People need to relax.

[mjfan23]

Everyone on this site is getting all worked up at Foleys decision. Lets let things play out a bit. Muschamp is a proven defensive guy (which I love). He brings a fire to the sidelines (again, love). Lets see what this guy brings to the table before everyone jumps all over him.

His hire at OC will be big imo.

 

[DRU2012]

Essentially my take, too, once I got used to the idea...I was a bit taken aback, on first hearing, had all kinds of questions and concerns, and that (hopefully) first hire will be a doozy, as far as importance AND telling us something, but this COULD be something good, even great in time. Let's see how things proceed from here.

 

[Escambia94]

Relax? I'm fired up! Poaching from the Short Horns makes me happy!!!one!! I'm not as close to Short Horn country as DRU, but close enough. Wait, these are the same Short Horns with a losing record? ****!

 

[DRU2012]

Relax? I'm fired up! Poaching from the Short Horns makes me happy!!!one!! I'm not as close to Short Horn country as DRU, but close enough. Wait, these are the same Short Horns with a losing record? ****!

Man, you need to check out the thread "New OC named...oppps, maybe not"(sic) if you haven't already.
Funny...funny/strange AND funny/funny!

 

[DRU2012]

Oh, and as I mentioned elsewhere, I KNEW you'd be laughing along with me on levels you'd HAVE to be in Tejas to really understand. I've received SEVERAL drunken calls from around town, and a plethora of nearly unintelligible texts I have no intention of responding to. In the end all I care about is how it helps our team and program return to excellence as quickly as possible, but it DOES have its entertaining if somewhat incidental "extra redeeming features".

Also, take heart: remember, it was the offense that sucked royally for the 'Horns this year...Will did some of his best coaching this year, somehow getting respectable performance (check out their defense's stats and relative standing on a national level) out of a thoroughly depleted squad with even more pressure put on it in terms of offensive time-of-possession and turnovers than OURS had.
It'll all come down to the OC-hire: a good one should mean we're fine...a great one could set us back on course for another dynastic run--IF they can get it done fast and save this recruiting class (only 3 of 21 top prospects expected actually showed this weekend; do you think that added any fuel to the get-it-done fire?).

 

[G8RB8R]

Me thinks that the last time we hired a coach with no head coaching experience, his name was Ron Zook.

In my memory, seems that every coach UF hired with no head coaching experience was a bust.

Galen Hall
Gary Darnell
Ron Zook
Wil Muschamp - will he also be a bust?

If I am wrong, somebody correct me here. And, Jeremy Foley was involved in one way or the other with every one of these hires.

On the other hand, those who were hired with head coaching experience, all excelled.

Charlie Pell
Steve Spurrier
Urban Meyer

So now, we are all to believe that we got the best guy for the job, regardless of what has happened in the past.

Well, even a blind squirrel will eventually find an acorn. Time will tell, but the past speaks for itself.

Everyone has heard the old adage...those who fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it. If that proves true, we are in for no less than another 3 years of mediocrity. Since when was UF supposed to be an institution of "on the job training?"

 

[Leakfan12]

One, you should know that Pell put violations in Florida and Muschamp has been a hot target for Head coach job.

 

[G8RB8R]

One, you should know that Pell put violations in Florida and Muschamp has been a hot target for Head coach job.

Quite aware of that, but that is exactly what the boosters tasked him with. Charlie had no money to payoff players. What do you think the violations stemmed from?

Charlie was a very successful HC at Clemson, and Danny Ford won the NC at Clemson the next year after Pell left for Florida.

Charlie was brought into UF for one reason and one reason only...to win the NC. And the 1984 team, was voted NC by the New York Times...Pell was fired after the Miami game hoping to avoid probation once caught.

