Foley's larger failure: Facilities or Butters?

Blacklabgator

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I think the coaching hires.
Yes the facilities are behind but you are only going to be out front there for a small window. We build better than UGA, Clemson etc. then they build and get back ahead. Unless you are always under construction you’re behind.
 

Swamp Donkey

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I think the coaching hires.
Yes the facilities are behind but you are only going to be out front there for a small window. We build better than UGA, Clemson etc. then they build and get back ahead. Unless you are always under construction you’re behind.
You dont have to be the best, but you cant be worse than Kintucky and Miss State.
 

soflagator

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mehhhhh.... I guess you means look did not have losing records at UF. zook only got two and a half years. I think when you look at the overall records in the end Chimp certainly won't be worse. Zooker recruited well. Chimp recruited well and could coach a good defense.

All three were terrible hires for UF. We arent UAB Southern Miss. But Zooker was the only one who wasn't on the radar of ANY other team. That one was straight-up bromance.

Zook was a bad hire, but was at least somewhat forgivable based on the rushed circumstances surrounding his hiring.

Having an entire year of notice and arrogantly zeroing in on one candidate with no head coaching experience belongs in the "all time worst decisions" discussion. To then stubbornly allow said bad decision to linger a 4th year despite damning evidence that it was a failure, and being forced to hire a McElwain type is borderline criminal.
 

MissouriGator

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The contract extensions and salary raises--throwing money away--$$ that could've been used to finance upgrades to our facilities. A good coach understands the necessity of bringing in top recruits and the competition off the field (recruiting and gaining every possible advantage) in the SEC. We haven't had much to convince top recruits with our on-field performance over the past several years. So if a championship- level coach were to consider UF, he must consider this, because it is a HUGE make-or-break opportunity. Maclwain had nothing to lose--except ball games. He had everything to gain.
 

ChiefGator

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It is easy to judge in retrospect, but the facilities issues need to be looked at in the lens of the situations then. Hiring one coach is somewhat different and can be viewed more closely as one decision that was made.

My vote (I don't use the sidebar) is the poor coach hiring that was not properly dealt with. An employee who won't get along with his team and bosses needs correction or improvement. If he won't or can't listen firing is appropriate. There was plenty of evidence that he was not an appropriate selection by his actions in the job, they were ignored until it got so bad that they could not ignore them anymore.
 

78

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You dont have to be the best, but you cant be worse than Kintucky and Miss State.
Miss State, huh? The same Miss State whose former coach turned a perennial SEC West doormat into a consistent winner using those same bad facilities?

Oh, okay.
 

Ocalaman

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I really don't think facilities falling behind the rest of the big time schools hurt recruiting all that much. UF is still a big time draw and facilities were still better than most places. Muschamp turned out to be a bust, but remember at the time everybody thought Foley had made a real coup getting him away from Texas where he was the coach in waiting. He still may turn out to be a pretty good college coach over time. McElwain definitely was a big time error in judgement on the part of Foley, much like the Zook hire. I still think Jeremy Foley will go down as one of the greater AD's in NCAA history because of elevating the overall athletics program into a consistent, one of the best in the nation. I love ALL Gator athletics programs and don't just focus on football. Plus he hired Billy D
 

InstiGATOR1

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Miss State, huh? .... turned a perennial SEC West doormat into a consistent winner .....

What? Consistent winner?

2009: 3-5
2010: 4-4
2011: 2-6
2012: 4-4
2013: 3-5
2014: 6-2
2015: 4-4
2016: 3-5
2017: 4-4
Overall: 33-39
 

78

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What? Consistent winner?

2009: 3-5
2010: 4-4
2011: 2-6
2012: 4-4
2013: 3-5
2014: 6-2
2015: 4-4
2016: 3-5
2017: 4-4
Overall: 33-39
If you're gonna play with numbers, dypshyt, print their SEC record the previous eight years.
 

Swamp Donkey

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Miss State, huh? The same Miss State whose former coach turned a perennial SEC West doormat into a consistent winner using those same bad facilities?
One, they werent a consistent winner in the conference. I think he only had one winning SEC record (and that even w Kintucky as their crossdivision "rival" every year). Indont really care aboutnhis four creme puffs directional school wins he added each year.... except when he lost to one.

Two, Im not saying either Miss State or Kintucky have bad facilities. I said we need to at least be above that tier even if not elite facilities.
 

Swamp Donkey

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facilities were still better than most places.
No they arent.

Even our own alums were quoted as saying we are worse than all SEC schools except Vandy and frankly Im surprised Vandy, but I havent been there.

I have been to many American conference and a CUSA school w better facilities. It is sad how fvkked up Fooley was for so long.
 

InstiGATOR1

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If you're gonna play with numbers, dypshyt, print their SEC record the previous eight years.

2008: 2-6
2007: 4-4
2006: 1-7
2005: 1-7
2004: 2-6
2003: 1-7
2002: 0-8
2001: 2-6
2000: 4-4
Overall: 17-55

So it turns out had you said some thing like, ... turned a team that had been on average for the prior 9 years a 1.9 and 6.1 team to a 3.7 and 4.3 during his tenure or even some thing like improved them by about 1.4 games per year in the SEC, you would have made a case. Instead you chose words "consistent winner" and name calling.

The bottom line is that neither of those SEC records are going to work at UF. So Mullen better be better with UF level players and UF level support.
 

78

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2008: 2-6
2007: 4-4
2006: 1-7
2005: 1-7
2004: 2-6
2003: 1-7
2002: 0-8
2001: 2-6
2000: 4-4
Overall: 17-55

So it turns out had you said some thing like, ... turned a team that had been on average for the prior 9 years a 1.9 and 6.1 team to a 3.7 and 4.3 during his tenure or even some thing like improved them by about 1.4 games per year in the SEC, you would have made a case. Instead you chose words "consistent winner" and name calling.

The bottom line is that neither of those SEC records are going to work at UF. So Mullen better be better with UF level players and UF level support.
Another example of how stats are for liars.

Turns out what I also said was he did what he did at precisely the same time that Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Petrino's Arkansas made the SEC West easily the most dominant conference division in history.

But of course you conveniently skipped over that fact.
 

78

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One, they werent a consistent winner in the conference. I think he only had one winning SEC record (and that even w Kintucky as their crossdivision "rival" every year). Indont really care aboutnhis four creme puffs directional school wins he added each year.... except when he lost to one.

Two, Im not saying either Miss State or Kintucky have bad facilities. I said we need to at least be above that tier even if not elite facilities.
Yes you did. You cited them as an example of the standaed for facilities failure.
 

Swamp Donkey

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If you're gonna play with numbers, dypshyt, print their SEC record the previous eight years.
So, by those standards, if Mullinz goes 4-4 here and doesnt have a losing season he is doing well bc the last coach sucked?
 

Swamp Donkey

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Yes you did. You cited them as an example of the standaed for facilities failure.
No, I said we at least need to be better than them. Frankly, it will tak a while even tocatch them. Probably 5 years.
 

Swamp Donkey

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Another example of how stats are for liars.
Probably the best University of South Alabam team too, huh? How could.any team barely top 25 talent expect to beat a powerhouse like that.

Thats right. We hired a guy who lost to a D2 team.

If any ADs actually thought this guy was a good coach, he wouldnt have been stuck in Shytville for 8 years.
 

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