OK, after having time to digest my "frozen pizza of shame" last night, I ran his presser while on my Drive of Shame home from Gainesville to the Greater Pensacola Metroplex... I'm pretty sure I've watched all his post-game pressers, here are my thoughts on this one, because it was ever so slightly different, but I think in important ways. This is going to be just stream of thought, sorry it ain't organized better.
- This was our first home loss. He didn't mention the crowd one time in this presser. He has ALWAYS made a big deal about the crowd and thanked them. Yesterday, nothing (see "bunker mode" below). Granted, the crowd came into the noon game fairly lame and the stands were slow to fill well into the 1st Quarter. Throw in being down 14-0 in the FIRST THREE MINUTES and it's TOUGH to rally at 12:03!!! That said, I think the crowd was into it in the second half. Point is: did not mention fans/crowd, and this goes to my other points.
- I think he's going into "team cocoon/bunker" mode when he got asked about "fan criticism." Sure, OK, but no, you're making a big mistake and that could have been a spot to address understanding the frustration of fans rather than basically saying "fuk you" by silence/non-response. Part of a CEOs job is to set the expectations of the shareholders relative to how truly monumental the turnaround is and how long it will take, but then you have to back that up with action, and by action, I don't mean just winning, I mean by having an OC, ST Coordinator, QBs Coach... so that our eyes actually see the steps you are taking given said expectations. When you don't do those things, you rapidly go from 70% of the shareholders saying "he needs time" to 70% saying "he's in over his head and isn't up to the job."
- He talked a LOT about "developing these young men"... but as men, not as football players. It's subtle, but important. He said that developing these young men is by far his most important priority. Unless Billy has it in his contract that "developing these young men as citizens and men," he does not understand his job at all. Yes, of course you want to do that, but that is not his job. It is a business, his job as CEO is to develop PLAYERS and WIN. Hopefully in that process you can develop good young men.
- His answer to the question about ST problems was truly McElwainian and pissed me off for the first time at him.
To me, he sounded like a phenomenal HS or youth league coach that, while you of course want them to win, you really do want them to provide your kid with structure, mentorship, and personal development. At this level, that is not his job. I'm sure a lot of the parents of the players like him for this (who wouldn't?), but for a LOT of the top notch talent, they ain't choosing a school to be developed as a man other than as a distant secondary thing... they are choosing a program that they think will get them to the next level of play for that incredibly small 0.000000whatever% that make it to the NFL.
I still definitely like him as a man, and a shred of me still holds out hope that he could run the overall program at UF if and only if he makes some actual CEO like decisions regarding staffing and what his actual job/mandate is as CEO (and it ain't HCC (Head Camp Counselor), it's HC).
I just don't see us firing him this year (but who knows), but if by January we don't know who our new OC, ST coach, and possibly a QB coach are, I'll know we are truly fukked.
UPDATE to my last paragraph: and if we don't know who these new coaches are, it removes any doubt that Stricklin truly doesn't know what his actual job is either.