Poll: Who was the best Florida AD?

[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.

So we are only allowed to keep score during the last 3 coaching regimes. Never mind the success the loser coach had before Zook. The 1st recognized SEC title (of 6) and 1st recognized National Championship don't count, and if they did, Foley gets no credit. So in your world, Foley had three at bats, striking out twice. In your eyes he also gets no credit for the success of the football team with Meyer as head coach, Machen gets all of that. Yes, Muschamp stayed too long. But just like you, I don't have a clue why he wasn't fired sooner. I'm sure there is more going on in the boardrooms of 100 million dollar programs than you or I or any of the other keyboard monkeys that come in here know. From the period 2007-2010 (the last period calculated by the organization), the USSA ranked the Florida program #1 out of 120 universities, through a complicated system of weights and averages. That score includes athletics, academics, and graduation rates. And yes, we will fall from that lofty perch when they calculate the next 4 years. http://thesportjournal.org/article/...on-athletic-performance-and-academic-success/
He has been awarded National AD of the year by several different publications as well as the National Football Foundation and the College Football Hall of Fame.
But yeah, out of his three at bats you gave him, he struck out twice. Seems a little disingenuous to me. Foley is 62 so you would expect him to probably think about retiring soon. You should also hope whoever is chosen to replace him has a set of balls half as big.

 

[GatorJ]

So we are only allowed to keep score during the last 3 coaching regimes. Never mind the success the loser coach had before Zook. The 1st recognized SEC title (of 6) and 1st recognized National Championship don't count, and if they did, Foley gets no credit. So in your world, Foley had three at bats, striking out twice. In your eyes he also gets no credit for the success of the football team with Meyer as head coach, Machen gets all of that. Yes, Muschamp stayed too long. But just like you, I don't have a clue why he wasn't fired sooner. I'm sure there is more going on in the boardrooms of 100 million dollar programs than you or I or any of the other keyboard monkeys that come in here know. From the period 2007-2010 (the last period calculated by the organization), the USSA ranked the Florida program #1 out of 120 universities, through a complicated system of weights and averages. That score includes athletics, academics, and graduation rates. And yes, we will fall from that lofty perch when they calculate the next 4 years. [video]http://thesportjournal.org/article/ranking-college-football-programs-based-upon-athletic-performance-and-academic-success/[/video]
He has been awarded National AD of the year by several different publications as well as the National Football Foundation and the College Football Hall of Fame.
But yeah, out of his three at bats you gave him, he struck out twice. Seems a little disingenuous to me. Foley is 62 so you would expect him to probably think about retiring soon. You should also hope whoever is chosen to replace him has a set of balls half as big.

Foley was not the AD when Spurrier was hired. That entire rant was invalid.

And he may even be 0-2. There's a lot of speculation on his role in Meyer's hiring. Or lack thereof.

 

[crosscreekcooter]

Foley was not the AD when Spurrier was hired. That entire rant was invalid.

And he may even be 0-2. There's a lot of speculation on his role in Meyer's hiring. Or lack thereof.

It wasnt a rant. I am fully aware that he didnt hire Spurrier, however he was Spurriers boss and ran the entire athletic program for half the time SOS was at Fla, so your response was invalid. On my scorecard he gets credit for the success that ocurred during that time. And about Meyer, Machen is the one that told Foley to tell SOS to send his resume cause he wanted Meyer. Meyer was going to take the ND job, his dream job remember. But Foley is the one who kept working away at Meyer and finally cut the deal that brought him here. So your 0-2 comment was wrong as well. Opinions are like *******s, and everybody's got one....some's just bigger than others. My opinion is that he is the best in the business.

 

[GatorJ]

I don't think I said that he wasn't.

 

[SavannahGator]

Others in the poll: Graves . . . sure, he's venerated as the consummate Gator, but I was in school (graduated in 77) while he was AD. What did we do in football then? Dickey did lead us to four bowl games in my four years in school, and we beat scUM, FSU, and AU four out of my four years, but lost to UGA 3 out of 4, costing us SEC titles twice. What did Graves do for hoops? He hired the late John Lotz "a luck", but those weren't "golden" years of Gator hoops. The spring sports were OK, but except for one or two golf SEC titles, not much there.

Carr: he served after Graves, if I'm not mistaken. I can't remember if he or Graves hired Pell, but I'm certain Carr was at the helm during the Pell scandal and had to clean up with Galen after that. And all he had in hoops was "Stormin Norman." A lot of scandal there. Spring sports improved under him, but just like Graves, nowhere near the level we are accustomed to now.

Arnsparger: yeah, he hired SOS, but what else? Hoops floundered under him. I think he was only AD for about four years, anyway, so other than the major hire of Steve, hard to say he could even be in the list.

