With Urban Meyer set to coach his last game (for now) in the Outback Bowl, the search for a replacement is currently the hottest news in the land.
Even before the regular season came to a close, there were a few openings around; Minnesota, Miami, Pittsburgh; but in all honesty, and no disrespect to any of these programs, they all take a back seat to the Florida. A school that has gone 64-15 and won 2 national championships over the last 6 years has got to be "hot property", at least in my opinion.
As expected, there might be that pitch to Bob Stoops, to try and get him back to The Swamp. This is after all where Stoops, while running the defense, made a name for himself. What's not to like about Florida? The state is a major recruiting hotbed and there's enough talent to go around; inspite of stiff competiton from Miami and Florida State.
Money won't be an issue either, as the school would be willing pay the going rate for a coach of his calibre. Considering how fast he was able to turn Oklahoma from an afterthought to contender, what wonders could he do with a team that is 2 seasons removed from it's last championship?
As good as it may seem, I don't think Stoops would be willing to change addresses. I don't know the guy personally, but I don't see this move happening. He was approached back in 2001 after Steve Spurrier stepped down, and I'm sure he must have been contacted back in 2004 when the "Ron Zook" experiment didn't work out at all. During his tenure, he's been wooed by the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and even Notre Dame (after they fired Charlie Weiss). He's held firm and I've come to believe that he's found a home at Oklahoma. Of course, I could be wrong, but only time will tell.
So if not Stoops, who else is out there that can take the reins and lead the Gators back to prominence? Former Meyer assistants Dan Mullen (Mississippi State) and Charlie Strong (Louisville) have also been mentioned. If it's any credit, both coaches have led their respective programs to a their first bowl games in a while. That being said, and with all do respect to both coaches, I doubt that either of them are quite ready to take on a bigger job. Mullen is finishing his second year in Starkville, while this this only Charlie Strong's first year as a head coach.
Then of course you have Bobby Petrino, but he just signed an extension at Arkansas, so I doubt he'll be leaving any time soon. Then again, after he did an about-turn on the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL, who's to know what's on his mind right now? He did an amazing job leading Louisville to an Orange Bowl win before leaving for the pro's; and he's got Arkansas playing in their first BCS bowl since............. (I don't even remember). Well, if you consider how quickly Lane Kiffin jumped ship from Tennessee to USC, nothing is ever certain.
Kirk Ferentz is a name that has also been mentioned here and there. Rumours have it that he's probably the strongest candidate out there. You can't always believe what you read or hear now, can you? Even though he could do really well at Florida, I doubt that he'll leave Iowa. And even though he's in a conference dominated by Ohio State currently, he's always managed to make the Hawkeyes relevant.
In my opinion, the BEST qualified candidate would be Gary Patterson of TCU. He's been at the school since 2001 and has led them to a bowl game every season (5-3 record), except in 2004. He has also led the program to 10+ wins in 7 of the last 10 seasons. He has consistently produced winning seasons despite the limited resources and talent; and has had TCU a spot away from playing in the national championship game the last 2 seasons.
We do not know who Florida will hire at this time, but what we do know is that they want to win right away. I guess let's just sit back and see how all this plays out.
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