I have expressed more than once on this thread my admiration for Ron Zook. The abysmal bowl performance, however, only adds to a maddening record of inconsistency, not only between games but within them (re Miami, and even Arkansas). The inconsistency should begin to resolve itself in the third season. But if it doesn't, and the Gators continue to have 4 or 5 losses a year, its hard to imagine SOS won't be back on the sidelines at some point. Without saying it should happen, but merely assuming it would, alot of fascinating questions will present themselves. Observations and questions. The NFL chewed SOS up and spit him out, with a healthy dose of ridicule. Perhaps someone else does, but I know of know other coach who has suceeded as masterfully in either college or the pros and who then flopped so completely in the other. I don't watch the NFL much. But whenever I saw the Redskins play, one thing I found most remarkable was Spurrier's reaction after a bad play. At UF, if the Gators completed an 80 yard post for a touchdown, but the reciever had cut to the middle 19 yards downfield instead of 20, Spurrier would chew his ass out.Woe betide the QB with but a 95% efficiency rating. He demanded perfection. And by God he got it. With the Redskins though, he'd just get this nervous,lost in the woods, have no clue expression on his face, and nobody got chewed out, ever. You got the impression that the average NFL crybaby zillionaire with the "Don't f*** with me attitude" was in the final analysis the dominant personality on that team. After he resigned, even some of the players openly spoke about the lack of discipline. I really hated to see this. One thing I was really looking forward to was watching the HBC remind some prima donna Keyshawn-esque NFL peckerhead of what a low down piece of dirt he really was. How was it that the brashest(is that a word?) and most outspoken head coach in the history of NCAA football went to the NFL and turned into Piglet from Winnie the Pooh? I won't deny for a moment the schematic and physical superiority of his Florida teams, but a part of his success was due to psychological factors as well. He inspired fear, and an impotent outrage in the opposition. Ather the NFL debacle, can he still do that? To Saban, Bowden, Coker? To Richt? [Please- this is not a partisan post- I know full well Richt is 0-2 against the Gators. Nobody respects 13-1 more than me.I'm simply making the point that the guy seems pretty unflappable, and he's off to a promising start] Maybe he can. Maybe he can't. It would be fascinating to find out. Had SOS already begun to burn out before he left UF, and was he hoping that the NFL challenge would re-ignite the fire, only to find out that it hastened his decline? Did the NFL leave SOS completely burned out? Might he look at his career and say, "However bad the NFL experience was, I still have this great run in college that will define my legacy. How could I possibly improve on it? I might not do as well, and then even my collegiate legacy will be tarnished."? If Zook does well, will he take another college job? PREDICTION In an age where college coaches change hats as often as they do underwear, SOS is a throwback. He is a Gator. And he ain't nothing else. People talk about him taking this college job or that, but could you ever see that guy lead any college team onto a field but Florida? A team that might one day find itself facing Florida? Of course you can't. If he ever coaches again, it will be in Gainesville. If Zook rights the ship, and especially if Zook keeps getting the better of Georgia, my guess is that SOS would just as soon let Zook take care of business. But if the troubles continue, and especially if Georgia starts to beat Florida and itself regularly wins or competes for conference or national honors while UF is annually consigned to the Peach or the Outback, then the flagging ember will turn into an all consuming inferno. Legacy be damned, he will throw himself back into the breach, and if necessary, he'll work 18 hour days to set things right (or wrong, depending on one's perspective). I have this image of SOS on his deathbed, railing against Georgia even as he departs the World, despite the fact that he had a lifetime record of 30-1 against them. As much as I love the Zooker as a positive influence on college sports,SOS Part Deux would be fasinating chapter in the history of Florida football. Would it be the 90s all over again? Or would the old adage about a souffle never rising twice prove to be true again? I have no idea. But who, be they worshipers of SOS or his many "friends" around the conference, wouldn't want to find out? One more thing, this UF-FSU thing is not my fight, but UF was 9-4 this year, not 8-5. Everybody knows it.If UF decided not to recognize the outcome in its official records, I wouldn't blame them. If FSU had a true sense of sport, neither would they. What a great thing it would be if they hadn't. If for once honor spoke louder than money, BCS bowl bids, and greed. We can't get but so self-righteous about it though. I'm under no illusions that UGA would have done differently. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, and my best for a happy and prosperous 2004.