I've quite purposefully avoided comment about the coaching situation the past few days, choosing instead to watch in amazement the meltdown of my fellow Gator fans. I thought it was time to chime in with a reminder of the difference between fact and fiction. The only FACTS we know are these: -Zook was fired midseason, the decision was Foley's, and Machen said he would be involved in the process of selecting the new coach. -At the time, Spurrier had not publicly accepted a coaching job. -Spurrier expressed an interest in considering the UF job. -Spurrier and Foley talked, Spurrier agreed to "the process" and agreed to decide whether he actually wanted the job within two weeks. -Spurrier announced that he had withdrawn his name from consideration for the UF position. -Spurrier has, apparently, decided to be the new coach at USC. -We will have a new coach next year, and we don't yet know who that will be. This is very difficult, because we want instant gratification--we want to know NOW who our new coach is. We also want to believe that our beloved HBC could never have chosen to go somewhere else, especially an SEC East opponent, unless something horrible had happened to make him turn against his alma mater. We also have an amazing variety of "solid" sources saying an amazing variety of conflicting things. Everyone has the latest, best, most reliable source. It's natural, when we have only heard tiny bits and pieces of the story, to want to fill in the holes to get to the truth. Because of these things and for other unfathomable reasons, some have chosen to believe some pretty silly stuff. EVERYTHING, positive of negative, other than what we hear in official statements, is pure speculation. Here are just a few of the things I've read here that people apparently choose to believe: -Machen is an uncontrollable egomaniac and didn't want Spurrier around to overshadow him. -Machen is hell-bent on ruining UF to serve his maniacal ego (not sure how this would serve his needs, but I didn't say any of this made sense). -Machen wants to bring in his old buddy Urban Meyer, and he doesn't care what anyone else wants--the "process" is all a sham. -Machen said he had never met Spurrier and wouldn't know him if he walked into the room. -Spurrier was offended by his treatment from Machen and/or Foley. -Spurrier is such an egomaniac that he thought Machen and Foley should have come crawling to him, begging him to take the job. -If Machen/Foley had offered Spurrier the job outright, he would have accepted it. -Spurrier could easily have returned UF to the successes of 1994-96, even though he couldn't do it 1997-2001. -The things that made Spurrier resign were no longer an issue for him. -Spurrier is taking the USC job just to get back at Machen/Foley for the "snub" he received. -Without Spurrier at the helm, UF is doomed. -There's a group of big boosters running the show at UF, and neither Machen nor Foley would dare cross them. -Foley is likely to leave, probably for Ohio State, as soon as possible, and he was never a very good AD to begin with. -Machen is a terrible president who knows nothing about Gator football, and he should be fired. Based on what I DO know and based on my predisposition to think most people are basically good, here's what I choose to believe: -Spurrier had a long list of reasons for leaving UF three years ago, and those things had not changed while he was gone. -Spurrier has had nearly a year to look for his next job and his good friend Lou Holtz talked him into seriously considering following him at USC. -Assuming Zook would have at least one more year at the helm of the Gators, Spurrier decided that the job at USC would provide the right kind of challenge for him without the unreasonable pressures he had left behind at UF. -When the job at UF came open midseason, Spurrier had some sincere second thoughts about going elsewhere. The thought of returning to UF and helping his beloved Gators regain some of the lost glory sounded appealing at first. Then, he got to thinking about the reasons he left and remembered those things had not changed. -With his Gators' best interests in mind and realizing that he only has another 2-4 years of coaching in him, he withdrew his name from consideration to allow UF to find a coach who could provide a long-term solution. -Foley and Machen have been carrying on with their search process behind the scenes, attempting to avoid the media circus that occurred the last time around. -Foley and Machen will find an excellent coach for UF, and we will again be competitive at the conference and national levels. -Foley is an excellent AD, and Machen is an excellent president. -UF and the Gators will be just fine. Personally, I see no benefit in picking through the rumors and only believing the worst-case scenarios, but that's just me. At least by believing only the best-case rumors, I'm not miserable. Instead, I can be optimistic about the Gators' future, and I can enjoy the rest as just silliness. Nevertheless, I realize the difference between what I know to be true, which is extremely little, and what I simply believe to be true. It seems a lot of folks are having difficulty keeping truth and fiction straight. Go Gators!!!