What was your Uh-Oh Moment in the Mac Era?

jaywalker72

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I was very interested in the Mac Era but when he blew up on Kelvin Taylor against East Carolina after a stupid penalty, I thought that it was disturbing. To discipline is one thing, but to make yourself the center of attention at the expense of your player is another.

Spurrier would toss the visor and holler, for sure, and I do not think it was his best attribute as a coach, just as giving up and punting on 3rd and a million against MSU one game was not as well, but there were a million positives to go with that.

I can't recall Spurrier ever taking the time to do what Mac did on there, maybe I'm wrong, but it was the uh-oh moment for me as a fan that this guy wasn't going to be the cool, calm hand on the wheel to take us back to the top.

What was your uh-oh moment?
 

BMF

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Overtime vs. 3-9 FAU.

If FAU was 8-1 or so coming into that game it still would have been a head scratcher. The UF's of the CFB World simply DO NOT go to overtime vs. teams like that. It was very Muschamp-esque (the Jacksonville State game or Georgia Southern, for example). Pumpers had a million excuses lined up. But at that moment, I said, "this guy is a bust". Then he goes on to get BLOWN the F OUT by FSU, Bama, and Michigan. And the Michigan game really pissed me off.
 

Swamp Donkey

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The second recruiting class. I really thought he did OK trying to fight the brushfire on the first class, grabbed OL everywhere he could, and I really wasn't that concerned that the O looked like a hot mess given what was left.

But the second recruiting class is supposed to be that big one that sets the stage for the big second year. And yet... we got Mark Thompson and a #17 class.

At that point, the rebuilding was going to be several years down the road when we struggled with that. Many rumors already leaking that Butters just didn't have it and wasn't particularly energetic in recruiting.

I was pretty sure it was over then but the second year offense sealed it.
 

Gatorbait25

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BMF nails it above. For me it was FAU. At the time I tried to brush it off, as guys not being jacked up to play against an inferior opponent as well as giving him a pass on year 1 and essentially not having anyone other than Treon take snaps. Unfortunately nothing really changed the following season with the exception of finding a decent kicker, and this year has clearly been a disaster.
 

T REX

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The fake FG vs the hat. Everyone and their mothers knew he was going to fake it and our mid major joke of a coach...let it happen. I knew that day he was second rate and a loser. Fast forward to getting prison raped by FSU and Bama...and then the icing on the first year cake? Letting players not practice for the bowl game and refusing to even slightly change the offense to help out Treon. I got blasted pretty hard. I heard some stupid excuse about how important it was for the other guys to get practice in our offense and not change anything. It would benefit the offense long term. To those people...how'd that turn out? Yeah, I thought so.
 

divits

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I can't say it was an "Uh-Oh" moment, but when I heard him speak right after he was hired at the Orlando Gator Club I was less than enamored. He said nothing and spoke in riddles and from the get go came of as a little scolding to the fans. He said something to the effect of, "I need you people to not voice your opinion because it's bad for the program."

I gave him the benefit of the doubt his first year because he really didn't have much of anything to work with offensively. I held off giving too much of an opinion until he had a chance to get some of his guys and settle into being the head coach. That lasted until the Vandy game last year when I was in Nashville with good seats and spent most of the game observing what was going on on the sidelines. I saw a team and coaching staff who seemed totally disengaged from each other with no adjustments being made and no one seeming to care.
 

Swamp Queen

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I can't say it was an "Uh-Oh" moment, but when I heard him speak right after he was hired at the Orlando Gator Club I was less than enamored. He said nothing and spoke in riddles and from the get go came of as a little scolding to the fans. He said something to the effect of, "I need you people to not voice your opinion because it's bad for the program."

Sas pretty much said the same thing last night about going to see him the first year he spoke to the Tampa Gator Club. I didn't remember the specifics like he did, but it was just rambling nonsense we now know so well.
 

BMF

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The fake FG vs the hat. Everyone and their mothers knew he was going to fake it and our mid major joke of a coach...let it happen. I knew that day he was second rate and a loser. Fast forward to getting prison raped by FSU and Bama...and then the icing on the first year cake? Letting players not practice for the bowl game and refusing to even slightly change the offense to help out Treon. I got blasted pretty hard. I heard some stupid excuse about how important it was for the other guys to get practice in our offense and not change anything. It would benefit the offense long term. To those people...how'd that turn out? Yeah, I thought so.

