Just because my Bungals beat the hated Cowboys today.... 1. Steve Spurrier I have been one of these pesky alums who didn't want to see Spurrier come back, not because I don't think he is the signature coach of the alma mater, but because I simply didn't want UF to become another Alabama, always trying to recpature exactly what happened in the past. I have always felt that there is more than one way to win football games, and there is no need to try and do the way we did it in the 90's specifically, especially if Spurrier wasn't the guy at the helm. Nothing good seems to come from attempting such folly. However.... After the Zook firing, I found myself feeling eager for Spurrier's return, despite two years of saying otherwise. The more I saw Steve, the more I heard him talk....Well, what can I say, there is something comfortable and exciting about having Spurrier on the sidelines, win or lose (we won't talk about that tie). There was a definate smile on my face just listening to him deflect questions. I thought, "Why not? If we were the Univeristy of Oregon, or North Carolina, or even TEN, would we even be thinking about another coach? Spurrier is the best one out there, employed or otherwise, so why should a little thing like already winning here get in the way? But, as I thought at the time of the press conference (and I was sure not alone), if you want Spurrier, you can't go somewhere else first, you have to ask him first. He showed this with the Bucs when he took offense that Tampa wanted to woo Parcells instead of him, leading him to jump on the Skins job even with the Bucs job still in question. So, naturally, with the politcal process mandating that there be a list and other interviews, it is not a shock that Steve will not be an option for us come December. Even if Spurrier wouldn't be interviewed, and I can't imagine that would happen, waiting around isn't his deal. So now I am back to where I was, looking for another new beginning. I would caution against a coaching Flavor of the Month type hire, or trying to hire somebody who would "pitch it around" just for the sake of attempting to replicate previous glory. If a guy like that IS the best coach available, then so be it, but make sure he is the best guy. Yes, to me it stunk that while Penn State, Florida State, Wisconson, and others get their signature coaches for 20-30 years and we got 12, it doesn't slaughter me that we won't get Steve Spurrier, Part Deux. 2. School Precedents Much is being made of our own Weekend at Bernie's role in the non-hiring of Spurrier. My own personal belief is that Foley is as into the "process" this time around as any school pres. But I am compelled to note that in no situation is the school president involved in a sports hire a good thing. This is why you have ADs, to do this kind of stuff. Lending to the president choosing a coach is like Foley choosing a new head of Admissions....what sense does it make? For a dubious example, you only need look at our rivals, the Bulldogs (Georgia Version), to see what a mess can become of a president wanting to be the face of the sports program (Jim Harrick, anyone?). I hope for our sake that Foley is allowed to act as the lone shooter on this particular coaching hunt and that it is ultimately successful, keeping administration in the background. Otherwise, too much intervention can cause Jeremy to be shoved aside, and while I know there are other qualified people to be AD here, Foley has presided over the greatest run in our athetic dept's l'histoire....and shouldn't be cast aside lightly without expecting negative results. 3. Dooley Noted What this whole OC-ish drama that has unfolded has shown, on a much less important level of course, is that Pat Dooley has, once again, missed the pulse of the Gator Nation. Time after time, Dooley has not resounded at all with readers, leaving a number of alum that I know that read to say, "Huh?" We don't want our Sun sports columnist to be a homer, but we do want him to be relevant. We don't want the local fishwrap pointing their keyboard cramped fingers at us because we have the gall to want to see our teams win, get better, or just not embarass us. He always chooses a bleeding heart angle with very little bite, saving his searing words for those who don't tear up every time someone who is "embattled" rises up to do something that many might consider routine. Is it any wonder then, that other writers across the state get more articles linked to, quoted, or talked about than the local scribe? When the poop was hitting the fan, who was it that was on top of the story, getting the goods? It was Mike Bianchi, strangly the guy who Dooley had to follow up as the Voice of the Gators (on paper). Like him or lump him, Bianchi always seemed to write about what we wanted to read about, commenting on those things on which we had opinions to. He took on other schools, other issues, and didn't always look for the best way to make us cry, unless we were laughing. Now Pat has come out on both the firing of Zook and the pursuit of Spurrier, and has held favorable positions on both, but for some reason it lacked the definative voice, the pulse as stated above, of the Nation. Dooley seems to exude a holier than thou writer, apologetic to the subjects he covers, with no time to care about what we want to read about. Then he comes down on us as if we were the cause of the school problems, curious as to why we don't get it....It's just a game after all... My belief is that we get it, it's just not effective or interesting at all. And that's my penny on the matter...(because that's all it's worth)