Happy new year good gator fans!
Have received lots of PMs asking me about where we are with certain things. Why is it so quiet? Are we done? Etc.
Just so you know, the new reality of college football is that everything is a process. For the most part, this is ours:
After our bowl, we concentrated on keeping the players we needed to keep. That requires FV getting involved and securing our core players. This is serious heavy lifting. Trust me, many many teams came looking for a lot of our guys. We’ve done a good job of keeping who we wanted to keep. This particular segment is not completely over but getting close. We have done really well.
Just about the same time, we targeted those players of need who were in the portal (and those who had committed elsewhere but indicated a willingness to change schools) and went after them. We went after a select few who we were willing to pay a premium to snag. We were not and could not overpay for everyone. There are still players out there who are playing football that are potential gators when this season ends. Can’t say anything more about that for reasons I hope you all understand. Thanks in large part two to unbelievably generous donors and friends here and other Gator faithful participating in the unparalleled match, we still have money to spend.
Then the process moves to keeping the coaches you want to keep and filling the coaching spots you need to fill. That is where we now.
None of this is a pure linear process. There are timeline overlaps as you have to address urgent needs/concerns/opportunities that pop up. You have to be flexible and jump on opportunities when they present themselves.
In my opinion, Florida needs to hire a GM sooner than later. That will be the biggest hire of the off-season. That person will play a significant role going forward with respect to managing this overall process. There is lots of outside interest in that position both at the college and NFL level.
One of Billy’s weaknesses, from my perspective, is that I believe he moves too slowly at times. A GM will move him along more quickly.
For some of you, this is obvious and a nothing burger. But hopefully it does address a lot of the PMs I’m getting.
Happy new year everyone!
KC
Have received lots of PMs asking me about where we are with certain things. Why is it so quiet? Are we done? Etc.
Just so you know, the new reality of college football is that everything is a process. For the most part, this is ours:
After our bowl, we concentrated on keeping the players we needed to keep. That requires FV getting involved and securing our core players. This is serious heavy lifting. Trust me, many many teams came looking for a lot of our guys. We’ve done a good job of keeping who we wanted to keep. This particular segment is not completely over but getting close. We have done really well.
Just about the same time, we targeted those players of need who were in the portal (and those who had committed elsewhere but indicated a willingness to change schools) and went after them. We went after a select few who we were willing to pay a premium to snag. We were not and could not overpay for everyone. There are still players out there who are playing football that are potential gators when this season ends. Can’t say anything more about that for reasons I hope you all understand. Thanks in large part two to unbelievably generous donors and friends here and other Gator faithful participating in the unparalleled match, we still have money to spend.
Then the process moves to keeping the coaches you want to keep and filling the coaching spots you need to fill. That is where we now.
None of this is a pure linear process. There are timeline overlaps as you have to address urgent needs/concerns/opportunities that pop up. You have to be flexible and jump on opportunities when they present themselves.
In my opinion, Florida needs to hire a GM sooner than later. That will be the biggest hire of the off-season. That person will play a significant role going forward with respect to managing this overall process. There is lots of outside interest in that position both at the college and NFL level.
One of Billy’s weaknesses, from my perspective, is that I believe he moves too slowly at times. A GM will move him along more quickly.
For some of you, this is obvious and a nothing burger. But hopefully it does address a lot of the PMs I’m getting.
Happy new year everyone!
KC
