Orange and Blue Hue » The Bitter Aftertaste of FireRonZook.com

The Bitter Aftertaste of FireRonZook.com

In a previous article I stated my opinion that Ron Zook should be the national coach of the year. Following Illinois upset win over #1 Ohio State I thought his accomplishments this year at Illinois warranted such accolades. Over on a sister site, Saurian Sagacity, there was also post regarding Ron Zook but one that took a quite different tact. We have great respect for our brothers at SS and it’s not expected that we agree on every issue but this is something quite puzzling to me. Because it is an issue that we once were in agreement upon but now have quite different perspectives.

No one is suggesting that Ron Zook is a Saint, far from it. I had lost faith in Coach Zook before the end of the second season, in fact the close loss to Miami that many Gator fans had taken hope in I had found to be painfully unsettling. The lack of conditioning, the inability of the staff to calm the young team, the coaching decisions that aided Miami’s comeback all portrayed a trend that would haunt Zook in his time at Florida. Personally, I found his decision-making to be as faulty off the field as on the field. Zook’s firing offered the Gator Nation a time to rejoice, look to the future and believe that better days awaited.

Yet as happy as I was (perhaps ecstatic would be a better term) to see Zook go, I still consider Ron Zook to be a Gator. I will not dismiss the positive contribution’s he made to the program despite the negatives he also brought. Zook was an assistant for the Gators long before he was ever a head coach. Zook was a great recruiter for the program and coached some of the best special teams Florida had ever had pre-Urban Meyer. Florida never had a dominant defense during his stint at defensive coordinator but never did I see a defensive squad that didn’t take the field and play hard for coach Zook (as I sometimes wondered for “other” UF D Coordinators in the Spurrier era).

As horrific as Zook’s collapse at Florida was, it wasn’t entirely his fault. From the very first moment he was hired he found himself under the gun. Instead of being embraced as a savior he was vilified as a demon. Who can forget that within days of his hiring by Jeremy Foley (almost universally considered one of if not THE best Athletic Director in the country) the corresponding website entitled http://www.fireronzook.com/??? In other words, the pressure on Zook far exceeded that which any other Florida coach had ever tried to produce under. Coaches like Spurrier and Meyer, both of whom had previous head coaching experience, were viewed a salvation for the program while a majority of Gator fans were pessimistic of Zook’s chances and some were certain he would fail.

The stress began to take its toll on Zook. The entire football team and program began to believe they were under attack from everyone, including their own fans and fellow students. Yet despite this situation the players, almost to a man, remained loyal to their coach. While they did not perform up to expectations, he were extremely loyal and fond of their head coach - something that suggest more about Ron Zook the man than anything the critics can produce as evidence. Even his friendship with Jeremy Foley could no longer protect Zook after two mediocre seasons. Imagine if you went to your job knowing that management wanted you fired and only your direct supervisor kept this from happening. It must be a lot like walking across the ice and hearing it crack along the way and praying you don’t take a bad step that you can’t recover from. That is what Ron Zook’s tenure at Florida was like.

Ron Zook was destined to fail; boosters and fans had organized to force his ouster before he had ever coached a single game. This is the real shame that haunts the Gator Nation, the true skeleton in the closet. Not that Zook did not deserve to be fired after his 2 1/2 year performance but that the groundwork to his dismissal was laid by many long before he arrived on campus. Thus we were not looking to observe his potential as much as find reasons to let him go. And after Gator fans had been enticed with such names as Bob Stoops and Mike Shannahan, what did people expect to happen? I will never debate the wisdom of letting Zook go and I question the reasoning in his initial hire but the fact that he was not allowed to succeed or fail based on his own merit and had to constantly fight against the preconceived notions of the largely ignorant (of the daily goings-on in a college football program) masses . . . that is the real tragedy of coach Zook at Florida.

However, this is the past. Florida has gone on to win a national championship and become a dominant force in college recruiting while Coach Zook has brought a pitiful Illinois program back to respectability. So I am puzzled when I read posts like this one at Saurian Sagacity - The Canonization of Saint Ron the Martyr. Not because any of the facts are wrong or opinions aren’t valid but why any of it is relevant to the present day? Then I remembered that SS was born from the ashes of the FireRonZook message boards and it hit me! These opinion are hardly held by just the authors at SS, quite the contrary, you can find similar thoughts at a number of Gator message boards. And that’s when the question of why became clear.

I never “hated” coach Zook. I just wanted him gone. I wanted Florida to move on to a better coach and reclaim our place in the hierarchy of college football. It was like a painful thorn that impaled me and my attitude. But once the thorn was removed, I healed and was able to move on. But for those who took their distrust of Zook to a passion, who found themselves allied against both Ron Zook and any supporter or supportive statement about coach Zook . . . for them Ron Zook was more than just a failed coach - he was Satan incarnate. As the hate festered and grew any mention of coach Zook in a positive light was interpreted as a personal attack on them. They were the heart of the anti-Zook movement while I was simply someone who moved to their position. The core of the FireRonZook folks and those who thought similarly but may not have been affiliated with the site cannot get “beyond” seeing Zook as anything but evil.

