The UF coaching hire model: does it work?

[18IsTheMan]

From the outside looking in, there is no reason at all that UF should not be at/near the top every season. They really face no restrictions or limitations obstacles to success, except for maybe the incredibly short leash they have.

And, "short leash" is a understatement:
--Zook was fired after going 8-5 (6-2), 8-5 (6-2), 7-5 (4-4), finishing top 25 each season. He wasn't Spurrier and good seasons ending in bowl losses weren't gonna cut it. But, outside of Urban's success, and Mullen's first 3 years, that was the best 3-year stretch since SOS left.
--Muschamp was fired after 1 bad season and 1 mediocre season, on the heels of an 11-win season. He was fired mid-season with a record of 5-4
--McElwain was fired after 2 good seasons and 1 bad season. This one is perplexing. Yeah, his last season was a stinker at 4-7, but he had previously gone 10-4 and 9-4 with top 25 and top 15 finish.
--Dan Mullen was fired after 2 really good seasons, one good season and one bad season (they were ranked top 10 his first 2 seasons and top 15 his 3rd). His last team definitely seemed to be spiraling at the end, but still, his first 3 seasons went 10-3, 11-2, 8-4 and he was only 5-6 when he was fired, which is certainly not good, but it's not abysmal.

Frankly, I'm surprised they didn't fire Napier after last season, given their track record. They don't give coaches 2 bad seasons. Of the previous four fired coaches, 3 were fired after one bad season. Zook was fired after 3 good seasons.

I guess they are following the Tennessee model. Just keep churning through coaches until they land on their Heupel. UT, of course, fired a 57 year old head coach who had a national title and a .745 win percentage (.721 in conference play).

As it pertains to us and Beamer, if UF and UT, with all their inherent advantages, have trouble making that model work for them, what makes think it would work here?

 

[gamecock stock]

From the outside looking in, there is no reason at all that UF should not be at/near the top every season. They really face no restrictions or limitations obstacles to success, except for maybe the incredibly short leash they have.

And, "short leash" is a understatement:
--Zook was fired after going 8-5 (6-2), 8-5 (6-2), 7-5 (4-4), finishing top 25 each season. He wasn't Spurrier and good seasons ending in bowl losses weren't gonna cut it. But, outside of Urban's success, and Mullen's first 3 years, that was the best 3-year stretch since SOS left.
--Muschamp was fired after 1 bad season and 1 mediocre season, on the heels of an 11-win season. He was fired mid-season with a record of 5-4
--McElwain was fired after 2 good seasons and 1 bad season. This one is perplexing. Yeah, his last season was a stinker at 4-7, but he had previously gone 10-4 and 9-4 with top 25 and top 15 finish.
--Dan Mullen was fired after 2 really good seasons, one good season and one bad season (they were ranked top 10 his first 2 seasons and top 15 his 3rd). His last team definitely seemed to be spiraling at the end, but still, his first 3 seasons went 10-3, 11-2, 8-4 and he was only 5-6 when he was fired, which is certainly not good, but it's not abysmal.

Frankly, I'm surprised they didn't fire Napier after last season, given their track record. They don't give coaches 2 bad seasons. Of the previous four fired coaches, 3 were fired after one bad season. Zook was fired after 3 good seasons.

I guess they are following the Tennessee model. Just keep churning through coaches until they land on their Heupel. UT, of course, fired a 57 year old head coach who had a national title and a .745 win percentage (.721 in conference play).

As it pertains to us and Beamer, if UF and UT, with all their inherent advantages, have trouble making that model work for them, what makes think it would work here?

Dan Mullen's first 2 teams finished 6th in the nation. His 3rd team finished 12th in the nation. I think he got fired because he was looked at as an indifferent recruiter. But in the state of Florida, you don't need to be a strong recruiter to win big. You will get your share of blue chip recruits. Look at Spurrier. He was never considered a strong recruiter. All he did was win the national championship there. IF Beamer fails here, we could do a lot worse than to hire Dan Mullen.

 

[Gamecock Jacque]

Dan Mullen's first 2 teams finished 6th in the nation. His 3rd team finished 12th in the nation. I think he got fired because he was looked at as an indifferent recruiter. But in the state of Florida, you don't need to be a strong recruiter to win big. You will get your share of blue chip recruits. Look at Spurrier. He was never considered a strong recruiter. All he did was win the national championship there. IF Beamer fails here, we could do a lot worse than to hire Dan Mullen.

I wanted Mullen for OC.

 

[Fried Chicken]

From the outside looking in, there is no reason at all that UF should not be at/near the top every season. They really face no restrictions or limitations obstacles to success, except for maybe the incredibly short leash they have.

