Farewell, Addazio (Has a ring to it, no?)

[DRU2012]

You can tell that with exams over and students gone home for vacation, and alumni too turning their attention to the season's many other concerns and distractions, Gator football has taken a back seat. There'll be some excitement by New Year's and the Outback, but even with the buzz surrounding our new Head Coach and his choices regarding staff (especially Coordinators) and recruits, being outside the BCS-discussion has definitely put a damper on our usual enthusiasm this time of year. As I've noted elsewhere, to judge by the "Number viewing" lately here on the Envy, there is hardly anyone paying attention now I guess, only us hard core Gators already scattered across the Great American Wasteland.
Perhaps it is a fitting result of this reality that our inevitable parting-of-the-ways with Steve Addazio, aka "The Dazzler", aka "the lupus of offense", etc., may very well occur quietly and ignominiously with his departure for "browner pastures". Word out of Philadelphia is that he has been approached by Temple University to become their Head Coach, replacing Al Golden, who (ironically enough) has just been hired as the new coach down at the "eeewww".
There has been some PR-based "happy talk" about Addazio's "excellent resume and wide experience at the highest levels of college football", but I can't see how it is anything but a step back at BEST for a program that I had some affinity for, as a lower-tier underdog that HAD been finding a way towards success, against all odds, thanks to Mr. Golden. In fact, I had already been disappointed for Temple and, frankly, a little unhappy that the 'Canes were getting someone who may really be able to rebuild that program. Now his old team may be settling for Addazio, the best they can get? Yikes.

 

[Escambia94]

I've noticed that people outside of the Gator Nation are oblivious to the Dazzler's ineptitude. Remember that the other fans are too consumed with their own problems to pay attention to our issues. Many think Addazio is a fine coach on a team, like the Longhorns, that just had a bad year.

With all that has happened in Gainesville this year, we don't know what went wrong. I think Dazzler will be a fine HC as long as he stays away from Xs and Os. He did a good job as HC during the Sugar Bowl as long as someone else like Loeffler handled the plays.

 

[TraderGator]

I think Coach Addazio did a good job as OL Coach and a great job as a recruiter for the Gators.

The problem was Coach Meyer putting him in over his head and then, stubbornly, persistently refusing to admit the Mighty Coach made a mistake.

So Coach Addazio's reputation as a coach takes a major hit.

John Brantley's reputation as a player takes a major hit.

The Gators' program takes a major hit.

Coach Meyer's reputation takes a lesser hit.

I'm happy Addazio is leaving under the circumstances. Just unhappy one irrationally-stubborn man could bring about so much misery to avoid admitting a clear mistake.

 

[Escambia94]

Where's that "like button"?

 

[DRU2012]

Wow, y'all are harder on Meyer-in-retrospect than even I am ready to be. Mind you, everything you say about his stubbornness in this matter are things I have said during this frustrating "season-in-turmoil", but that had to do with his concepts of trust, honor and loyalty--and the "great job" Addazio did filling in at HC, standing by his boss and friend AND holding it all together, had to play a big role in that; while the fatal mistake on Meyer's part was allowing all of that to cloud his judgment and sense of priorities in putting the wrong man in the wrong job and keeping him there, the practical, on-field failure was, in my view, clearly Addazio's.
Regarding his supposed strengths, as I said to Zooker in a parallel discussion, he did NOT do his formerly stalwart job with the O-line this past season, and Zook too was known as a fine and tireless recruiter, yet we never missed a beat with his departure. Again: we'll be fine without him.
I have no discrepancy with any point in TraderGator's analysis; Meyer did stubbornly make his choices, and as Head Coach is therefore responsible for all of the consequences and repercussions. His errors in judgment went back further than that, however, back to that whole strangely joyless '09 season with Addazio in charge of the offense--and let's not forget: on some deeper level Meyer KNEW he was finished by the end of it, and WE PULLED HIM BACK...players, coaches, students, alumni, fans, Foley, EVERYONE begged and pleaded for him to reconsider, "say it ain't so!". On some level, we were complicit in this grand "error in judgment", so even though I am as frustrated, disappointed and angry at what we all had to go through as anyone, at where it has left us as far as the time, work and effort we'll need to get back, I hesitate to venture TOO far down the "BLAME MEYER FOR EVERYTHING"-road. Believe me, there will be a strong and growing backlash in that direction coming soon.
He still took us to new heights, together with Tebow put us at the top AND center of American College Football awareness. If this past year has eroded some of that, well then we've got work to do, right?. While we're not in the middle of the Championship race this year, we're still "on the map". "All" we've got to do is get it together, go out and win. Everyone knows who we are, and the cupboard certainly isn't bare. Urban Meyer left us in AMAZINGLY better shape than he found us in. I give him his due. Now it's time to move on.