I’m not an organizer, I’m a minion. I chose a side early but didn’t do it before Zook had a chance (however brief a time I gave him to prove himself) and never adopted his removal as a virtual religion. But some Gators did and those Gators still rankle with the mere mention of his name. Zook will never receive any real credit from the fanatic anti-Zooks. His accomplishments will be attributed to the weakness of the Big 10, a media bias or his assistant coaches/players. It would be as if the devil himself were to save San Francisco from an earthquake and expecting Christians to be complimentary. There would always be a “secret agenda” attributed to it because Hell can only house pure evil and nothing the devil does can ever change that core belief.

It also explains the criticism of Jeremy Foley that I see bandied about in certain circles. Some of this (a small amount) comes from the Steve Spurrier worshippers who craved that Spurrier would return to Florida to replace Zook but most of these people are those who blame Foley for hiring Zook in the first place. When anyone launches an attack on Foley the first point made is usually the hiring of Coach Zook, creating an atmosphere where Spurrier wanted to leave (I guess he also is to blame for Kruger’s leaving based on that logic) and finally other hires such as Andy Lopez and Carolyn Peck (despite the fact that neither of these hires was questioned at the time, they just never produced the way we expected). But Foley is despised in some circles simply as “the man who hired Ron Zook”. And after that statement no other reasoning need be given because now you will all understand the reasoning behind it.

To some people, Ron Zook and all that he touched is tainted with a stench of an evil that runs so deep that no one associated with him should ever be spared criticism or - God Forbid - praised!!! Once you have committed yourself to hate there is no turning back. Coach Zook has become more than just a man and more than just a coach who failed at Florida or succeeded at Illinois - He Is Legend!

17 Comments so far
Leave a comment

I don’t hate Zook, and in fact, have wished him nothing but the best of luck with the Illini. However, all he’s doing is having a damn good year in a very, VERY weak conferences. Hell, prior to this past Sat at least the Big 10 had yet to win a single game against a bowl eligible team from out of conference!

Illinois is much improved, of that there is no doubt, but when you start from the bottom all you can do is go up. We get one-and-done flairups all the time, lets see if he can keep them this highly improved in the following years before bandwagon jumping in his favor.

Not really sure what the ultimate point here is, to be honest with you.

I think that you, me, and most of the Gator Nation were relieved when Ron Zook was given his walking papers after the MSU loss. He just wasn’t the right guy for the job. I took no joy from it and distinctly remember feeling a pit in my stomach when I saw Zook as depicted above, mirroring my mood with his dark grey polo as he said his goodbyes to Gator Nation.

I didn’t sense this condemnation of Zook as you described. On the contrary, I was excited for his third season, despite his lackluster first years. In summer of 2004, I met Zook at a Gator Club function in Daytona Beach and was frankly very impressed. He is a confident, high energy guy who can get you on his page quickly. It was obvious to me why he was such a great recruiter. When you listen to Zook, a fun style of football and lots of wins always seem right around the corner. I’m sure recruits get the same impression. (He even took the time after the event to pause and pose with my infant daughter for a photo. Really a super person.)

But I don’t think you can blame Zook’s short and troubled tenure on anyone but Zook. Yes, the job carried with it oodles of pressure, and yes, Florida is an elite program playing lots of big-time football games against powerhouse opponents. Yet there’s still an expectation by fans for the Gators to win every game. Those are attributes of a healthy superpower football program. (Stark contrast: modern-day FSU and Miami fans, who now expect to lose. Symptom was directly caused by keeping the wrong coach in power for too long.)

If FireRonZook.com (a site I always hated, by the way, and that faceless loser who ran it doesn’t deserve his tickets) had never existed, if fans had been unified behind Zook the moment he was fired… would it have changed anything?

Not in my view. We still would have had the same poorly conditioned teams, guys who would make excuses in their post game comments to the press, the baffling gameday coaching decisions, and the overwhelming conservatism that cost Florida many games in the 4th quarter.

We would still have had the embarassing off-field incidents. The same maddening inability to improve week after week. Teams that never seemed to have any semblance of killer instinct. Teams that seemed to wilt under pressure.

Zook introduced those traits to Florida football. No one else.

I think Zook’s firing was handled the right way. It resulted in Florida being able to snag Urban Meyer and changed the way many athletic departments think about mid-season firings. It is now done more often, so that the the program in question gets a chance to get a jump on the competition.

I see nothing wrong with that. It’s part of the landscape when you play D-IA football under the national microscope.