Far and away, regardless of Zook (no one else wanted to follow SOS) and Muschamp (remember, when we hired him, he was #1 on everyone else's list), Foley is the #1 AD in UF history.

 

[Seka]

Suggestion for mods from a rookie (aka virgin poster). Add a UNLIKE button. Could have used it alot in this thread.

 

[78]

I am fully aware that he didnt hire Spurrier, however he was Spurriers boss and ran the entire athletic program for half the time SOS was at Fla, so your response was invalid. On my scorecard he gets credit for the success that ocurred during that time.

If athletic directors were like general managers, then yes. But that's not the case in college football, where coaches almost singularly oversee recruiting and assistant coach moves. Foley in my book gets none of the credit for what Spurrier accomplished. If anything, he was Spurrier's caddie.

 

[dubster1]

[QUOTE='78;n211235]Foley in my book gets none of the credit for what Spurrier accomplished. If anything, he was Spurrier's caddie.
[/QUOTE]
:hehehe:

 

[crosscreekcooter]

I guess another way someone could look at that is Spurrier only won 1 SEC title and 0 national Championships before Foley. Or if he gets no credit for the success during the tenure of a head coach then likewise he gets no credit for the failures either. You can't have it both ways.

 

[78]

I guess another way someone could look at that is Spurrier only won 1 SEC title and 0 national Championships before Foley. Or if he gets no credit for the success during the tenure of a head coach then likewise he gets no credit for the failures either. You can't have it both ways.

That argument proves nothing. Spurrier came on in the 1990 season amid turmoil. Foley was hired two seasons later.

 

[crosscreekcooter]

My argument proves everything. After Foley became Spurrier's boss, Florida went on to win 5 SEC championships and 1 National championship and play for another. And the success under Foley has continued for the last 23 years at an almost unprecedented rate. But that's ok, you just peeled one sentence out of a much larger point. My ex-wife was like that too. The thread is asking readers in their opinion who was the the best Fla AD., not who was Spurrier's caddy.

 

[oxrageous]

My argument proves everything. After Foley became Spurrier's boss, Florida went on to win 5 SEC championships and 1 National championship and play for another. And the success under Foley has continued for the last 23 years at an almost unprecedented rate. But that's ok, you just peeled one sentence out of a much larger point. My ex-wife was like that too. The thread is asking readers in their opinion who was the the best Fla AD., not who was Spurrier's caddy.

So you think if we had hired a different AD Spurrier may not have had the success he had? What specifically did Foley really have to do with Spurrier's success?

I think they could have hired ME (as a 16 year old at the time) and it wouldn't have changed the Spurrier era one iota.

 

[78]

My argument proves everything. After Foley became Spurrier's boss, Florida went on to win 5 SEC championships and 1 National championship and play for another. And the success under Foley has continued for the last 23 years at an almost unprecedented rate. But that's ok, you just peeled one sentence out of a much larger point. My ex-wife was like that too. The thread is asking readers in their opinion who was the the best Fla AD., not who was Spurrier's caddy.

Apple is a 726 billion company. Apple got that way because:

a) It sold a ton of iPhones to the Chinese.
b) The stock market is rigged.
c) It's a market leader in innovation.
d) I bought a second-hand Mac in 1998.

 

[crosscreekcooter]

If you had been hired, we would have surely beaten Nebraska. I never mentioned anything about what it would have been like if we hired a different AD. And I thought you were still 16. Please try to stay on topic. In fact, what was your answer in the poll?

 

[dubster1]

[QUOTE='78;n211261]


Apple is a 726 billion company. Apple got that way because:

a) It sold a ton of iPhones to the Chinese.
b) The stock market is rigged.
c) It's a market leader in innovation.
d) I bought a second-hand Mac in 1998.[/QUOTE]


i will take d for 200 alex

 

[78]

So you think if we had hired a different AD Spurrier may not have had the success he had? What specifically did Foley really have to do with Spurrier's success?

I think they could have hired ME (as a 16 year old at the time) and it wouldn't have changed the Spurrier era one iota.

Except you'd have probably given Doug Johnson eight vacations.

 

[crosscreekcooter]

[QUOTE='78;n211261]


Apple is a 726 billion company. Apple got that way because:

a) It sold a ton of iPhones to the Chinese.
b) The stock market is rigged.
c) It's a market leader in innovation.
d) I bought a second-hand Mac in 1998.[/QUOTE]
This is a tortured analogy.

 

[78]

This is a tortured analogy.

I suppose you can call it an in-kind response to an ill-fated attempt at spinning the facts to fit a bad argument.

 

[crosscreekcooter]

OK...all bull****e aside, who was Fla's best AD in your opinion? And I suppose Ox is off filling out AD applications.

 

[78]

OK...all bull****e aside, who was Fla's best AD in your opinion?

Bill Arnsparger hands down. Bernie Machen a close second.