TR, that's it. Pumpers come in and just line up excuse after excuse. Butters should have tweaked the offense or inserted Jacob Guy, Grady, or Clarabelle! It wasn't working.

You mention the fake FG vs. LSU. Perfect example of Greg Nord. And he's STILL HERE!!! WTF?????? Why? Why is Greg Nord still on this staff!!

Go back to the Treon issue, same thing goes for Nussmeir. We ask, "why didn't they tweak the offense to help Treon?" Well, the answer is simple: this coaching staff is incapable! It's that simple!

These kids never had a chance (on Offense and ST's).

The whole "McElwain Era" will go down as a dark, dark period in Gator football. It will be a blur for most people. But I'll remember it as 3 years of the "Lost Decade of Gator Football".
 

Gator Fever

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I was very interested in the Mac Era but when he blew up on Kelvin Taylor against East Carolina after a stupid penalty, I thought that it was disturbing. To discipline is one thing, but to make yourself the center of attention at the expense of your player is another.

Spurrier would toss the visor and holler, for sure, and I do not think it was his best attribute as a coach, just as giving up and punting on 3rd and a million against MSU one game was not as well, but there were a million positives to go with that.

I can't recall Spurrier ever taking the time to do what Mac did on there, maybe I'm wrong, but it was the uh-oh moment for me as a fan that this guy wasn't going to be the cool, calm hand on the wheel to take us back to the top.

What was your uh-oh moment?

I had no problem with that but when the offense was still trash in 2016 I had a feeling we were in big trouble. Specifically thought Mac wouldn't make it after the 2nd half of that Tenn game last year.
 

cover2

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There were several, but what cemented for me the notion that he was not it was the continued poor fundamentals on display each week. Missed tackles and blocking assignments, blown coverages, poor pursuit angles, etc. There was no noticeable positive or consistent changes in these areas. You don't have to be a guru to teach and reinforce proper football fundamentals and technique. Without those factors in place, you can forget consistent and effective execution...which is essentially what he did. The guy was not a football coach; rather, he was...

upload_2017-10-31_10-20-9.jpeg

Came here promising gold, but delivered dog crap.
 

MidwestChomp

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I would say it was Arkansas for me. They had the worst run D in the league and they trot LDR out there and try to throw it around the field.

But, looking back it should have been this. When Grier gets suspended, Treon comes in and Mac refuses to amend the offense to fit Treon. I'm not saying Treon was great, but don't make the guy a pocket passer. Just ridiculous. Mac was stubborn and thought he could take any QB and make them fit is scheme.
 

Ancient Reptile

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The fake FG vs the hat. Everyone and their mothers knew he was going to fake it and our mid major joke of a coach...let it happen. I knew that day he was second rate and a loser. Fast forward to getting prison raped by FSU and Bama...and then the icing on the first year cake? Letting players not practice for the bowl game and refusing to even slightly change the offense to help out Treon. I got blasted pretty hard. I heard some stupid excuse about how important it was for the other guys to get practice in our offense and not change anything. It would benefit the offense long term. To those people...how'd that turn out? Yeah, I thought so.
Mea culpa.
 

Ancient Reptile

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Late to the party. Michigan game. I thought him continuing to win close games must mean he was at least a good on field coach. The last forlorn hope disappeared with LSU.
 

t-gator

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The first uh oh moment was the fau game. As bmf mentioned, that was an awful fau team and we shoulda lost. I knew macs scheme was garbage when we struggled to move the ball with his boy ldr against umass. Everything was conirmed after that game.
 

bradgator2

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Late to the party. Michigan game. I thought him continuing to win close games must mean he was at least a good on field coach. The last forlorn hope disappeared with LSU.
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AugustaGator

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The second recruiting class. I really thought he did OK trying to fight the brushfire on the first class, grabbed OL everywhere he could, and I really wasn't that concerned that the O looked like a hot mess given what was left.

But the second recruiting class is supposed to be that big one that sets the stage for the big second year. And yet... we got Mark Thompson and a #17 class.

At that point, the rebuilding was going to be several years down the road when we struggled with that. Many rumors already leaking that Butters just didn't have it and wasn't particularly energetic in recruiting.

I was pretty sure it was over then but the second year offense sealed it.
Lack of improvement in year 2. No progress.
 

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