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Ron Zook Fired as Football Coach at Florida

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1908871

Quote:

The University of Florida has fired coach Ron Zook and his staff, effective at the end of the season, an assistant coach on the staff confirmed Monday.

An announcement is expected Monday afternoon.

The staff received the news in a meeting Monday, two days after a shocking 38-31 loss at Mississippi State that dropped Florida to 4-3, 2-3 in the Southeastern Conference, and five days before the Gators play archrival No. 7 Georgia.

Florida has beaten Georgia in 13 of the last 14 years, and it looked as if the Bulldogs showed up on the schedule at just the right time for Zook.

However, the loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs proved too much to overcome. Mississippi State had been 1-5, including a loss to I-AA Maine. After his first SEC victory, Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom said, "This is just the beginning for us." The loss spelled the end for Zook, who termed it "embarrassing" after the game Saturday.

Zook is 20-13 since replacing Steve Spurrier after the 2001 season. Florida was his first head coaching job. Athletic director Jeremy Foley hired him only after flying to Norman, Okla., to try to lure Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, a former Florida defensive coordinator. Instead, Foley hired Zook, who had held that position before Stoops and then went to work as an assistant in the NFL.

Zook has taken heat because he couldn't replicate the success of Spurrier, the coach who made Florida into the dominant SEC team of the 1990s. Moreover, the Gators lost four games in which they were favored to win by at least a touchdown. All three losses this season -- Tennessee, LSU and Mississippi State -- occurred in the final minute.

"We haven't helped ourselves, obviously, last weekend," the assistant said Monday. "This staff is all professionals and great coaches. It isn't possible to work harder than we've been working. We're planning for Georgia. We're going to beat Georgia. We got a lot of work to do this week."

Zook also lost support within the university in recent weeks because of a incident involving a campus fraternity. Members of the football team got into a fight with members of a university fraternity. Foley asked Zook to go to the house and serve as a peacemaker. Instead, Zook lost his temper and became argumentative with the students.

As for who will replace Zook, attention will focus on Urban Meyer, coach of No. 10 Utah. The president of the University of Florida, Dr. J. Bernard Machen, came to Gainesville from Utah.

Two points:

1) Something tells me that "effective at the end of the season" isn't that good of an idea here.

2) Who the HELL is going to want that job now after all the crap he went through.

I'm an FSU fan..and even I know that Zook should've been fired a long time ago. I understand why "effective at the end of the season is there". 1. They have no chance of a bowl game now 2. They are firing the entire staff and can't replace the staff immediately. As far as the second question posed.. I really don't know who would want the job but they'll find someone.. I just hope he sucks as bad as Zook...

Paging Mr Spurrier... Paging Mr Steve Spurrier you have a Jeremy Foley holding on the white curtesy phone. Please pick up the nearest white curtesy phone. Thank you.

My first thoughts were Spurrier too. He's the only option. Urban Meyer would be a good choice too, but don't think he'd go right away. He wants to coach for a national championship, this would be the way.

If you were Spurrier, would you go back to Florida? Would the expectations be to high? I am not sure he should go back to Florida. I think he needs to start over somewhere he can build from scratch.

the Gators would love to have Bob Stoops take the job, but I think the next Florida coach will be Urban (Legend) Meyer.

well, upon further review... it looks like it could be Spurrier.

here's the link...
http://www.wesh.com/sports/3846586/detail.html

in all fairness, miss st. played really well last week. But the man's got to be fired. I just don't see why they'd make the announcement now--it completely undermines their authority as coaches, and without naming a replacement, you won't get any more recruits.

why would he want a job he already left. I know the thing in Washington didn't go so well. That job is doomed. Plus, we would love to have him at UCLA. So Cal is a great place for the fun and gun.

man, that really sucks for UF. I don't really care much as I am not a fan of any of the big 3 in florida, but having survived the [can't] hackett era as a diehard USC fan, I feel bad for the gators. their program is just spinning into the toilet faster and faster by the second.

I just heard a blurb about this on a local (Arkansas) sports chat show tonight, and I didn't realize it was "effective at the end of the season". My thoughts are that it was an effort to freeze some in-state recruits that were leaning away from UF, a sort of "don't sign with anyone until you see who we have next year--and it won't be Zook".

So UF gave Spurrier 2 weeks to decide if he wants the job. What the hell is wrong with UF? Don't they remember how he up and left in the middle of the season and hung the gators out to dry? Now most gator fans are crying to have Spurrier come back. Suit yourself, you get what you deserve. I don't care if he returns to the gaytors, It would please me to see the 'noles kick the shit out of spurrier every november.

Actually, he left the day after the Gator Bowl in 2001.

Trust me, they beat my Terps that night, I remember :p

Well he still just up and left. I guess since the Seminoles hadn't played their bowl game yet it was still the middle of the season in my head. Either way, what the hell are Florida fans thinking?

Good luck to florida getting anyone to come there now. The way they treated Zook & spurrier knew he could not top his last run there. Too many new coaches shooting at him (richt, saban, tubs & shula).

Maybe Ron Zook and Steve Spurrier were just bad coaches.

There is only one many that can turn this program around!

http://accusor.net/images/mr-t.jpg

Yes, Dunbar Vocational High School's own football hero!