This phrase used to sum up the Gator Nation’s pride in the Swamp and having one of the most decided home-field advantages in all of sports. After Saturday’s 42-13 Homecoming loss to Mizzou; the phrase now only applies to the current fans of Gator football still brave enough to watch the game in person. However, after Saturday’s stunning defeat, it feels like most of the Gator Nation has lost hope. I know that it feels to me like I have lost hope in the direction that this program has taken.
After Driskel’s final interception of the night on Saturday I shook my head and laughed at the macabre comedy that was the game; and to think I thought that the Walking Dead was a show I watched on Sunday nights.
The Mizzou game ranks right up there with the 2004 Mississippi State game as one of my most disappointing games for me as a fan. That game immediately comes to mind as one filled with disappointment and I am sure that the parallels will not be lost on many of you. There are certain games where a fan’s mettle and devotion can be tested. This weekend was one of those games and for the time being, the future has never looked so uncertain.
In 2004 Ron Zook was our coach and the MSU game and Zook’s involvement with his players in an altercation between a fraternity and his players earned him his walking papers. However, by the time that altercation took place, the writing was already on the wall and MSU was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The tide had turned against Zook and he had lost the faith of the fans.
In the middle of the season, it took a lot to pull the trigger and let the ax fall on Zook. The hot name on everyone’s lips that fall was Urban Meyer. During that pursuit we looked to be in the best position to land him because our new President Bernie Machen had helped hired Meyer at Utah. To get the upper hand for Meyer UF needed to be decisive and bold. Thus, Jeremy Foley fired Ron Zook and let the chips fall. Despite the action that could have imploded the season the divorce was amicable. Zook was allowed to finish out the regular season and the team rallied around him capped off the season with a win against FSU.
Zook and the administration handled everything with class and dignity and everyone kind of landed on their feet. Zook went on to become the head coach at Illinois and Florida went on to land the hottest young up and coming coach in a long time in Urban Meyer. Zook had landed a couple of very talented classes in the years preceding his departure and the Florida roster was stacked with talent. We fended off a late charge by Notre Dame for Meyer’s services and he took over the program that January and the rest is history. In 2004, the Florida job was not a rebuild.
In 2014 the situation is vastly different.
Our once-proud program is on the precipice of irrelevance. We are on the verge of missing another bowl game. We just got blown out by Missouri at home on Homecoming and the defense only gave up 119 total yards of offense. This was one of the ugliest one-sided losses I have ever seen. Our offense was mauled like a victim out of a Stephen King novel and our special teams gave up two returns in the kicking game. The game was an unmitigated disaster; and our offense is unwatchable. I feel so sorry for all these kids that have pledged to play for this team because the experience of playing football at Florida was probably sold to them as something else.
No one is talking about the abundance of talent at Florida, especially on offense. In fact, anyone talking about the talent here is not talking in positive terms.
We are losing the race in facility upgrades to the likes of Mississippi State and Ole Miss. The fans and students aren’t filling the stands like they used to 10 years ago. Florida does not carry the cache it once did. This is a different time, a different Florida program, and a drastically changed college football landscape.
The fans’ expectations are way out of proportion to what can actually be delivered on the field at this point. We will be extremely lucky to finish this year with a winning record; the offensive woes continue and have dragged this team down. The Florida Gators are not a very good football team right now and it breaks my heart to have to say that.
Complicating our situation is that there is no can’t miss, hot coaching prospect right now. Moreover, if the message boards are any indication, our fan base can’t even agree on what coaching names would be realistic to pursue or what pedigree our next coach should have. Many middle of the road fans fear that the fringes in our fan base will scare off some of the best and the brightest in college football. The football program and the fan base are in disarray.
That kind of talk is difficult to hear and these truths are hard to swallow about a program that has so much promise.
However, that is the key. The University of Florida has always dripped with promise. Moreover, recent history has shown that that promise can lead to championships.
No one really wanted a coaching change. No one wanted one at mid-season, but marching Muschamp back out there against Georgia and the rest of the schedule does not seem fair to him. Everyone knows that the Missouri game was Muschamp’s last stand. Everyone knows that he is one of the Walking Dead, have some mercy on him and on the fans. Let Roper or Durkin finish out the season. Get on with the search and start communicating that a change is coming to the recruits. We won’t have to endure embarrassing “Fire Muschamp” chants on television. That is not the kind of press that any program wants or needs.
We all knew at the conclusion of the game that change was inevitable. Our Athletic Director, Mr. Jeremy Foley once stated that, “What should be done eventually, must be done immediately.” Mr. Foley the eyes of the Gator Nation are upon you. Mr. Foley, hope is a precious commodity and once lost it is difficult to recover. However, there is still plenty to be hopeful about.
