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!

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.

We try not to go overboard but sometimes we do.

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.

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.

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.

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.