 

[DRU2012]

Still, G8RB8R has a point, in fact I think he has pinpointed exactly that "thing" that was bothering me, tickling at the back of my consciousness, "Something about this and past performance..." I already talked about how Foley has blown hot and cold on these gambles of his, that when he's won he's won big, but there was something else and I think this could be it: He went for the untested new HC, and this time he didn't HAVE to, no way no how. In this hire he is saying "This is the right guy, the best for us at this time"--and THERE IS NO WAY HE CAN KNOW THAT. With the recruiting class in the balance and everything still riding on the OC-hire, all of our hopes and dreams are riding on that gamble, the future of the program now balanced on a tightrope wire, high above the chasm of mediocrity-or-worse.
I still think and feel it could all turn out OK, even better-than-OK, but it didn't HAVE to be this way, still full of questions, concerns and choices even AFTER the hire. The idea was to ANSWER the questions, CALM the concerns, MAKE the choices and leave the rest to the incoming regime...this is some new and different approach to "New Hope" and "A Smooth Transition", to be sure.
Get that OC-hire done SOON, boys, and make it a good, STRONG one, OK? Fill out the rest of the staff, who's staying and who's coming in and GET YOUR ASSES ON THE ROAD and then we'll all see what's what.

 

[G8RB8R]

Dru, Foley made a good hire on Billy Donovan, which was a shot in the dark. The decision really made Foley look like a hero on that hire. But, then basketball is not the premiere sport at UF, football is. UF will always be a football school, but if UF has average middle of the road basketball teams, nobody really cares. I mean sure, I like to see them win as much as anybody else, especially the 2 NC's Billy won. But basketball takes a backseat to football and always will. If Donovan had been a bust, no big deal. Therefore, when it comes to your bread & butter, the king of the money makers at UF, I just can't help but think it is irresponsible to take a chance on an unproven commodity, especially in the fact that this was the only fellow that was even considered. If we had been in the shape that the Vol program was in last year, taking a gamble is not as costly. Vols already sucked, & can only improve. That's not our situation at all, but that's what it now feels like. It feels like we were desperate, and if there's one thing I detest, it is decisions made out of desperation. I guess that is what bugs me about this whole affair.

At least now, I have a real motivation to attend this spring's Orange & Blue Game.

 

[Escambia94]

I really thought Foley was looking for the following criteria: a) head coach experience b) Tier 1 school, and c) offense-minded. I like Muschamp, but he is lesser qualified in two of those areas than most of the market. On top of that, he was already anointed "head coach in waiting for the University of Texas", with a pre-filled $5M contract just waiting for signature. This is where I hope he is honest with us and tells us the whole story. Is he entirely committed to UF for the long haul, assuming he does well? Or, will he abandon us as soon as Mack Brown retires? Texas is a better deal than Florida, because no matter how good Oklahoma or any other Big 12-ish team is, the Short Horns get a lion's share of the revenue. All the HC has to do is keep enough money flowing to the school to prevent getting fired. Sweet gig. At Florida, 7-5 gets the entire Gator Nation calling for your head. At Texas, 7-5 is okay as long as the revenues are in the black, and the "cards" are loaded in your favor with revenue sharing. Yeah, I'd punch out of Florida in a heartbeat if Mack Brown retired and the Gators were underperforming at 8-4.

 

[DRU2012]

Yeah, I HATE that "Big-contract-in-hand-sign-it-in-5-years-and-you're-in"-deal...that, PLUS we KNOW the OC is a "Longhorn-in-waiting" as well, just HANGS above the whole affair now. (See my comments on this, especially as it relates to Major, in another thread.)
I know most of us are "coming around" to this hire as the first full day wears on and we all get used to the idea, which is good and necessary I guess, seeing how it IS the reality and we have to live with how things are--and HOPE we thrive.
Next important "sign": how they approach recruiting, specifically (and immediately, we hope) how Major handles the Driskell signing. Getting out there FAST and nailing it down, with private AND public reassurances, would be a good (and as far as I'm concerned, NECESSARY) first step. Any kind of hesitation (or worse, backing off) would be bad, a sign of either misplaced priorities or a new "I know what's good for you people"-stubbornness being revealed.