The University of Florida, for all its high expectations, is the one of the best places to coach in all of college football. It sits in one of the most fertile football recruiting grounds in the country. Despite the noise in the system, our facilities, while we are not Oregon or Bama, are still pretty nice. Moreover, we still have the ability to upgrade; it’s not like Florida has decided that improvements will not be made in the future.
In fairness, this fan base is rabid and tough to play for; but let’s be honest we are not Notre Dame’s fan base or Bama’s fan base. We don’t cry about every pass interference call or poison rival’s trees. Reasonable Florida fans are not upset at the lack of championships. We are upset at the lack of core competency on offense and special teams. We are upset because we are not getting better. We can be tough and we expect a lot; but there are expectations at every program, even at Wake Forest and Army. Go look in our trophy case, good coaches can be successful at the University of Florida.
Have you seen the stadium during a big game? There is no other place like it in the country. That rabid, high-expectation fan base will come out in droves and pour their hearts out for this team. Not many stadiums can become as rabid and inhospitable as the Swamp; so our passion is a double-edged sword.
Moreover, the high expectations are there for a reason, we are paying Mr. Muschamp close to $3,000,000.00; the past three and a half years have not given fans or the University of Florida a solid return on that investment. Not all programs can stroke that kind of check to a potential head coaching hire. It is not out of line for our fan base to expect improvement in our offense and to be in contention in the SEC East on a yearly basis. We have given this experiment enough time.
The pressure and mantle of being the head coach at Florida come with sizable rewards and accolades. Anyone scared off by what someone like me would write on a message board or on Gator Country is not the right person for this program. I know that that the University of Florida is a special place to coach. Expectations come with every coaching job; some people answer those expectations and some don’t; but someone will see the promise and the potential in the University of Florida. A coach out there will see the promise and the potential in himself to rise to the challenge that this University represents.
During this dark time it is easy to only see the negative. It is just as easy to abandon all hope, but I refuse to, even during this dark and challenging time. However, at this point I refuse to abandon all hope.
It may not come this week or next; but a change is coming and when that change comes, we will have a chance to rebuild upon the foundation of that Spurrier built and once again make this program into something special. That new program will be stronger and better than it’s ever been. Because any true believer really knows that the best days to be a Gator lie in front of us and not behind us.
Tired… By the way, the first SEC championship was won when you were just starting elementary school. Graves and Pell did a reasonably good job here.
I do know that Gator football existed before I came to campus in 1994. That championship is not official as it was stripped by the SEC and is not a recognized championship, but I do remember the commemorative Coke bottles. I know that Graves and Pell were great coaches.
I was merely trying to address the state of the program as of today, if you disagree its your prerogative. I have been a supporter and fan of Muschamp since the hiring was announced, but over the course of the last 4 games the Gators have taken huge steps back.
Keeping him at the helm of a sinking ship is not healthy for the program in my opinion. I don’t see what we gain by keeping him because it looked like the team quit on him on Saturday night.
You are right about letting Muschamp go now. It’s the worst kept secret in America that there will be a coaching vacancy at the end of the year, so why wait? Florida is not going to beat the remaining ranked teams on the schedule, Georgia and FSU. That leaves the best scemnario of a 6-5 season. I don’t think the fans even care if the record is 6-5 or worse. But it would be nice to see the players get to play in a bowl game. The decision to cancel the Idaho game, which could have been played this week, is now looking like another bonehead move by Foley. The players don’t care if it’s a minor bowl that insults some fan’s dignity. They would be happy to take a trip and have fun , along with a nice bag of goodies that comes with a bowl appearance. I hope they get the chance, but you have to wonder if Florida is capable of going on the road and beating lowly Vanderbilt right now. As for South Carolina, Spurrier is smart enough to just punt the ball and wait for Florida to self-destruct.
I hope we make a bowl as well; that extra month of practice is very important to player development. However, that means we need to win one of UGA, USCe, or FSU…I think that is a tall order right now. I am not rooting against us, but I just have trouble seeing that play out.
This truly a sad time for Florida football. During the Dickey era we didn’t expect that much but it was bad. This program was build up by those coaches and players who made a difference here at Florida. We made it all the way to the top and were graced by the likes of three Heisman winners and tons of other players that made it to the NFL. And those too that were great that never had a career in football but help build what we had here. That has been eroded embarrassingly so over the last four years. We’ve only broke records to be ashamed of. I hope the kids still love their school and each other. Because now we’ll see what this place is made of when change is implemented. I hope and pray for the kids. And I remain hopeful that the right decisions will be made to protect the dignity of our school, the program and the legacy so many worked hard to build. Yeah, I have hope. Here’s to hoping for change. ASAP. For some reason, we’ve waited a long time for this change.
I think that is the source of a lot of the anger is that the fan base knows what this program is capable of accomplishing. I do not think that most realistic fans expect a Natty or SEC Championship every year, but I think we expect the team to be competitive and competent in most games for the amount of money that we pay a head football coach.