Florida fires coach Zook after upset

[GUNPERUNA]

Zook went 8-5 in his first two years at Florida. The Gators started 4-3 in 2002 before reeling off four straight victories. They opened 3-3 in 2003 — sparking speculation he would be fired — but then won five in a row.

Problems had been mounting for Zook, who was not the popular choice when he was hired and was the inspiration for a Web site calling for his dismissal.



Now that is a program that doesn't tolerate losing!

[ClassOf81]

Was this a result of the record/loss to Mississippi State, or the fight at the fraternity house, or both?

[ponygrad90]

yet Bennett is be given more time! Where is the outrage about our embarassing losses? Come on people, Fire Bennett Now! Save whatever pride we have left so we can hire a proven Coach! They shoot horses don't they?

[ponydawg]

Don't think we can compare the two.......
One school has a record of winning, going to bowl games (talking about Florida, just in case you didn't know) and the other school has had one winning season in like 15 years.

[Water Pony]

ponydawg, my exact feelings:

Florida is a BCS state school with a recent history of Top Ten success and resources/funds we can only imagine. Bennett is managing a complete turnaround comparable to an expansion team with minimum Division 1A talent, experience, budget.

Zook is under fire because of what he inherited which is 180 from what Phil had to work with.

If you want to compare situations, look at Northern Illinois which lost for three years before transforming itself "overnight" into a consistent winner. Joe Novak is the model, not Zook.

[LA_Mustang]

Steve Spurrier????

[EastStang]

Zook inherited a team loaded with talent. It would be like the situation where the new coach comes in at UT and inherits all these top recruits from Mack Brown and then loses a bunch of games. The Horns would string him up (in fact they're ready to string Mack up because he can't beat Oklahoma but that's another story). Crooms got a repreive from his boo birds by winning the game against Florida. That should keep the Starksville faithful happy for at least a week.

[Demented in Dallas]

Bennett is not the answer, but he's not the problem, either.

If you fire him, do you really want Copeland to be the decision-maker on who will replace him? After Cavan-Dement-Bennett, I wouldn't trust Copeland to park my car, much less make a good personnel decision.

[Thumper]

OK, we'll agree to disagree -- I'm more of a Copeland supporter than you are. However .... your last line is hysterical.

[BRStang]

I know I've been on the negative slant lately, and I really dislike that, but...

I just love how some of you guys will go to any lengths to justify Bennett's inevitable return to SMU football for another year. Now you're trying to carve out a distinction between the rationale for firing Zook and the rationale for not firing Bennett. You guys really crack me up!!

Zook was fired because Florida has a commitment to winning...it is embarrassing to lose even 5 games a season. They make no bones about it. Consistently losing year after year DEFEATS THE POINT OF EVEN PLAYING!!! A coach's performance and record are what he is judged by.

Frankly, I think Florida pulled the trigger on Zook too soon. But it just goes to show what a Commitment means.

[Stallion]

you really are comparing two entirely different situations-Florida probably hasn't had a recruiting class rated outside the Top 10 or 15 in the Country in 15 years. SMU hasn't had a class rated in the Top 60 in 15 years.

[EastStang]

No, Florida has the most talented team in the country next to maybe UT. And they have players that Spurrier recruited as seniors this year. So, Zook has no excuses for losing. He inherited a top 10 team and has done nothing with it. Bennett inherited a bottom 10 team and has done nothing with it except maybe improve the level of talent in the program. It takes time to rebuild. Zook's win totals have gone down over time. Bennett's have no where to go but up. Again, I might stress that I think the jury is still out on Bennett's coaching ability. I am not convinced of his ability, I just want to give the guy a realistic chance to succeed or fail and I am not convinced that he has had that chance. Next year in my view is his last chance to prove himself.

[SoCal_Pony]

ES,

I agree the jury is still out on Bennett (we’re talking criminal, not civil…right?). I also believe your support of Bennett is stronger than the average poster on this board since many believe he should either resign or be fired.

Next year, Bennett will use more of ‘his players’, but I am not convinced playing RS-Fresh and Sophs is giving the guy a realistic chance at success or failure. It very well may be his last opportunity to prove himself, but I don’t know if it is fair.

IMO, this is another bad by-product of our current system. No use of JCs to fill obvious voids, just hope and pray your RS-Fresh and Sophs step it up in your 3rd year of coaching or you are a goner.

A better solution is to give him the proper tools from the get-go so you can make a more informed decision by year 3.

[ponygrad90]

Are you kidding me? This is Phil Bennett's 3rd season. Next year will be his 4rth season and he has won a grand total of 4 games in 3 very long years. Make no mistake about it, if he doesn't have a winning season next year, he will never coach in Division I again!

[PK]

Fire Bill Parcells...obviously terrible game day coach, we know it couldn't be a player problem...fire Parcells damnit.

Just who the hell do you think is throwing the INT's and fumbling the ball and making false starts??? All of those things are killing potential scoring drives. Who do you think is not pressuring the QB or making tackles or creating any turnovers?? Hint...it ain't the coaches.

You couch potato AD's need to give it a rest.