prepared to "eat"--but make no mistake: They WILL just pay 'em off at every position that the new Head Coach has a preferred replacement in mind for (Btw, one of the reasons they even discussed the possibility of offering Hugh Freeze--and that's all they did, "consider" it, put "feelers out" early, just in case, before settling on Foley's FIRST choice, the CSU Coach, and going after him in earnest--was with idea of offering Freeze an amount leaving more room to absorb the anticipated "doubling up" of contracts for his support staff and the guys already here and under contract that they assumed would be replaced but still owed multi-year salaries)...and from what I understand, only 3 (at MOST, from what I've been told) have much chance of being retained in active capacity. Durkin is the 3rd, and if he stays will be in the most precarious, "do-or-die" position: If the new Head Coach agrees to keep him as his DC (and this is NOT certain--how they "connect", and whether McElwain comes in with someone firmly in mind to replace him, and whether that individual is even available now), any perceived fall-off on that side of the ball will have him gone by the end of '15, "tenure" and "length-of-existing-contract" notwithstanding.
(Again: "I am told" that there IS someone McEllwain would love to have beside him at DC, but that that person won't break his existing contract and therefore wouldn't be available 'til after NEXT season, earliest--which, if true, gives Durkin one season to show he can, on his own, maintain and further develop what has been a first rate Gator Defense; McElwain, of course, expects and intends to do for our OFFENSE what guys like Spurrier, and yes, Meyer did for it, and knows he needs his "Bob Stoops" or "Charlie Strong" to run the D...Some of us have doubts as to whether D.J. Durkin can be that guy. Here's his chance to show he was, IS and will be more than Will Muschamp's "assistant".)
The one thing that everyone behind-the-scenes at Gator Central is united in is "putting it ALL on the line" to do everything possible getting back to prominence/dominance ASAP--like damn near over the course of a single year or so. No one is saying they expect us to be fully back NEXT season, and they won't come right out and lay this out in specifics, but I will go ahead and spell it out, no problem:
They are aiming here at having a real shot at the SEC Championship Game next year, being in the thick of the East race, for real (like we "woulda/shoulda/coulda" been THIS past one--only not needing another knock-each-other-off /"down" year in the SEC to do it), and being part of the front-page-sports-talk for the 4-team National Championship playoff in 2016.
First comes what will be, what will HAVE to be the wildest, for us the most frantic and aggressive "last eight weeks" of a recruiting-season we have ever seen. ALL our hopes, dreams and goals, immediate and long-term, depend on us getting things turned around in a big way, then finishing strong with a few big "surprises" (at least as far as the media who cover it go) breaking in our favor at the very end. When NSD arrives, WE gotta be the ones who come out on top more often in those "coveted-prep-star-flips-on-signing-day" stories this time. As we have seen, coaching makes or breaks a team's success--but at this level, we have also seen how having the BIG TALENT can make the difference in a whole unit and their ability to control that phase of the game. Think about it: A key block, catch, tackle, at the key moment on what turns out to be in retrospect "the key play"...well, just a handful of 'em this PAST season would have had US, even with all our other breakdowns and inefficiencies and lackluster performances, likely playing in the SEC Championship THIS year.
Of course, that would probably have just allowed everyone to mostly forget and/or ignore all those deficiencies, Muschamp likely retained and the same problems to have come up again NEXT year--and with "the cupboard bare" upon his leaving. So maybe it's "for the best", at least now that it's over and done, here and now. The failure, frustration and pain mostly behind us, the page turned and hopefully a new era about to dawn. But we do need to fix this OTHER "symptom" of our being on the teetering edge of true decline as a program, turn what was developing into a debacle in recruiting into a late-rally.

 

[DRU2012]

(PS to above--and "flipside" to "good feeling about hire" and discussions regarding recruiting, etc:
Other side to all this is the list of "things we are weak at and/or could go wrong"...Won't go into all of 'em here, but it COULD tip things either way. That recruiting situation HAS to be turned around PRONTO, and even then, the new Coach will probably have to get a few guys back on offense, especially on the O-line, who either are injured or considering early moves to the pros, and then still have to develop and rely on some players who haven't shown that much as of yet. A lot to ask/depend on for success, but if that O-lone doesn't improve--or worse, declines, as could easily happen if the things mentioned DON'T go our way--NONE of our quarterbacks are likely to get much chance to succeed, probably even end up banged up and missing time the way every one of the starters did every year under Muschamp. The same pretty well holds true for the WRs, of whom we have maybe a couple ready to be playmakers right now, a couple more who might be "about to be ready", and beyond that a whole lot of "maybe" and "have to see". Aside from maybe a must-have at TE, even good recruiting not likely to make the difference in 2015, not at first anyway, so coaching WILL "make the difference" early on, if anything does: Convince some to stay, bring others along, bring one or two over from the defense, and use them all in inspired fashion, and if you can put together a line that can protect the QB AND has the depth to be there game in, game out, well, we have Treon and a couple of other young guys with a whole lot of potential "upside", depth at RB (with Taylor especially about to really bust loose), so cobble together the rest and it can work, work WELL--but you see the problems, the potential for disappointment in the situation as it stands, when faced realistically.)

