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muschamp not going anywhere?

Escambia94

Aerospace Cubicle Engineer (ACE)
Moderator
You do not need to be close to the boosters to realize that this is a financial decision just as much as it is a decision based on trust. The boosters do not have $8M to flush down the toilet, which is what it would cost to fire and buy-out William Larry Muschamp ($2M/year left on contract). Throw in a buy-in cost of $5M for Charlie Strong and you see the economics here. The boosters had some influence over the firing of Ron Zook, because the Zooker was near the end of his contract, had drawn negative attention to himself with off-field incidents, and there were five up-and-comers on the market (Urban Meyer, Chip Kelly, Mike Leach, Rich Rodriguez, Bobby Petrino). Fast forward to today. There are no up-and-comers for Jeremy Foley to call upon. USC and maybe Texas are going to pick over the best of what is left in 2013 and 2014. Whether we like it or not, Will Muschamp is still considered an up-and-comer. Florida has invested a lot of time and money from him, and they are going to want results by 2016. The Florida football program has issues that will take time to iron out, and it has to do it while FSU and Miami are on the rise. No matter who we stick in at head coach, he would have problems with this team.

**** you, Will Muschamp, but there is nothing I can do about it. I guess I will support my team and hope that William Larry Muschamp can turn the program around. Start with the offense.
 

Escambia94

Aerospace Cubicle Engineer (ACE)
Moderator
Damn now I'm really depressed now E.

I am an engineer. I am accustomed to making people miserable with logic and analysis. Look on the bright side--we cannot get much worse. Note that I did not say we cannot get any worse, but that it cannot get much worse.
 

Escambia94

Aerospace Cubicle Engineer (ACE)
Moderator
Also note that nobody is lining up to protect Brent Pease. I would imagine that Jeremy Foley had a discussion with Will Muschamp that went something like this:
Mr. Foley: "Will, I have 1000% faith in you and your ability to turn this team around."
Coach Muschamp: "Thank you, sir. I will do my best to do what is right for the Gator Nation."
Mr. Foley: "Well, you had better think long and hard about your choice in offensive coordinator. Is he really the one that will help you rebuild this team next year?"

I do not think Coach Muschamp was given an ultimatum to fire someone to save face, but I do think he was advised to evaluate his options and make sure he has the right people on staff to reverse this negative trend. Somebody has to go. It will have to be the offensive coordinator, the offensive line coach, and/or the strength and conditioning coach.
 

Escambia94

Aerospace Cubicle Engineer (ACE)
Moderator
That being said, prepare for more disappointment when Skyler Morhinweg gets zero meaningful snaps, Brent Pease is not fired, Will Grier is redshirted, Tyler Murphy graduates, and Jeff Driskel is the uncontested starter.
 

Leakfan12

VIP Member
Pease is easier to fire. I know I know unsure if Lane Kiffin is the answer though is he a better one than Pease. Then again, Muschamp, Foley, and other decision maker think it might be best to stick with Pease for Driskel's sake and hope he improves.
 

mjfan23

VIP Member
Heres how I look at this...
1. Hes going to make the politically correct statement.
2. Getting rid of Muschamp mid season would be bold and probably not in the schools best interest.
3. I simply dont believe hes 100 percent confident moving forward with Muschamp. I think the rest of the season will play a factor.
4. While its tough news to hear, I wouldnt bank on anything anyone says. Actions speak louder than words. Now is not the time for actions... the off season may or may not be.
 

Escambia94

Aerospace Cubicle Engineer (ACE)
Moderator
Heres how I look at this...
1. Hes going to make the politically correct statement.
2. Getting rid of Muschamp mid season would be bold and probably not in the schools best interest.
3. I simply dont believe hes 100 percent confident moving forward with Muschamp. I think the rest of the season will play a factor.
4. While its tough news to hear, I wouldnt bank on anything anyone says. Actions speak louder than words. Now is not the time for actions... the off season may or may not be.
He is not 100% confident. .. he is 1000% confident! That is 10x more confident than any other athletic director in the nation!
 

DRU2012

Super Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Yeah, I DO--and he
http://www.gatorzone.com/mobile/news/26727 well looks like muschump is not going anywhere. Wish I could say I was happy but I am not. So anyone close to any boosters know anymore about this?
Yes, I DO, and here's the latest "back room muttering": If he keeps this up, FOLEY HIMSELF MAY FIND HIMSELF AN EX-GATOR.
Yup, that's right. In his strangely adamant and blind determination to back Muschamp "regardless", Foley has put himself directly in the path of some pretty determined (and "highly influential"--as in 3 of the 5 major contributors, the current "kingmakers" in the non-regents camp) individuals who have lost all patience with Muschamp, Pease, and the former's stubborn determination to ignore them AND the actual on-field performance and results...Like a lot of us, they have come to see Muschamp's inflexibility as at least a large part of the problem--and Foley's determined effort at a similar attachment to the Head Coach has put the spotlight on HIM, "the man who brought him in": It may come to a matter of "Fire him or you both can go", depending on where the regents, who are as concerned with the school's "image" as with the financial questions involved, come down on this.
Now, Foley has always had their (ie. the Regents Council members) "full confidence", expects it to continue, and they don't discuss ANY of this outside their own circle, so it is hard to know WHERE they stand by now except to go by past statements and actions, also pretty sparse...But it is clear that financially it's pretty much a "wash" (as I've pointed out, as much is lost elsewhere due to sparse crowds and purchases and so on, as is being paid out), so image and "long term health and good of the program" will be the deciding factors for them.
What that means from a practical POV here is unclear. I don't know myself if that kind of house-cleaning is the best thing for this program, so I can understand Foley's confidence at the Council members' tendency towards a conservative, "Let's give him and his guy another season to get this right "-sort of decision--but some of them are also privately in close contact with the top boosters (similar social circles, to some extent), so nothing is certain.
 

