Florida may forever be a relic

[ptcarter]

I have no respect for Bianchi, writer here in Central Florida, but this article of his, expounding on what Saban has had to say about UF, seems pretty spot on.

Florida's NIL collective is disorganized, even now, and the money we keep investing in coaches, expecting a turn around in 24 months, is just not going to work anymore. And we are comparing new coaches to what Spurrier and Meyer did, and without resources comparable to other teams.

Mike Bianchi: Nick Saban isn’t wrong when he says it’s a Gator problem, not a Napier problem

Is this the week? If the Florida Gators lose to UCF in six days, is this the week when they once again start from ground zero? When they fire their old coach — Billy Napier— and hire a new one? When they tear it all down? When they totally rebuild their roster? When they likely spend more than...

sports.yahoo.com

Thing is, I have been up there a few times in recent years, and the university is different. I'm not complaining, its a much better academic institution than when I went there. Tougher to get into. More productive and focused. But that student body now seems far less interested in football than 30 years ago. And so does the school, itself.

I just think we may have reached a point where the momentum is not there to invest the time and money to try to be competitive again. We may easily be the next Nebraska. A legend to the old timers, a perpetual also-ran the rest of the way.

NIL is changing the landscape. The rich are going to get richer and Florida is not alone. It'll boil down to a dozen or fewer teams and if you are one of those, you'll be the Harlem Globetrotters. The rest will be the Washington Generals. There will be better parity though in those dozen teams. College football as I knew it (born '57) is pretty much gone. The uniforms, helmets, field, fan gear - all look the same as a decade ago, but you really have a semi-pro team using college stadiums as a venue. Loyalty to a school by a player can't exist if the player hits the transfer portal a couple of times. Sort of like Henry T. as an example.

 

[05_never_again]

NIL is changing the landscape. The rich are going to get richer and Florida is not alone. It'll boil down to a dozen or fewer teams and if you are one of those, you'll be the Harlem Globetrotters. The rest will be the Washington Generals. There will be better parity though in those dozen teams. College football as I knew it (born '57) is pretty much gone. The uniforms, helmets, field, fan gear - all look the same as a decade ago, but you really have a semi-pro team using college stadiums as a venue. Loyalty to a school by a player can't exist if the player hits the transfer portal a couple of times. Sort of like Henry T. as an example.

College football hasn't been a quaint game played by "student-athletes" for the "love of the game" since at least 1980.

 

[ptcarter]

College football hasn't been a quaint game played by "student-athletes" for the "love of the game" since at least 1980.

I was going to use Vanderbilt as an example, but that was a lost cause before 1980. Take a middle of the pack team, like Mississippi State. They will never have the NIL resources as the "big boys". In the pre-NIL days, they could land a Dak Prescott, but I don't see him going to a school like that now if he was coming out of high school.

 

[05_never_again]

I was going to use Vanderbilt as an example, but that was a lost cause before 1980. Take a middle of the pack team, like Mississippi State. They will never have the NIL resources as the "big boys". In the pre-NIL days, they could land a Dak Prescott, but I don't see him going to a school like that now if he was coming out of high school.

Dak Prescott was a very lightly-recruited guy. Miss St could still land a recruit like him today; actually, they were by far the biggest name school who was interested in him (at least as a QB). Epitome of a diamond in the rough.

Miss St never has had the resources to compete with the big boys, pre or post-NIL.

 

[SpookyAction]

UF is a Big Time program, even when they suck.
UT is the same.

 

[Dudleys87]

UF is a Big Time program, even when they suck.
UT is the same.

But you can’t do anything without proper backing. It doesn’t matter the coach if the brass doesent support you you’ll never get off the ground.

 

[butchna]

I was going to use Vanderbilt as an example, but that was a lost cause before 1980. Take a middle of the pack team, like Mississippi State. They will never have the NIL resources as the "big boys". In the pre-NIL days, they could land a Dak Prescott, but I don't see him going to a school like that now if he was coming out of high school.

