Honestly, I had a lot of hope for this guy, but the first “uh, oh” moment for me was his introductory presser. He had an uneasy, nervous warble in his voice that was as unsettling as his body language. It screamed lack of confidence, it screamed pretender.
We also witnessed it every time he was interviewed on the sideline. But I first noticed it in his introductory press conference.
I'm in this camp. I had hope when reading about his hire and then he had his opening press conference and a series of one on one interviews that all revealed he lacked charisma, and any "it" factor. Florida's best coaches have been cults of personality that drew others to follow them. A clear leader is obvious within a few minutes. Even if a bit of a conceited prick, which Urban and, to our rivals, SOS were, they captured your attention.
Some saw Mac, with his no socks, and thought "cool laid back guy; I'd like a beer with this guy" (even though that is not typically your best high-level type A elite coach). Maybe if it was just the socks. But, I saw the Belk commercial-in-waiting over his next few appearances. He wore a button-down shirt, jacket and tie.
A questionable look for the head guy, but he made it worse by dropping the tie but keeping the button down shirt with a jacket. Ok if not a button down and a great suit, but collectively, his button down, steinmart pants and Belk blazer looked like a sloppy mess during the most important moments of his professional life.
This may seem petty, but he was our $4 million man brought to energize our team and offense, not our new regional manager. I don't dress to send a signal at all times, but I do when needed. He needed to and just blew it.
If I'm meeting a new client who needs someone that will pay attention to all details and outwork the other side, I definitely pay attention to every detail, including my clothes, to show it. In front of a smaller town judge, or more casual client, I dress down to not seem flashy. There are other examples, but for any circumstances I am considering all details that might help and I'm not a $4 million man.
Mac's projected image, plus lack of clear communication skills, showed me someone who just didn't pay attention to details and didn't draw people to want to follow or trust in him. If he can't pay attention to details about himself, how could he do so for 80+ kids. We now know the answer.
I hoped I was just a judgmental a-hole who would be proven wrong. But, his recruiting and our team's play only confirmed my opinion week after week.
Grier vs Ole Miss gave me my greatest doubt in my initial impression. Then we sucked again vs Missouri and it's been downhill since.