The Zooker makes SI's Top 10 Flops of the 2000's

[O-town Gator]

UF knew this and canned him in 2004; why can't Illinois seem to figure it out?

Link: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/magazine/specials/2000s/12/18/decade-flops/index.html

 

[patbro]

Yeah I don't know either, but I'm sure glad we did!

 

[Escambia94]

If it's not my problem, I don't care. I only give the Zooker some props for giving us Chris Leak. Other than that, I don't care about any headlines with him in it.

 

[GainesvillebornNraised]

why do gator fans still have bad feelings torward zook?

he was only here 3 years then we got urb and 2 titles

 

[Escambia94]

why do gator fans still have bad feelings torward zook?

he was only here 3 years then we got urb and 2 titles

To be honest, the Zooker does not deserve all the animosity. At least he kept us out of NCAA probation, unlike the clowns Pell and Hall from the 1980s. Then again, if one of those clown were still head coach now I would give them just as much flak as the Zooker. I don't even watch Penn State football because of Galen Hall.

 

[Leakfan12]

I don't get the NFL Network being a flop since it's been around for six years. Definely Zook especially now at UI, Weis, and Spurrier as NFL and USC south coach.

 

[O-town Gator]

why do gator fans still have bad feelings torward zook?

he was only here 3 years then we got urb and 2 titles

Zook lacked the initiative it takes to be a successful head coach at the college level, made way too many excuses when things went wrong, was a poor problem-solver, poor gameday strategist, and poor clock manager. He many have been able to bring some talent into the UF program, but he failed to develop that talent to its fullest potential. After that "Fratgate" episode, my opinion of him sank even lower.

 

[gatorsare#1]

To be honest, the Zooker does not deserve all the animosity. At least he kept us out of NCAA probation, unlike the clowns Pell and Hall from the 1980s. Then again, if one of those clown were still head coach now I would give them just as much flak as the Zooker. I don't even watch Penn State football because of Galen Hall.

To be fair, Pell is the one who first started making the Gators into a big time program as he started all the Gator clubs and did stuff like that. While he broke the rules, it's not like he could've known the rest of the SEC would collectively turn UF in while they were committing violations as well.

 

[Escambia94]

To be fair, Pell is the one who first started making the Gators into a big time program as he started all the Gator clubs and did stuff like that. While he broke the rules, it's not like he could've known the rest of the SEC would collectively turn UF in while they were committing violations as well.

Good point. I still have some resentment towards Pell, despite what he has done. In some ways, I care more about character than winning. Pell brought us wins, but our SEC championships were stripped. As talented a coach as he was and as talented as his players were, he could have brought us those championships without breaking all the rules. Maybe I was too young to understand at the time (I was a teenager when Pell left), so I may never fully understand what happened in the 80s.

 

[Leakfan12]

Actually Ray Graves was the one of had the Gators winning in the 1960's and Doug Dickey had some good seasons in the 1970's. As for the Gators teams in the 1984 and 1985 seasons, honestly I think the U, Oklahoma, Penn State, BYU, and just to rub it in FSU were doing the same crap that Florida did (Florida just got caught). Not to mention that the teams of FSU of the 1990's and USC under Pete Carroll their titles are dirty and yet they keep those. Did Bowden and Carroll get throw money and cheerleaders at the member to let the NCAA keep their titles.

 

[gatorsare#1]

Actually Ray Graves was the one of had the Gators winning in the 1960's and Doug Dickey had some good seasons in the 1970's. As for the Gators teams in the 1984 and 1985 seasons, honestly I think the U, Oklahoma, Penn State, BYU, and just to rub it in FSU were doing the same crap that Florida did (Florida just got caught). Not to mention that the teams of FSU of the 1990's and USC under Pete Carroll their titles are dirty and yet they keep those. Did Bowden and Carroll get throw money and cheerleaders at the member to let the NCAA keep their titles.

Graves was a good coach, but Dickey basically undid all of the good things Graves had done to the program. And Dickey led to the awful 1979 season.

Certainly there's no justification for breaking the rules, but yes, the other schools were doing the same things. But the NCAA probably wanted to make an example, and UF was the school they chose. The fact that 3 SEC titles were stripped (1984, 1985, 1990) was nothing short of a joke considering that was never done before or since to any other school. Schools like UGA and Tennessee decided to turn UF in, maybe because they were afraid of UF becoming good.