2008 Woodie Awards
Gators Fire Head Coach Ron Zook
Zook to lead final four games of the season, while Spurrier remains slippery on issue.
Dick Weiss
Issue date: 10/29/04 Section: Sports
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Ron Zook became Gator bait Monday.
The University of Florida made a drastic move, firing its head football coach and his entire staff with four games left in the season.
The announcement came five days before the Gators play archrival Georgia in Jacksonville. Zook and his staff will be allowed to coach the rest of the season in a lame-duck capacity while the school searches for a replacement.
"It just didn't appear to be working," AD Jeremy Foley said. "It certainly wasn't working the way I thought it would when I hired Ron Zook three years ago. I take full responsibility for that."
Even though the Gators are a disappointing 4-3 and coming off a shocking 38-31 loss to struggling Mississippi State that Zook termed "embarrassing," the timing still seemed strange.
"We knew where this was going to end up Nov. 21," Foley said. "I didn't want to sit there and not be honest with people. That's not fair to anyone. That's not fair to Ron."
Having said that, Foley defended the idea of allowing Zook to finish the season. "He deserves to," Foley said. "He's done everything we've asked. I can't sit there and say, 'Zooker, you can't finish the season.' That wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be in the best interest of the team."
Foley claimed the decision had nothing to do with the fact former Florida coach Steve Spurrier, who was fired last year by the Washington Redskins, is available. Foley said if Spurrier was interested, he would be glad to talk with him.
Spurrier is definitely the boosters' choice, but he sidestepped reporters' inquires. "I guess everything will play itself out in the next couple weeks," he said. There is also some thought Spurrier may want another shot in the NFL, especially if the Miami Dolphins' job opens as expected.
Foley said Florida would pursue other candidates once the season ends. Speculation already has centered around Urban Meyer, the hot coach of unbeaten Utah, which rose to sixth in the BCS rankings this week. Florida president Bernie Machen hired Meyer to coach the Utes when he was at that school.
The University of Florida made a drastic move, firing its head football coach and his entire staff with four games left in the season.
The announcement came five days before the Gators play archrival Georgia in Jacksonville. Zook and his staff will be allowed to coach the rest of the season in a lame-duck capacity while the school searches for a replacement.
"It just didn't appear to be working," AD Jeremy Foley said. "It certainly wasn't working the way I thought it would when I hired Ron Zook three years ago. I take full responsibility for that."
Even though the Gators are a disappointing 4-3 and coming off a shocking 38-31 loss to struggling Mississippi State that Zook termed "embarrassing," the timing still seemed strange.
"We knew where this was going to end up Nov. 21," Foley said. "I didn't want to sit there and not be honest with people. That's not fair to anyone. That's not fair to Ron."
Having said that, Foley defended the idea of allowing Zook to finish the season. "He deserves to," Foley said. "He's done everything we've asked. I can't sit there and say, 'Zooker, you can't finish the season.' That wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be in the best interest of the team."
Foley claimed the decision had nothing to do with the fact former Florida coach Steve Spurrier, who was fired last year by the Washington Redskins, is available. Foley said if Spurrier was interested, he would be glad to talk with him.
Spurrier is definitely the boosters' choice, but he sidestepped reporters' inquires. "I guess everything will play itself out in the next couple weeks," he said. There is also some thought Spurrier may want another shot in the NFL, especially if the Miami Dolphins' job opens as expected.
Foley said Florida would pursue other candidates once the season ends. Speculation already has centered around Urban Meyer, the hot coach of unbeaten Utah, which rose to sixth in the BCS rankings this week. Florida president Bernie Machen hired Meyer to coach the Utes when he was at that school.