 

[Escambia94]

Yep. There are only ten recruiting days until dead period. Prepare to be disappointed. We just lost a couple recruits today.

 

[Leakfan12]

Yep. There are only ten recruiting days until dead period. Prepare to be disappointed. We just lost a couple recruits today.

Like it matter, wasn't the Gators 65th in recruiting or something like that before those players left? Now they're 74th (last in the SEC). Vanderbilt is ahead now. Sucks but it wasn't much better before.

 

[DRU2012]

We were already back-of-the-pack and fading, as y'all point out, and "losing" a few of even the little we had was to be expected with the change and all that preceded it (quotes, 'cause you can't really "lose" what you never really had to begin with--we have had so many last second "slip-off-the-hook" deals with top prospects last few years that it was a regular feature of recruiting under Muschamp: Seemed like "Top Class" slipped to "In the Top 5 or 6" every time--and, as with the last couple or few of the Meyer classes, I wouldn't be at all surprised if a subsequent RE-ranking upon examination/analysis several years hence produced a rating-in-retrospect of those efforts considerably lower than that--even as they also included some of our current best). I figure McElwain sees all this, saw and understood the recruiting situation even as he accepted the challenge coming in...As I said, I can envision one wild, frantic drive, before and after "the dead period", to turn this around--with some names and "reaches" (in terms of both level and location) from all over the map. A handful of last-second "five-star-flips" (in our favor this time) may not end up being as important to us mid-to-long term as a possible slew of "Who?--From WHERE???" grabs (they've got contact and connections out west that weren't previously even on our radar, for eg.) that may not improve our media ranking of this class much--but could nonetheless see things turn out OK eventually. Of course, I'm assuming he and his incoming "circle" had some ideas in this regard even as he mulled over coming here. Here's hopin'.

 

[miltongator]

We have some time 'till signing day, so hopefully he can at least fill some holes (plenty to do there). In spite of the recent recruiting losses, I will remain optimistic about this new era of Gator football. New faces, fresh start....sounds good to me after the last 4 years of disappointment.

 

[Escambia94]

We have some time 'till signing day, so hopefully he can at least fill some holes (plenty to do there). In spite of the recent recruiting losses, I will remain optimistic about this new era of Gator football. New faces, fresh start....sounds good to me after the last 4 years of disappointment.

I will not get optimistic until I see the new coaching staff. Coach Mac can only do so much by himself. Travaris Robinson is on the short list to go to USF. Muschamp will likely try to poach some coaches if Coach Mac does not secure the good ones on contract soon.

 

[DRU2012]

I will not get optimistic until I see the new coaching staff. Coach Mac can only do so much by himself. Travaris Robinson is on the short list to go to USF. Muschamp will likely try to poach some coaches if Coach Mac does not secure the good ones on contract soon.

Sigh. How many of those "good ones" did you say you thought we had?
Across-the-board, imo, all but 3 are BOUND to be upgrades--and that's BEFORE any close examination of the guys McElwain actually brings in. And he WILL be bringing in a slew of 'em, most long since committed to "the right situation", from what I understand. You know how it is with younger coaches on their way up: These are guys he has come to see, and for the most part now see themselves, as Coach's "crew", or at least those whom he has envisioned as his "potential crew" when that "right situation" (ie.steppin' up to the big time, McElwain in charge) finally came along. It's not quite the "lone Coach coming in from the frontier, hoping there'll be some old hands that'll stick around and give him some experienced help". His plans, preparation and ideas in all of this played a part in Foley & co.'s choosing him in the first place. Main delay now has to do with timing, when best to announce/make move to their new jobs with us from different situations as the 2014 season comes to its end.
Bottom line: Looks like we'll be keeping just a few of the former staff, by CHOICE. As I say, there're a handful that'd throw things off-plan and schedule if they jumped ship after all, but Muschamp can HAVE the rest, if he wants 'em. I'd think twice in most cases if I were him: He of all people knows it wasn't just him and bad luck that had various squads throwing (and bobbling and booting) away what could have been key victories, more and more often turning them into embarrassing losses this past season.
(Don't care to go off too far down this tangent--what's done is done--but one could argue that that was one of Muschamp's problems, a major reason he WASN'T ready for this challenge at this time: He DIDN'T have his own well-developed personal network of "talented young coaches" ready for THEIR "step up" to Prime Time in the SEC...Don't know if it would have been different had he just stepped "over" from UT "Coach-in-Waiting" INTO the Head Coaching job there, been able to more "let it all come to HIM", an organic process already somewhat in-place. The problem was especially obvious on offense, but you could see it to some degree at every level, on every squad, as time went on.)

