My .02...Foley did a lot of good things as the UF AD and it is admirable that the arose from what many might consider an entry level position in the athletic department to the top spot. It is not by happenstance that he is lauded as one of the best in the business among his peers and many fans. However, that doesn't mean he was perfect; he certainly had some issues, primarily in the football house, that were not when they occurred and will never be forgiven by many. If I had to name the ones that were or became most perplexing to me personally, they would be (in no particular order):
*Talking Meyer out of quitting. Seemed like the thing to do for a 2-time NC coach, especially when it worked well when Billy D resigned and dabbled with the Magic (only to have a change of heart and return and succeed). I may be wrong, but to me, Billy's situation was the outlier. My experience in similar situations, albeit at a lower level, is that when a coach spits out the bit, he's done with you and the program. You might kiss his @ss well enough to keep him around a year more, but he's most likely going to give you a go-through-the-motions effort. Foley was either caught off guard (which I don't really buy) or unprepared in terms of a contingency plan regarding who you want as the next coach of your program. Twice now, Bob Stoops hasn't really been a viable option.
*Muschamp turned out to be a bad hire and in retrospect I think the basis for bringing him in was that he was somewhat of a media and CFB "darling" as the assistant coach most likely to transition into a successful HC. Say what you want, but the guy has done some good things defensively throughout his career. He even recruits well, but it seems that it is predominantly defense-heavy. I was in his camp early on and wanted him to succeed, but toward the end it became apparent that he lacked the necessary PR skills and the emotional control (not to mention a grasp of what he needed for our team to be balanced and thus much better offensively) that successful HC's must possess. I don't know that these traits were held in as high regard during the hiring process under Foley as they might should have been, but that is my best guess.
*I would have liked to see Foley be more supportive of SOS in the Graham/Dockett affair. In all likelihood, it might not have made much of a difference as to whether SOS came, stayed, laid, or prayed, but a show of support or a united front sends a powerful message, within and without, and I think that was a lost opportunity in that regard.
I didn't list the Zook hire as a big gaff, though it is certainly debatable. Reason being is that even though he was not the guy everybody wanted and was mediocre in many respects, he did recruit well and didn't leave a roster bereft of some talent and we didn't fall under any damaging sanctions. I suppose the same argument could be made for Muschamp, but where Foley is concerned, it was a case of the same mistake twice and the consequences in terms of fan base acceptance is not going to be a hearty approval! I also didn't list SOS' departure or his possible return, as I'm of the opinion that Steve was going to give the pros a shot no matter what and that by doing so might have led to his devaluation when he sought to return to the college ranks and, perhaps, to his alma mater. Part of me wants to believe, despite opinions possibly to the contrary, that if SOS had the total support of the high level contributors, university president, etc., he would have been offered the job. Could Foley have been more proactive and campaigned a sway if needed? Maybe, maybe not.
Bottom line to me is this: the guy has decided to call it a career and I appreciate the manifold good decisions and hires he has made. He obviously feels his time is done and that is not a bad thing. From Zook until now, with 4 good Meyer years sandwiched in between, it has been tedious in football to say the least for us fans. In that respect, the imminent change has the potential to bring about a revitalization on one hand and a consistency of what has been well done on the other. I'm excited to see where we'll be going!
The only thing I would say is our younger fans got a small taste of humility from our struggles. They shoud be happy they didnt get that 20 or 30 or 40 year taste veteran fans got before the favorite son came home and laid waste to the SEC.