He wasn’t highly recruited…so they could land his type. KEEPING him however?

 

[DaddyChad]

Most classless, disgusting program in the nation. I hope they lose every game, every season for eternity and their piss bomb throwing fans have to sob theirselves to sleep every night.

 

[volmanjr]

Most classless, disgusting program in the nation. I hope they lose every game, every season for eternity and their piss bomb throwing fans have to sob theirselves to sleep every night.

Tell us how you really feel DC

 

[DaddyChad]

Tell us how you really feel DC

I would get banned if I said how I really feel about Florida

 

[ETV]

Most classless, disgusting program in the nation. I hope they lose every game, every season for eternity and their piss bomb throwing fans have to sob theirselves to sleep every night.

Their fan base in the 90's gave opposing visitors hell back then. Their enthusiasm for their program was off the charts and add in pregame festivities at the purple porpoise and they'll be rowdy.

Was there for the '93 game and the epic collapse of '95. Never witnessed the urine bombs.

 

[DaddyChad]

Their fan base in the 90's gave opposing visitors hell back then. Their enthusiasm for their program was off the charts and add in pregame festivities at the purple porpoise and they'll be rowdy.

Was there for the '93 game and the epic collapse of '95. Never witnessed the urine bombs.

I’ve dealt with all kinds of opposing fanbase fans. I can safely say Florida are the worse. Georgia fans can be obnoxious but they’re nowhere close to the Ahole factor of Florida. That fanbase can’t suffer enough imo.

 

[UTwild82]

It's all cyclical. Florida has too passionate a fanbase located in too good of a recruiting hotbed to be down forever.

 

[Pennheel]

It's all cyclical. Florida has too passionate a fanbase located in too good of a recruiting hotbed to be down forever.

It is cyclical. Florida schools tend to go through this phase. A few will suffer while one will have success.Miami is reaping the benefits right now.

 

[ETV]

It's all cyclical. Florida has too passionate a fanbase located in too good of a recruiting hotbed to be down forever.

Yes. But if their administration and AD/Coach can't get on the same page, they'll be set up for mediocrity or failure.

 

[Remy]

I’ve dealt with all kinds of opposing fanbase fans. I can safely say Florida are the worse. Georgia fans can be obnoxious but they’re nowhere close to the Ahole factor of Florida. That fanbase can’t suffer enough imo.

I can say the only time I've ever had to resort to fisticuffs over a football game was because a UF fan attacked me at a bar in LA. He must have been 20 or 30 years my junior at the time and made the mistake of his life. I had the whole bar singing Rocky Top and he took exception to it. I was allowed to stay and complete my time there. He lost a lot of dignity and then had a bouncer rough him up again on the way out.

 

[lawgator1]

Their fan base in the 90's gave opposing visitors hell back then. Their enthusiasm for their program was off the charts and add in pregame festivities at the purple porpoise and they'll be rowdy.

Was there for the '93 game and the epic collapse of '95. Never witnessed the urine bombs.

I've never seen one nor heard even a credible second hand account of one. Pure fiction.

 

[VOLLeeann]

It is cyclical. Florida schools tend to go through this phase. A few will suffer while one will have success.Miami is reaping the benefits right now.

And w/ FSU in the toilet...

 

[volbound1700]

I see FSU as much more Nebraska-esque than UF. especially if they leave the ACC for anywhere but the SEC. not that I want them.

I also don't think either one of you have been down to that level, or down long enough to make those comparisons.

as time often shows its sometimes best NOT to go chasing new coaches. Keeping Dan Mullen for another year or two wouldn't have been the worst thing. Us keeping Fulmer another year, or at least not making a rush hire, would have us in a better spot. Nebraska and Pelini. If your school/AD isn't lined up it doesn't really matter who the coach is.