 

[Escambia94]

Sigh. How many of those "good ones" did you say you thought we had?
Across-the-board, imo, all but 3 are BOUND to be upgrades--and that's BEFORE any close examination of the guys McElwain actually brings in. And he WILL be bringing in a slew of 'em, most long since committed to "the right situation", from what I understand. You know how it is with younger coaches on their way up: These are guys he has come to see, and for the most part now see themselves, as Coach's "crew", or at least those whom he has envisioned as his "potential crew" when that "right situation" (ie.steppin' up to the big time, McElwain in charge) finally came along. It's not quite the "lone Coach coming in from the frontier, hoping there'll be some old hands that'll stick around and give him some experienced help". His plans, preparation and ideas in all of this played a part in Foley & co.'s choosing him in the first place. Main delay now has to do with timing, when best to announce/make move to their new jobs with us from different situations as the 2014 season comes to its end.
Bottom line: Looks like we'll be keeping just a few of the former staff, by CHOICE. As I say, there're a handful that'd throw things off-plan and schedule if they jumped ship after all, but Muschamp can HAVE the rest, if he wants 'em. I'd think twice in most cases if I were him: He of all people knows it wasn't just him and bad luck that had various squads throwing (and bobbling and booting) away what could have been key victories, more and more often turning them into embarrassing losses this past season.
(Don't care to go off too far down this tangent--what's done is done--but one could argue that that was one of Muschamp's problems, a major reason he WASN'T ready for this challenge at this time: He DIDN'T have his own well-developed personal network of "talented young coaches" ready for THEIR "step up" to Prime Time in the SEC...Don't know if it would have been different had he just stepped "over" from UT "Coach-in-Waiting" INTO the Head Coaching job there, been able to more "let it all come to HIM", an organic process already somewhat in-place. The problem was especially obvious on offense, but you could see it to some degree at every level, on every squad, as time went on.)

On defense, I would consider keeping most of the coaches. I do not think Coach Mac has a better defensive staff in mind than the current one at Florida. On offense, only the OL coach is worth a second look. Can everyone else. Can special teams. As a matter of fact, burn the special teams coaches alive with whatever crap playbook the used on special teams. Really? Missouri? I am still pissed about that game.

 

[Leakfan12]

On defense, I would consider keeping most of the coaches. I do not think Coach Mac has a better defensive staff in mind than the current one at Florida. On offense, only the OL coach is worth a second look. Can everyone else. Can special teams. As a matter of fact, burn the special teams coaches alive with whatever crap playbook the used on special teams. Really? Missouri? I am still pissed about that game.

So you would keep a guys whose players block each other?

 

[DRU2012]

On defense, I would consider keeping most of the coaches. I do not think Coach Mac has a better defensive staff in mind than the current one at Florida. On offense, only the OL coach is worth a second look. Can everyone else. Can special teams. As a matter of fact, burn the special teams coaches alive with whatever crap playbook the used on special teams. Really? Missouri? I am still pissed about that game.

I guess I don't GREATLY disagree vis-a-vis the scheme(s) and over-all talent/performance formula on defense--but even THEY had some serious breakdowns, whole stretches mid-game of confusion and/or outright failure (at the very least, failure to adapt along the way--especially between halves), which in turn leaves me not too unhappy at what will likely turn out to be pretty deep changes in personnel there also. As for the offense, well, what do I need to say that we haven't all concluded ourselves already by the very evidence of our eyes? That goes INFINITE (as opposed to "double", or even "triple") for "special" teams. But if you really step back to analyze it, the extreme nature of the breakdowns (and the extreme of THAT "extreme", even worse than Mizzou, those last few minutes in the USC game) serve finally to sharply highlight the problems throughout this staff. Just as high-standard coaching is a "team effort", so does consistent, record-BAD coaching have a certain pattern and rhythm that is likewise so. Some of these guys will be good coaches with other staffs, in other programs at other times--but here and now, they have given a whole new slant to the old (often joking) cry, "Break 'em up!".

 

[Escambia94]

So you would keep a guys whose players block each other?

At least they are blocking somebody. Summer's predecessor, Verducci, did have Gators blocking one another, but he did a better job coaching the OL to keep the QB upright better.