Former Florida defensive end Johnie Church shares 10 observations on the current state of the Gators football program.
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1) What offensive coach do we have on staff that would like to audition & take a stab at orchestrating an offense for us? It's great for future employment opportunities elsewhere. There's no way you could do any worse! Suggestions?
2) The catastrophic collapse of a lot of our players throughout the past few seasons is a direct reflection of our strength program. The arms on our linemen are the size of a wide receiver's arms on other teams. The second most important position on a program, besides head coach, belongs to the head strength and conditioning coach. They create the toughness, identity, and mental acuity needed to excel on the field. Coaches follow-up with the technical aspect and understanding of the game. If either element is missing in a program, it's a recipe for inconsistency at best.
3) We have National Championship caliber talent on this roster, similar to when Urban Meyer took over. Hopefully, our next coach can see that and try to expedite the reason to lead the Gators. The right coach with the right staff could have us in the college playoffs next year with the talent on the roster.
4) I hate to see us recycling coaches every 3-4 years, but that decision had to be made after the erroneous efforts to taint the public's eyes on the fan base. Every coach for every major program most likely has experienced a thinly veiled threat from some puny fan after a major loss. Those coaches also keep it in-house (when they happen), and let authorities and school personnel do the internal research. With as many impulsive social media posts these modern athletes put out there today, if one were actually threatened by some random fan, they would have posted online somewhere almost immediately. Which leads me to say that, in my opinion, our head coach making millions just flat-out lied to try to get some empathy.
5) The pressure-cooker of a major college program (and our fan base is probably one of the most aggressive I've ever seen) is not for the faint-at-heart. It's not for thin-skinned coaches! With that being said, I know we live in a microwave society, but our fans need to start gaining some perspective on timelines & realistic expectations for future coaches. I thought Coach Mac had earned the opportunity for another season & the opportunity to show us this vaunted offense that "Clarabelle" could master. Unfortunately, that death-threat fiasco also earned him instant termination in my book as well.
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* Offensive line depth to be put to the test
* Take Two: Would Chip Kelly be the best fit at Florida?
* Shannon press conference blog: OL out for rest of year, Zaire status update
* Breakdown: Commits most to least likely to stick with Florida
* Recruiting Wire: Florida commit taking visit
* Thamel: Florida focused on three candidates
* Florida head coaching candidates weekend wrap-up
* Sunday 3-2-1: Thoughts on Florida's latest loss
* Notebook: Shannon saw more fight in Gators, emotional Zaire pushed to play
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6) The injuries coupled with the player suspensions definitely took it's toll on the team. The suspensions alone were almost too much to overcome at the beginning, but the massive amount of casualties that followed, doomed us. However, that doesn't negate the fact that consistency in the offensive woes had nothing to do with the suspensions. Even with third and even fourth team guys, we should have seen an offensive coordinator's ability to adjust and create opportunities with what he had. We, literally have the worse offensive game-plan in all of major college football (maybe all of college football). It's that toxic to watch! I know Coach Steve Spurrier had to be throwing a ghost visor a few hundred times in a suite somewhere in the stadium.
7) I thought our guys competed this week. The young, depleted defense kept causing turnovers and creating opportunities. You're suppose to win almost every game where defense creates that many turnovers. It's a rule of thumb!
8) Where do we go from here: Well, first off we need to leave currently committed recruits alone if they decide to decommit & open recruitment back up. These kids are still committable and usually do these things at the advice of loved ones and high school coaches who don't want them limiting their opportunities if the "new coach" doesn't honor their commitment. Speak up on the university and wish these kids well no matter where they go. They are young and impressionable, so any negativity they receive from some child-like fan goes a long way. Especially since our former head coach said he was threatened and fearful for his family. Stupid comments and good-riddance tweets only make a lie become believable.
9) I was happy to see the relationship shown to Will Muschamp after the game by former players. It really did show that he had a bond that very few coaches have with their players. Champ is a good guy and was truly a player's coach that also kept a good atmosphere. The keys to this ride in Gainesville was just a little too fast for him at the time. I think he's going to do well in South Carolina and be there for a while.
10) Let's pray for a victory over UAB this weekend. It is not guaranteed for sure. We're rebounding and we're loading up with hopefully the right coach for our brand. We love our university & we love our sports. A.D. Scott Strickland can greatly endear the Gator Nation to him WHEN he knocks this next hire out of the park. Lord knows we are ready and waiting! Go Gators!