And, "short leash" is a understatement:
--Zook was fired after going 8-5 (6-2), 8-5 (6-2), 7-5 (4-4), finishing top 25 each season. He wasn't Spurrier and good seasons ending in bowl losses weren't gonna cut it. But, outside of Urban's success, and Mullen's first 3 years, that was the best 3-year stretch since SOS left.
--Muschamp was fired after 1 bad season and 1 mediocre season, on the heels of an 11-win season. He was fired mid-season with a record of 5-4
--McElwain was fired after 2 good seasons and 1 bad season. This one is perplexing. Yeah, his last season was a stinker at 4-7, but he had previously gone 10-4 and 9-4 with top 25 and top 15 finish.
--Dan Mullen was fired after 2 really good seasons, one good season and one bad season (they were ranked top 10 his first 2 seasons and top 15 his 3rd). His last team definitely seemed to be spiraling at the end, but still, his first 3 seasons went 10-3, 11-2, 8-4 and he was only 5-6 when he was fired, which is certainly not good, but it's not abysmal.

Frankly, I'm surprised they didn't fire Napier after last season, given their track record. They don't give coaches 2 bad seasons. Of the previous four fired coaches, 3 were fired after one bad season. Zook was fired after 3 good seasons.

I guess they are following the Tennessee model. Just keep churning through coaches until they land on their Heupel. UT, of course, fired a 57 year old head coach who had a national title and a .745 win percentage (.721 in conference play).

As it pertains to us and Beamer, if UF and UT, with all their inherent advantages, have trouble making that model work for them, what makes think it would work here?

In all of this the craziest part to me is that Phillip Fulmer was only 57 when he got fired.

 

[Lurker123]

Dan Mullen's first 2 teams finished 6th in the nation. His 3rd team finished 12th in the nation. I think he got fired because he was looked at as an indifferent recruiter. But in the state of Florida, you don't need to be a strong recruiter to win big. You will get your share of blue chip recruits. Look at Spurrier. He was never considered a strong recruiter. All he did was win the national championship there. IF Beamer fails here, we could do a lot worse than to hire Dan Mullen.

I had to look it up. His fourth year was 5-6, after 3 good years.

And then there was his behavior during a brawl with Missouri? I don't recall specifics, but I remember he didn't cone out good.

But the original point is true. Until NIL, florida was seen as a recruiting can't miss zone. So no real excuses for not excelling. Whether or not that was reality is obviously up for debate.

 

[gamecock stock]

I had to look it up. His fourth year was 5-6, after 3 good years.

And then there was his behavior during a brawl with Missouri? I don't recall specifics, but I remember he didn't cone out good.

But the original point is true. Until NIL, florida was seen as a recruiting can't miss zone. So no real excuses for not excelling. Whether or not that was reality is obviously up for debate.

Yes, his 4th year was his undoing. Just think if Beamer did that after 3 seasons, we would be debating where to put his statue. I don't recall anything about the brawl. I would have stuck with him if I was Florida. They did not. But, he probably is looking better than Napier to Gator fans right now. But I would not give up on Napier yet if I was them. But if they do, I expect them to go after Kiffin and will probably get him.

IF we have an opening ( and I hope we do not), I would prefer someone in their early 40s, though Mullens is not old in his early 50s. I hope Beamer quickly makes such speculation moot this season.

 

[18IsTheMan]

In all of this the craziest part to me is that Phillip Fulmer was only 57 when he got fired.

Yep, I didn't realize it either until I double-checked. He had 2 not-so-good seasons out of 17 and they ran him off. They fired him the season after he had them n the SECCG. And they've spent the last 16 years trying to get back to that level. Really weird. Maybe 16 years ago a coach who had one bad season at the age of 57 was viewed as on his way out.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Yes, his 4th year was his undoing. Just think if Beamer did that after 3 seasons, we would be debating where to put his statue. I don't recall anything about the brawl. I would have stuck with him if I was Florida. They did not. But, he probably is looking better than Napier to Gator fans right now. But I would not give up on Napier yet if I was them. But if they do, I expect them to go after Kiffin and will probably get him.

IF we have an opening ( and I hope we do not), I would prefer someone in their early 40s, though Mullens is not old in his early 50s. I hope Beamer quickly makes such speculation moot this season.

Given their track record, I simply cannot see Napier surviving this year if it does not go well. I'm not sure he'll make it through the season if the fans start to get antsy. Frankly, he likely would have been canned last year if we had not crapped the bed in glorious fashion against them. 4-8 on the heels of 6-7 would have been it for him, I think.

 

[gamecocks94]

I wanted Mullen for OC.

So did I and a lot of other fans. I think that's where Beamer has failed the most; not hiring quality assistants and retaining ones that need to be shown the door.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I wanted Mullen for OC.

I think we all would have been happy with that, but there's no way Mullen would take an OC job for a green HC.

 

[gamecock stock]

Given their track record, I simply cannot see Napier surviving this year if it does not go well. I'm not sure he'll make it through the season if the fans start to get antsy. Frankly, he likely would have been canned last year if we had not crapped the bed in glorious fashion against them. 4-8 on the heels of 6-7 would have been it for him, I think.

I have a feeling they would go after Kiffin. He would be a great hire.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I have a feeling they would go after Kiffin. He would be a great hire.

I'm sure he'd be on their radar. Just can't stand that man. He's 49 but he behaves like a teenage girl.