And Zook never did anything to help himself with his fans. Remember his maddening “we’re getting better and better” remark he’d make after yet another loss? That drove me and my family crazy… almost threw me into a rage when he said that after losing to Ole Miss IN THE SWAMP. He was terrible with the press, and I remember having to take grief from rival fans about how poorly-spoken our head coach was.

Based on Zook’s success in the Big 10, I think we’re seeing that he learned a few things during his on-the-job training at Florida. And we’re also seeing that elite level recruiting at a place like Illinois is enough to be a contender for conference championships.

Which despite being a feather in Zook’s cap, is an indictment of the Big 10 more than anything else.

Zook’s success will have second-guessers and pundits coming out of the woodwork doubting Foley and Machen’s decision to let him go in ‘04. But I feel 100% certain that the right decision was made, that we ended up with the right coach and that the situation even served Zook well in the long run.

Here’s all you need to know if you’re feeling guilty about wanting Zook gone.

Zook won his most recent game against Ohio State despite playing tight in the fourth quarter. He went for it on a fourth-and-one-inch situation in the 4th, but only because his quarterback, Juice Williams, insisted on it.

The Illini found themselves in three 3rd and longs on their final clock-killing drive — as a result of Zook’s ultra-conservative decision to keep it on the ground, despite nursing only a single TD lead, in a raucous road environment — and on each one of them, including a 3rd-and-10, Williams ran a quarterback draw out of the shotgun for a first down. Ohio State left the middle of the field wide open in each case, inexplicably playing for the pass or the off-tackle HB run.

Does anyone really think that would have worked in the SEC?

Zook didn’t learn anyrhing, he’s still a bad coach. See the Gomez comment on the other thread about the Iowa game. Zook will never get any credit at all from certain gators. There’s already 2 posts on Sagacity about how Zook is a bad guy and how Ron Turner isn’t getting some credit for the success.

Come on now, 2 negative Zook articles within a week of the Illini’s biggest win in 50 years. And the only negative articles about Zook these days are from “Gator sites”. That’s a long term trend my friend that makes the entire fanbase seem petty. It’s compulsive behavior for some Gators.

Florida shouldn’t have hired Zook to learn on the job; high profile jobs like UF’s are not the best environment for learning how to be a head coach. Zook didn’t perform up to his expectations and his paycheck, so he was let go.

Zook got good experience and a few million dollars from Florida, and now he’s in a job that’s a better fit for him. Florida got someone to fill in the always awkward following-a-legend period and a bridge from Spurrier to Meyer filled with good talent.

Both Zook and UF are in better places, and both have moved on. It’s time for everyone else to move on too.

Keltic- I think the point you made in the SS comements section is worth repeating here: Gator fans’ perception of the job the head coach at Illinois is doing would be much less complicated if the coach’s name was Charlie Strong.

I was in school in Gainesville under the Zook era — and all character assassinations aside, I believe Ron is a good guy. However, we play a certain type of football in the Swamp — pitch and catch. That’s what Gator Nation wants and that’s what we have to play to succeed in the SEC. Ron coached a run-out-the clock and grind ‘em down style, which frankly doesn’t fly with Gator Nation. But, don’t forget he basically recruited that NC team last year so he should get props for that. I wish him all the luck in the world — just don’t ever come back to Gainesville, Ron. Oh, I also still have my FireRonZook.com T-Shirt.

I have met Ron Zook on a number of occasions at Gator speaking events. He seemed like a really nice guy, and if you’ve heard him speak to a crowd, he’d get you fired up about Gator football. However, I thought then as I do now, that the fireronzook site was tasteless and reflected badly not only on the University, but as the Gator Nation as a whole. I’ll never forget being at a game and having a banner plane fly over with that website on it. He was a horrible coach, but no one could work with a plane flying over touting a website for their ousting. I realize that because it was the first of it’s kind, it got the national attention, but i’d still rather the attention be positive.

I think it’s unfounded to say that Zook was predominantly despised or hated as soon as he was hired. He recruited highly touted players, got them to perform to a mediocre level, and got fired. I also took no joy in it, and had hoped he would be successful. He seemed like a decent guy who was working hard at trying to make his UF football team successful. Obviously, he did not get the job done. Good riddance.

It’s annoying to me, to hear that Zook should be given this great amount of credit for Meyer’s accomplishments…nonsense!

Meyer took underperformers and made them champions. Zook took a bad program, kept them bad for 2 years, and has had a decent year this year against average opponents. I wish him luck, and hope he beats OSU every year…beyond that, the media and people out there need to get off the whole “let’s praise Zook because UF is winning” garbage.

Instead of being embraced as a savior he was vilified as a demon.

That’s the problem right there. Florida didn’t need a savior, just a competent coach. And Zook had established a reputation as a good recruiter but bad coach. Why should anyone be surprised that he recruited good players and then coached them poorly? Look at what Zook’s units did at Florida and New Orleans as an assistant. With each successive year they regressed.