Where Tennessee screwed up first was Dooley. Hiring Kiffin was definitely a mistake but it was one in hindsight. The guy brought energy and had some nice wins and recruiting in just a single season. No one could have predicted USC having an opening, hiring Kiffin, and him bolting. However, we rushed and hired Dooley who was 5-19 at La Tech and gave him 3 years to not recruit talent and lose. We then had a hard time hiring (I think partly due to bad AD) and ended up with Butch Jones that looked alright on paper but flopped as well after 5 years. He was given 5 years so that was another headache. Things really turned south with the Schiano/Pruitt hire and it was driven by a fanbase that had enough.

Butch Jones and Pruitt have some logic behind their hires (one being an alright HC and the other being a DC for an elite program). Nothing about the Dooley hire made any sense and on paper, it was a total mistake even at the time (without hindsight). I still don't understand that hire.

Pruitt was a lower point than Dooley IMO but on paper, Dooley was the worst hire with the facts at the time and made no sense at all.

 

[volbound1700]

Going back to Florida. Napier can't coach. I think he is alright in game time coaching and strategy (at times) but it is clear that he can't develop players, especially along the line. Florida is recruiting well, they are just not developing.

He is basically like Butch Jones. Jones' teams had great star power and QB play but their lines were atrocious at times and they had no depth (once you got to second string, you were screwed). This is why both Tennessee under Jones and Florida under Napier also fold a lot in the second half when their starters run out of gas.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

There's a USA Today blurb about Kiffin and UF, I'll not link to it but it's by Matt Hayes, that struck me as almost saying "Kiffin could lose another game, likely miss the playoffs, and make it a whole lot easier for UF to hire him."

The tone wasn't "I think he might tank a game" but it was "it's when, not if..... and it's easier for everyone if Ole Miss misses the playoffs.

Kiffin has always had a "riverboat gambler" streak in his offense, but I'll be watching his coaching decisions a little closer. It's not that I don't trust Kiffin but it's that I don't trust anything in college football not to be motivated by money and the assumption is that Kiffin would get a 2-3M / yr raise.

I dislike seeing college football with those eyes but I can't help it these days.

 

[Firebirdparts]

I've never seen one nor heard even a credible second hand account of one. Pure fiction.

I'm glad to hear that. I've always worried about that.

Maybe people threw beer. It wouldn't be that easy to tell the difference.

 

[adam.vol]

I was going to use Vanderbilt as an example, but that was a lost cause before 1980. Take a middle of the pack team, like Mississippi State. They will never have the NIL resources as the "big boys". In the pre-NIL days, they could land a Dak Prescott, but I don't see him going to a school like that now if he was coming out of high school.

As long as recruits are expected to go to camps to get recognition, there will always be the hidden gem who comes from a poorer area and shakes things up. Steve McNair, Brett Favre, and Phillip Rivers all came from the Magnolia State and didn’t get recruited by the not so bright coaches of the SEC and Big 10. - Maybe the hidden gem leaves for NIL after a successful year or maybe their program realizes where the boost in revenue originated and offers to share appropriately.

I wonder how long NIL is going to remain as we know it today. The 14% raise in ticket prices, along with the selling of the stadium’s naming rights tells me that some big spenders are attempting to redistribute the costs. Who has $120,000,000 to spend every recruiting year?

Does NIL actually offer a return on the expense?
- Did anyone begin to eat French’s mustard to support Hendon?

 

[jackaro]

Pruitt was a lower point than Dooley IMO but on paper, Dooley was the worst hire with the facts at the time and made no sense at all.

To me the most important aspect of a head coach is their ability to lead. Some people can do it, most cannot. Pruitt may have looked like a good hire on paper but that is why there is an interview process. Fulmer interviewed Pruitt and, presumably, thought he would be a great leader. That is damning of Fulmer's judgement. Awful hire and Fulmer should have known that after speaking to that inarticulate Alabama hick. Dooley wasn't great but I guarentee he gives a better interview than Pruitt.

 

[VolNExile]

I’m not defending Pruitt’s hire by any means, but I think we’re forgetting the OMG-we-have-to-hire-someone-or-recruiting-and-the-season-will-be-lost-and-life-as-we-know-it-will-end.

Also, Dooley was awful too and probably gave a great interview, so.