Poll: Who was the best Florida AD?

[78]

T REX's puke thread got me to thinking. How does Foley stack up against his contemporaries at UF (yes, I realize Graves was AD long before many of you were created) in a message board popularity contest? I'm curious how this plays out.

Choose one.

 

[oxking]

It certainly isn't Fooley.

 

[VulcanAlex]

It certainly isn't Fooley.

Well apparently it might be. Now of course it depends on what you think his job entails. I give him massive credit for creating a response to Title IX and for putting the entire program on a great financial foundation. Sure Champ was a mistake, but it appeared pretty good at the time, and who knows what options were really there.

 

[deuce]

This is so childish.....

 

[crosscreekcooter]

For some reason they never include the list of associated failures.
http://www.gatorzone.com/foley/

 

[GatorJ]

It's Foley. HOWEVER, he made 2 massive mistakes in the bring it Zook and Muschamp. In the most important and the biggest revenue driving sport he missed 2 out of 3 times. And that's okay. Sometimes you're going to strike out. The problem is the way he struck out. And that's why people are angry.

First off he has exuded a certain amount of arrogance concerning his football hires over the last decade as if he is the smartest person in the room. Sure, you want confidence. But no matter how smart you are you should always do your diligence in making your hiring decisions.

Zook was just a bad hire. But I'm just not sure if anybody wanted to follow Spurrier. The Muschamp hire made sense. Disciplined. SEC pedigree. From Gainesville. NFL experience. Looked to be a lifer.

I don't think it was anything wrong with the hire. The problem is how it played out. In any business when you make a bad decision you cut your ties to limit your exposure and damage. His arrogance played a huge role in keeping Muschamp at the helm and our players and our brand took an unnecessary hit. There are many examples of athletic directors immediately terminating coaches when it doesn't fit.

So again, he's the best one we had. But he's made some poor decisions, particularly in football, in the last decade. Obviously the hiring of Meyer was brilliant. Although the president had a lot to do with that.

 

[crosscreekcooter]

It's Foley. HOWEVER, he made 2 massive mistakes in the bring it Zook and Muschamp. In the most important and the biggest revenue driving sport he missed 2 out of 3 times. And that's okay. Sometimes you're going to strike out. The problem is the way he struck out. And that's why people are angry.

First off he has exuded a certain amount of arrogance concerning his football hires over the last decade as if he is the smartest person in the room. Sure, you want confidence. But no matter how smart you are you should always do your diligence in making your hiring decisions.

Zook was just a bad hire. But I'm just not sure if anybody wanted to follow Spurrier. The Muschamp hire made sense. Disciplined. SEC pedigree. From Gainesville. NFL experience. Looked to be a lifer.

I don't think it was anything wrong with the hire. The problem is how it played out. In any business when you make a bad decision you cut your ties to limit your exposure and damage. His arrogance played a huge role in keeping Muschamp at the helm and our players and our brand took an unnecessary hit. There are many examples of athletic directors immediately terminating coaches when it doesn't fit.

So again, he's the best one we had. But he's made some poor decisions, particularly in football, in the last decade. Obviously the hiring of Meyer was brilliant. Although the president had a lot to do with that.

Foley is the only athletic director in Division I history to supervise a program that has won multiple national titles in football (1996, 2006, 2008) and men’s basketball (2006, 2007). Overall, 24 Gator teams have been crowned national champions under his watch, the second highest total in the nation among sitting Athletic Directors. I won't bore you with swimming, bouncey ball, and synchronized flag waving awards. I don't see the arrogance but if he is he's earned the right to be. I would also add that most of the posters on this site display that same trait from time to time. Some people say Spurrier was arrogant. NTTAWWT

 

[dubster1]

His arrogance played a huge role in keeping Muschamp at the helm and our players and our brand took an unnecessary hit. There are many examples of athletic directors immediately terminating coaches when it doesn't fit.

money!

 

[GatorJ]

Foley is the only athletic director in Division I history to supervise a program that has won multiple national titles in football (1996, 2006, 2008) and men’s basketball (2006, 2007). Overall, 24 Gator teams have been crowned national champions under his watch, the second highest total in the nation among sitting Athletic Directors. I won't bore you with swimming, bouncey ball, and synchronized flag waving awards.

