the worst AD in history who was the AD during 3 national titles in football and two in basketball.
You would be hard pressed to find another one with those credentials. Of course his AD'ship had nothing to do with any of that at all..............
Respectfully, I have given Foley credit for his stewardship of the BB program on numerous occasions. Also, his elevation of the "secondary" sports was truly epic. So please, don't misconstrue my intentions here. But please allow me to explain my less favorable attitude towards his performance as the AD - in reference to the FOOTBALL PROGRAM. If any of the following observations can be proven to be substantially incorrect, please advise and I will happily retract any provable misstatement.
1. Foley deserves ZERO credit for anything that Spurrier did at UF. SOS was hired by Bill Arnsbarger - NOT FOLEY.
2. Many, myself included, believe that Foley's refusal to support SOS in his attempts to safeguard our players from the dirty style of play made infamous by the SOW (in which they repeatedly injured or tried to injure players like Danny Wuerffel, Rex Grossman and Ernest Graham) poisoned that relationship and played an important part in Spurrier's resignation. The shabby manner in which SOS was treated during the search for a HC after the Zook debacle also serves to reinforce that belief.
3. Zook. Enough said.
4. Foley was nothing more than Machen's errand boy in the hiring of Urban Meyer. The pre-existing relationship from Machen's days at Utah was the deciding factor in that hire. Also, witness the fact that Foley/Machen never formally contacted SOS about the job because Machen was determined to bring in Meyer from jump. Give Foley credit for finding his way to and from Utah, if you must - but I'm not impressed.
5. Muschamp. Enough said.
6. McElwain. Enough said.
7. Foley's arrogant and shortsighted refusal to keep up with the facility improvements going on all around us - especially in the SEC. Yes, he did finally build an indoor practice facility - long after they had become commonplace elsewhere. But even in that, he had to be pressured into it and initially wanted a "cheaped out" 50 yard practice field that would have made it difficult, if not impossible to practice the entire team, more or less simultaneously. And we are still playing catch up and won't truly draw abreast of many of our opponents for years to come.
8. Foley presided over the precipitous decline in the UF football "brand" as a direct result of the bungling, the meddling and the general incompetence I have already described. His destruction of our status as an elite program speaks for itself - and that is his greatest failure of all.