Since Mark Bradley is one of the biggest Gator haters out there, I'd read what he says, but take it with a huge grain of salt...
From: Charlie <imagator@outlook.com>
To: gatornews@googlegroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, November 26, 2013 4:33 PM
Subject: [gatornews] Florida's Muschamp should already be gone
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/mark-bradley/2013/nov/26/floridas-muschamp-should-already-be-gone/
-- By Mark Bradley
Apparently Florida will keep Will Muschamp as coach even though Will Muschamp cannot coach a team. (Maybe a defense, but not a team.) This is great news if you're a Georgia fan. It's less great if you're a Gator backer who has every right to expect better than a home loss to a so-so Georgia Southern team.
In sticking by this hire, athletic director Jeremy Foley is going against the instincts that led him – correctly, in the grand scheme – to fire Ron Zook after 2 2/3 seasons. Foley's reasoning then was that it wasn't going to get any better if he waited, so he didn't. Foley's reasoning now is that this will get better with time, even though it won't. None of the arguments for continuity hold even swamp water.
It doesn't matter that Muschamp has great "passion" for the job. You don't out-passion people in the SEC. The other coaches try hard, too. You either coach your guys up or you lose.
It doesn't matter that firing Muschamp might hurt this recruiting class. Recruiting isn't the problem. Rivals.com rated Muschamp's first two classes as No. 3 and No. 4 nationally, and we see how that's working. (To repurpose the Steve Spurrier dig at Ray Goff: "Florida gets all these players – I don't know what happens to them.") One lesser class is a small price to pay to get rid of an overmatched coach. Besides, this class – again according to Rivals – isn't shaping up as banner. It's ranked 15th nationally, which puts the Gators eighth among SEC teams and third among programs based in Florida.
It doesn't matter that Muschamp is trying hard to lay all the blame at the feet of offensive coordinator Brent Pease. He hired Pease, and Charlie Weis before him. In three seasons, the flagship program in the state that produces more football talent than any other in the Southeast hasn't yet had an offense that ranks even 100th nationally in total yardage. That's a firing offense – for the head coach as well as the O.C. – right there.
It doesn't matter if these Gators suffered a slew of injuries. So did Georgia, and the Bulldogs are 7-4, which isn't great by their standards or their expectations but beats the heck out of Florida's 4-7. And nothing excuses losing at home to Georgia Southern. Muschamp should have been able to win that game with his walk-ons.
It doesn't matter that the Gators were 11-2 in 2012. That season was a fluke born of defense and special teams. Yes, Florida beat four very good teams – Texas A&M, LSU, South Carolina and Florida State – but the turnover margin in those games was a staggering 12-3. (The Gators led South Carolina 21-3 after a half in which they'd gained 29 yards.) When Florida made six turnovers of its own against Georgia, it lost 17-9 and couldn't manage a touchdown.
It does matter that people around the SEC are now laughing at Florida. When that happens, every new season brings a heightened tension; every loss spawns the question, "Is that it for this coach?" Not many coaches ever get it going again after a winning program becomes a loser. Only Mark Richt has done it this century in the SEC, and Richt had won two conference titles. Muschamp has a worse record in three seasons than Zook. And Zook was, lest we forget, 2-1 against Georgia. Muschamp is 0-3.
I'm not an advocate of dumping coaches without giving them a chance, but Muschamp has had three seasons – one tepid, one good (with an asterisk), one terrible. Nothing suggests that he's growing into the job. Nothing about Florida indicates that there's a lick of coaching being done. Were I Florida's AD, I wouldn't be giving Muschamp another year. I wouldn't have given him another week. I'd have fired him Saturday.
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