Escambia94

Aerospace Cubicle Engineer (ACE)
Moderator
Florida cannot get rid of Jeremy Foley. He is the most successful AD in NCAA. Even when the football team has a bad year, the University is #1 or #2 in all sports revenue.
 

GatorChomp

Gator Fan
How much of this is financial and how much of it is Foley's ego....ie not wanting to admit he made a bad hire in the first place? I get the distinct impression the latter is a big factor.
 

Escambia94

Aerospace Cubicle Engineer (ACE)
Moderator
How much of this is financial and how much of it is Foley's ego....ie not wanting to admit he made a bad hire in the first place? I get the distinct impression the latter is a big factor.

You are probably right about the ego, but you have to keep in mind how much money the University of Florida is STILL making despite the bad football season. I cannot stress this enough. If Florida were a football-only school, then Muschamp would be gone. Yes, I get it. Florida is a football school, but it is not a football-only school. Compare that to our sisters down the street at FSU and Miami--they always have baseball and they now have football generating revenue, and they are still in the red. Florida could lose both of its next two games and still be more profitable than all but five other universities. Yes, I get it. Florida has not tasted a losing season since 1979. Well, there are 350+ other football teams that have tasted losing football seasons since 1979, and now we are going to be one of them, and we are still going to be a top-five revenue generating football program, and top-five NCAA sports program. Granted, if the Gators do not win 9-10 games next year I can see the football program revenues declining. Most sports experts would agree that Muschamp only gets next year, with or without injuries, to right the ship or ship out. The key sign is that ticket sales and attendance THIS YEAR have been declining more so than the national average. Last year, attendance was indeed down, but ticket sales remained constant. The football program cannot afford another year like this one--not just from the fan point of view, but from the financial point of view (which is what all the decisions are made upon, not W/L record or boringness of the offense).
 

GatorChomp

Gator Fan
Thanks Escambia,
my fear is that the fracture that has opened up in the fanbase will grow and harden if things continue on their present course....that lots of fans will choose to stay away out of disinterest or protest. This is particularly so if there is the perception that its the Athletic Department vs the Fans. Once fans start to not attend, not buy tickets and not donate as much, it could then prove extremely difficult to get them back even when the situation is righted which I have no doubt it will be given UF's and the state's resources. That is already happening at least with respect to attendance and ticket purchases but a split like this could really accelerate that trend. I know this is a bleak picture but that is my fear anyway.
 

Escambia94

Aerospace Cubicle Engineer (ACE)
Moderator
Every Florida sports writer seems to have noticed a fracture between the fan base and the program. Right now the players are onboard with the coaches, because many of us fans have become quite hostile towards the players on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Right now, there are a few fans that are making this worse than it should be. It is okay to speak with your wallet by not buying tickets and merchandise. It is okay to use your right to free speech and Tweet expletives at the coaches and harass them at every opportunity. It is your right to do the same to the players, but it is also wrong. Those players are just kids, and we the fans are getting out of hand when we think it is okay to harass players on social media. They do not get paid to play. They are students. They are humans. They are hurting from all the losses just as we the fans are, but they are hurting worse because the injured players are their friends, their roommates, and their brothers.

Yes, there is a growing rift between the fans and the program; however, we the fans should always support the players (although I do reserve the right to disown the thugs that keep getting arrested).

I do agree that we may be heading toward some dark times. FSU and Miami are on the rise. High school players are not going to want to go to a school that keeps losing head coaches, so we should not fire Will Muschamp. High school players that specialize on offense now have viable alternatives (FSU & Miami) if Florida makes bad decisions with the offensive coordinator. The question is, what is the right choice for offensive coordinator? My gut says that either Brent Pease or Tim Davis need to go, maybe Jeff Dillman. A case could be made that the offensive woes are due to injuries and light recruiting on that side of the ball for the past few years. A case could also be made that injuries on both sides of the ball are due to poor strength and conditioning or poor coaching all around during practice. Whatever the problem is, I think this time next year in 2014 is the time we see one of two things: a positive turnaround or a coaching staff change. We might see minor coaching changes at the end of this season.
 

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