Wow, Florida axe falls

[dabull80]

Didn't take the Gators long.  Is this good for college football ?

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/3108568

[Velcro]

Gators fire head coach Ron Zook

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Associated Press

Posted: 3 minutes ago    

Florida coach Ron Zook was fired Monday but will finish the season, a university source told The Associated Press on Monday.

The move comes after Florida (4-3, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) lost 38-31 on Saturday to Mississippi State, which was just 1-5 entering that game.

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It was Florida's 13th loss in three seasons under Zook, hired in 2002 to replace Steve Spurrier, who led Florida to a national championship in 1996.

Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley told The Gainesville Sun that he and school president Bernie Machen met Sunday, then informed Zook of the decision Monday morning, the newspaper reported on its Web site.

Calls to Foley by The Associated Press were not immediately returned.

A news conference was scheduled for Monday afternoon.

Zook went 8-5 in his first two years at Florida. The Gators started 4-3 in 2002 before reeling off four straight victories. They opened 3-3 in 2003 - sparking speculation the coach would be fired - but then won five games in a row.

While Ron Zook still has a few games left to coach, many are wondering if Steve Spurrier will return to lead the Gators. (Eliot J. Schechter / GettyImages)

The Gators have had several late collapses in losses, including against Tennessee and LSU this season. And they have fallen out of The Associated Press Top 25 for the third straight year, after being voted No. 11 in the preseason poll.

Off the field, Zook got into a heated confrontation with several members of a fraternity last month while defending his players, behavior Foley called unacceptable and said would factor into a decision on Zook's future.

"Any time a fellow coach is fired, that's disappointing," Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom said Monday. "Ron's a good football coach who has had an excellent career. I hate that he and his coaching staff and their families have to go through that. We know this is part of the business, but it's not a part of the business that any of us enjoy."

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[usfbulls2004]

Florida is falling down. Ever since Steve left, thing have not been the same. I'm glad they are getting their ass kicked week in and week out.

[GarySJ]

Zook was Foley's guy, so I thought they'd at least wait until the end of the season.

[bulls87]

Just the start of things to come...

[beastiebull]

That frat house deal undoubtedly played a big part.

[Barbie]

That frat house deal undoubtedly played a big part.

Not according to Machen, he said that he thought that the press had blown that way out of proportion. It was Saturday's game that did it. He said that if Florida had won on Saturday he wouldn't be firing Zook today.

I heard about this when I walked into my 8:30 class this morning.

So is it a smart move to fire your coach half way through the season? I thought that was normally done at the end of the season when you actually had a replacement coach lined up. One of the reporters asked about the AD, Machen said that Foley would be around for many years to come.

This is starting to sound a lot like when Dungy got the axe.

[namuh-bull]

I think it is a bad move.  Zook was 3 plays away from being undefeated and in the top 5.  He has recruited fantastic players (far from falling apart).  CJL would be long gone if he he had to live up to those standards.  Now Jopa, on the other hand, it may be time for him to go.  I hope he comes back next year so we can have a chance of beating a Paterno coached Penn State.

One last thing... look at Auburn.  They wanted to replace the coach last year and now they are undefeated and may win the NC.

[Jamie]

Foley had to fire him. Because if he didn't, the redneck boosters would have him fired.

Yeah, Zook is a great recruiter but he has to be about the worst in-game coach in the country. There's no reason they should have been as unprepared as they were for some of those games. I just wish they'd waited longer to make the move.

[beastiebull]

Not according to Machen, he said that he thought that the press had blown that way out of proportion. It was Saturday's game that did it. He said that if Florida had won on Saturday he wouldn't be firing Zook today.

I heard about this when I walked into my 8:30 class this morning.

So is it a smart move to fire your coach half way through the season? I thought that was normally done at the end of the season when you actually had a replacement coach lined up. One of the reporters asked about the AD, Machen said that Foley would be around for many years to come.

This is starting to sound a lot like when Dungy got the axe.

He'll be finishing out this season.

I imagine that the loss on Sat played a large part in the firing as well, especially considering the competition.