I wasn’t a fireronzook guy at the beginning. But by the 2nd season I was one. And there were a hell of lot of people that supported Zook until the bitter end, and still do based on the comments so far. In fact many of the boosters you speak of loved Zook because unlike Spurrier he like to press the flesh.

The idea that there was “too much pressure” is an excuse. All Zook had to do was show some sort of progress, any and he would have gotten more slack than flack.

Zook’s success this year is a mirage buoyed by a weak schedule in a weak league. In typical Zookian fashion, he’s won games he had no business winning and lost games he had no business losing. He recruited enough players to win the big 10 this year but his coaching decisions ensured that wouldn’t reach that accomplishment.

The idea that we OWE Zook anything is preposterous. Nobody says OSU fans owe John Cooper for recruiting the players that won the 2002 National Title.

As for what I write, I don’t have to apologize for it. It’s my opinion. As long as people continue to revise history I will continue to tell the truth. It was a bad hire then, and nothing that happens afterwards justifies the bad hire.

And I would have less animus toward Zook if he would just STFU. But he doesn’t. And the media continues to build him up into something he isn’t.

Screw Zook.

Ron Zook took the U of I program when that previously won 8 games in 4 years to a team that won 9 games this year. You can take your smug SEC attitude and blame it on a weak Big Ten conference or a weak schedule. Even if you believe in that premise, you have to admit that there was a huge improvement. I have watched or been at every Illinois football game this year and seen this improvement. While his recruiting is exceptional, this improvement could not have happened without great coaching.

To Henry Gomez: You say you would have less animus toward Ron Zook if he would STFU. I have never heard him speak badly toward the University of Florida which is more that I can say about the horrible things that many Gator fans say about him.

Illinois fans were not happy with what Ron Turner did to us. He left our program void of any talent or pride. However, unlike some Gator fans, we let it go.

Greg Sampson: that is the difference between a program which expects to compete for championships every year and one which is excited about winning 8 or 9 games.

Gator Pilot: You missed my point totally. My point is that Ron Zook took our program from the bottom of the heap to a January 1 or possible BCS game. With a history of 8 winning games in the previous 4 years, it takes great recruiting and coaching. What is interesting to me is that many Gator fans make all sorts of excuses as to why Ron Zook has been so successful this year. The Big Ten is down, easy schedule, blah, blah, blah. Just give credit where credit is due.

You can also count on the fact that as we taste more success, our attitude will change and our expectations will be to compete for championships consistently. I just hope we keep it in perspective and not go overboard like you. After all, it is really only a game that is fun to watch.

I give Ron Zook for doing a nice job. He would not have been able to win that many games in the SEC, where almost all the games are competitive rather than one or two.

We try not to go overboard but sometimes we do.

We will have to disagree that Ron Zook did not do a nice job…he did a great job. The difference of where the Illini were as compared to where we are now is huge. If Florida had given him a fari chance, there is no doubt in my mind he would be winning national and SEC championships. I base this on the wonderful job he has done at the University of Illinois. Having said that, I am grateful of the nonsense with the likes of the FireRonZook.com people. These close minded people provided us Ron Zook…a class act, great person, and top notch coach. I am proud that he represents one of the top academic institutions in the country. Florida fans should be very proud of your football team. Now, the University of Illinois fans can have that same level of pride in our football team.

Ron Zook is a class act for sure, a great recruiter and a great speaker.

He has gotten better as a football coach, but I assure you he would not be winning SEC titles at Florida. You did not live through his tenure here. I did.

He is a great fit at Illinois and I wish him — and all Illini fans — the best. Keep whippin’ the Bucks.

My main issue I have with some of the posts here is the vile many people still have for Ron Zook. The inability to give the guy credit for what he has done for Illinois. There are some people in this message board that could not even give him credit for his incredible coaching at the OSU game. Ron Zook out coached one of the greatest if not the greatest college football coaches today. It is a fact that Illinois is way better now than before he came to Illinois.

We will have to disagree that Ron Zook would be winning championships at Florida. In reality, we will never know and it really does not matter.

I should also note that you do not seem like one of those Fireronzook.com people. That site is still up. They really give the University of Florida a bad name.

Putting those people aside, I do wish the Gators the best and maybe our teams will meet some day for a national championship. Wouldn’t that be a fun story!

How’s that weak conference taste today, gators? Admittedly the Big 10 is not a very good football conference and everyone admits it. But it sure feels good to end the season with a win for a change. It’s been a LONG time since that happened.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>

That's right folks! It's football betting time at BetUS.com and we're back with the biggest bonuses in the industry! BetUS.com is Amerca's leading sportsbook providing latest football lines on all games. Come on down to BetUS.com and start betting on your favorite sport!