Top 10 coaching destinations (per some podcast)

Those lists are always so captured by the moment. UF is not in a good spot at all right now, but to say it’s not a top 10 job (in my humble opinion) is just crazy. It’s been proven you can win national championships here…not necessarily the case at TAMU or Oregon. Suddenly Texas is a top 10 job (which I agree they are)? After a decade plus of less than mediocrity? Oh but they just had a playoff season so now they’re consensus top 4. And if they’re going to factor in administration/AD alignment (which is fair) and then include a school like Auburn - which has the craziest of crazy AD/admin/booster relationships - then your list, Mr. Kannell isnt very serious.

 

We are NOT a top ten destination school simply because of the Administration. They have proven to be ineffective at their job. In reality The University of Florida should be on the cutting edge and #1 destination school in all categories. Location, location, location!

 

There is no good reason for a large, well funded public university located in the state of Florida to not be a top 10 destination job -- no state income taxes, tons of talent within a 4 hour drive, coeds that can wear shorts every month of the year. No excuses.

 

Well, when you consider that from 2010 through today, Florida:

* Is 7th in the SEC in W/L record
* Is 8th in the SEC in recruiting
* Had five different head coaches
* Is 18th in transfer portal rankings nationally
* Had three consecutive losing seasons
* An administration that increasingly prioritizes academics

It's hard to imagine we are a top ten destination program, especially when you consider national rankings. I would say there are at least a dozen other schools out there with better attributes and stronger records.

 

To be a top team, it has to be prior number one. It’s not hard to separate academics and sports. They aren’t joined at the hip. Half ass effort gets half ass results. Maybe they are trying and just made a series of bad hires. Hiring a winning coach is a crap shoot.

 

The bigger the gap is between a program's potential and the actual results, the more frustration there is. That said, no guarantees.

 

You lost me at Kanell.

I only wish that Kanell was a couple of years older so that he could have taken the beating that Casey Weldon took from Culpepper, Mickell, McCoy, our own FeeBart, and many others in 1991.

 

I didn’t read it because of my note above.

But my $.02. UF football is where it is because of one Jeremy Foley. Foley blatantly deemphasized football in favor of funding and focusing on what we will call the “low revenue” sports. I have nothing against these sports and actively support a few of them but we all must remember that you have to feed the beast and the beast will cover everything. Foley starved the beast.

I know for a fact that many members of UF senior leadership really could care less about football. Some of those have moved along but there are still too many who are fine with that.

Foley’s crane showed up with the wrecking ball back when Spurrier was still our coach. But the money dried up under Zook and they had to start ffunding it more under Meyer, but never got it up to where it needed to be. The coaches that were hired after Meyer were not capable of succeeding under these constraints.

For those that still want to comfort themselves that Foley was great I offer you this; I took my then 8th grade daughter to a UCF Women’s Soccer game in 2008. Please note 2008. Right next to the UCF women’s soccer stadium sat Nicholson Field House. That’s right UCF had an indoor facility for over ten years before we built our half ass facility and over 15 years before we opened our current facility.

 

Texas
Ohio St
Michigan
USC
Notre Dame
Oklahoma
UF
Bama
LSU
UGA

…Are the top 10 IMO… in whatever order you want to put them in. And it’s the same list I would have created 10 years ago. I don’t believe destination schools change from year to year.

 

What does the administration need to do or stop doing?

 

Florida is easily a top 5 destination for a great coach. We are the Flagship university in the most fertile recruiting grounds in the country, and our facilities are high level. The Gator Nation is very large and wealthy and is 2nd to no one.

The admin did a great job of disconnecting the alums from the football team out of fear of the NCAA and it worked, but now it's time to undo it and create participation. It just takes the right person to get the ball rolling. It's time to awaken the sleeping giant.

Also, LSU and Bama are not wealthy alum bases and will not be able to keep up with the jones and will fade under the current system.

 

Have u seen the coeds the last 5 years ? No bueno

 

you are way off my man .. Florida is no where as great as you are portraying . And if they fire Billy this year you will see what I’m talking about. This fan base will take the life out of a coach

 

Why does this matter concerning athletes? I could care less about this. Much rather put our resources in athletics. Nobody is happy in Gator Nation. The 1 public university doesn’t move the needle

 

I think the real question I’d ask is whether our miserable 13 years is a function of incompetence or malice. I see lots of folks blame “academics” and “focus”, meaning they don’t care about football. In my opinion, this is wrong. They care but the UAA (and ADs) have done a terrible job hiring.

In my opinion, UF should be a top 10 job given the location, population, alumni, facilities, etc. We are not right now b/c of UAA incompetence with bad hires. As evidence, we were a top 10 job under SOS and Meyer and we haven’t changed that much as an institution. It was just bad hires (frankly, the only legitimate hire since Meyer was Mullen but his personality/arrogance needed to be managed by his bosses - ie, “fire Grantham Dan”).

 

Like Oregon, perhaps? When we were last a top team? In 2009? that's 15 years ago.

How many top football teams are in universities in the top 25? Michigan, Notre Dame. We don't have the depth of history, tradition of either of those bluebloods.

This is true. Since Meyer, we had four head coaches. Do you seriously think all we need is a great coach? Frankly, I'm not sure if "half-assed effort" applies to Napier, or in fact any coach since Meyer. Muschamp, McElwain and Mullen all had a great season under their belt.

I believe the key is to fully understand and exploit the Portal and NIL. Once the wins roll in, the recruiting will take care of itself. I'm rooting for him to succeed. But then again, I still remember Zook going 9-4 in 2003 with a schedule every bit as tough as our 2024 schedule with a team full of underclassmen. It may very well BE the coach, but I will never root against any coach we have.

 

It’s been proven that they made bad hires but we better hope Napier is not one of them.

 

Tongue in cheek Wing. It’s like you don’t know me anymore.