I don't see the arrogance but if he is he's earned the right to be. I would also add that most of the posters on this site display that same trait from time to time. Some people say Spurrier was arrogant. NTTAWWT

I agree. He's the best one we've ever had. But I think there's a difference with arrogance in a head football coach and arrogance with your athletic director. I think confidence is a wonderful trait to have in that position and he's a fantastic athletic director. He's obviously learned from his mistakes and won't be hiring another head coach for the football team that does not have head-coaching experience. Again, nothing wrong with the hires. The vision is great. The execution, not so much.

And he knows it. And I think it ate away at him over the last year. It's a big boy business. It's not like he was firing somebody who couldn't put food on the table. He should've canned him after the 2013 season. Mainly because of the season record and losing to Georgia Southern. But also because of his behavior with fans and the media.

I'm also aggravated that there was no clause or remediation regarding him recruiting players that he recruited while here at UF. At minimum for the final two months until signing day. As far as where he could work, I don't think there should be any stipulation on that. We fired him for a reason and people should be able to work wherever the hell they want to work.

 

[LagoonGator68]

Eyebrows were raised in the coaching profession when Foley fired Zooker so quickly and Urbie won a MNC with his players. This, plus all the injuries in 2013 had Foley in a hard spot for being labeled as unreasonable in the coaching fraternity.
Foley is an excellent AD. Nobody is perfect in coaching hires or anything else. Foley is a tad too old school on buyouts and restrictions which is a rapidly changing area of the profession.
Tom Jurich?sp at Louisville is the only guy I think does a better job. JMO

 

[stephenPE]

Foley is the only athletic director in Division I history to supervise a program that has won multiple national titles in football (1996, 2006, 2008) and men’s basketball (2006, 2007). Overall, 24 Gator teams have been crowned national champions under his watch, the second highest total in the nation among sitting Athletic Directors. I won't bore you with swimming, bouncey ball, and synchronized flag waving awards. I don't see the arrogance but if he is he's earned the right to be. I would also add that most of the posters on this site display that same trait from time to time. Some people say Spurrier was arrogant. NTTAWWT

pesky facts

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Tom Jurich?sp at Louisville is the only guy I think does a better job. JMO

Yeah, it would be damn hard to find another AD who could make Florida into a 4-8 to 6-6 school that is irrelevant for a decade. Tough indeed.

I expect to hear "FIRE FOLEY" echoing through the Swamp next year. He owns this steaming pile of dawgshiiit.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

He's obviously learned from his mistakes and won't be hiring another head coach for the football team that does not have head-coaching experience.

:rolleyes: Not the problem. Plenty of top assistants become great HCs. Plenty of guys who actually win championships in the peewee leagues flop on the big stage. Creyer had head-coaching experience (and multiple championships) and he drove the program into an iceberg.

The key is you can't be asleep at the wheel. In all three disasters, Fooley was asleep at the wheel.

 

[LagoonGator68]

Yeah, it would be damn hard to find another AD who could make Florida into a 4-8 to 6-6 school that is irrelevant for a decade. Tough indeed.

I expect to hear "FIRE FOLEY" echoing through the Swamp next year. He owns this steaming pile of dawgshiiit.

I fear you have MRSA in your trans-vaginal mesh.

 

[TN G8tr]

 

[stephenPE]

Who should Foley have hired instead of Zook or Muschamp or now JM? I always hear how he fcked up but what was the proper hire?

 

[dubster1]

I expect to hear "FIRE FOLEY

 

[Fishon]

Eyebrows were raised in the coaching profession when Foley fired Zooker so quickly and Urbie won a MNC with his players. This, plus all the injuries in 2013 had Foley in a hard spot for being labeled as unreasonable in the coaching fraternity.
Foley is an excellent AD. Nobody is perfect in coaching hires or anything else. Foley is a tad too old school on buyouts and restrictions which is a rapidly changing area of the profession.
Tom Jurich?sp at Louisville is the only guy I think does a better job. JMO

Jurich is the guy who hired Bobby Petrino twice, right?

 

[Gator Fever]

The one prior to Foley. Hired Spurrier and got Florida among the top universities of the all sports ratings.

 

[Blacklabgator]

Yeah, it would be damn hard to find another AD who could make Florida into a 4-8 to 6-6 school that is irrelevant for a decade. Tough indeed.

I expect to hear "FIRE FOLEY" echoing through the Swamp next year. He owns this steaming pile of dawgshiiit.

hnoes2: