for the current state of Florida football? While I always cheer for the team, watching the current football product, while inspiring hope for the future (stable of solid backs, Grier will progress, Johnson/Ivey/Sharpe holding down the O-line, talented secondary, etc), is light years behind where we were during the heyday of Meyer/Spurrier. And then when you compare that to our SEC brethren….well, it leaves much to be desired.
I think the obvious answer is those in charge. Muschamp destroyed this team like no outside opponent ever could have. He sent UF back to the Stone Age with his archaic offensive philosophy, and allowed our rivals to subsequently gain ground on us. The “losing” culture he established, to say nothing of his gameday and roster mismanagement, will take time to eradicate. He has, in my opinion, been one of the worst possible hires to have ever stepped foot in the Swamp.
Foley is not free from blame. His insistence on sticking with Muschamp when all could see that Mus was overmatched further delayed our rebuilding. We could be closer to contending, instead we’re still stuck in the muck with the likes of UTenn, Vandy, and grateful for wins over Kentucky.
But I think the more honest, more difficult answer is: us. We’re to blame for allowing this to have happened on our watch. What could we have done? We could have made it clear to Foley, either by not filling the stadium, by writing in to him, etc, that this was not the right fit for UF, but instead, for the most part, we “went along, to get along”. Now, there were of course people on this very board who could see what a disaster we were enabling. Board members like Michi and BONG were prescient in calling out the Muschamp hire, but we did not listen. Some of us, I think, felt as if speaking out against Muschamp meant we were not supporting the team, but I think those things can be mutually exclusive.
A lot of hand-wringing has been done over the current state of UF football, but the truth is, if you want someone to blame, look in the mirror folks—we’re all culpable.
I think the obvious answer is those in charge. Muschamp destroyed this team like no outside opponent ever could have. He sent UF back to the Stone Age with his archaic offensive philosophy, and allowed our rivals to subsequently gain ground on us. The “losing” culture he established, to say nothing of his gameday and roster mismanagement, will take time to eradicate. He has, in my opinion, been one of the worst possible hires to have ever stepped foot in the Swamp.
Foley is not free from blame. His insistence on sticking with Muschamp when all could see that Mus was overmatched further delayed our rebuilding. We could be closer to contending, instead we’re still stuck in the muck with the likes of UTenn, Vandy, and grateful for wins over Kentucky.
But I think the more honest, more difficult answer is: us. We’re to blame for allowing this to have happened on our watch. What could we have done? We could have made it clear to Foley, either by not filling the stadium, by writing in to him, etc, that this was not the right fit for UF, but instead, for the most part, we “went along, to get along”. Now, there were of course people on this very board who could see what a disaster we were enabling. Board members like Michi and BONG were prescient in calling out the Muschamp hire, but we did not listen. Some of us, I think, felt as if speaking out against Muschamp meant we were not supporting the team, but I think those things can be mutually exclusive.
A lot of hand-wringing has been done over the current state of UF football, but the truth is, if you want someone to blame, look in the mirror folks—we’re all culpable.
