General

Let’s All Hope Coaching Turnover Is A Chink In Florida’s Armor

Dec 17, 2009, 10:00 PM UTC

â†µA major after-effect of the SEC championship game: we're about toâ†µfind out how much of Urban Meyer's success has rested on his shouldersâ†µand how much was a Les Miles-style reliance on coordinators to cover upâ†µthe fact he's all hat, no clock management. â†µ

â†µâ†µOffensive coordinator Dan Mullen took the Mississippi State job lastâ†µyear, getting a rivalry win over Ole Miss in his first try. Defensiveâ†µcoordinator Charlie Strong has ended the “why hasn’t Charlie Strongâ†µbeen hired?” meme by actually getting hired at Louisville. Wideâ†µreceivers coach Billy Gonzales was picked off by Les Miles to be the “passing game coordinator” at LSU. â†µ

â†µâ†µAnd it seems like everyone left on Meyer’s staff is a candidate for some job or another: â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥Three members on the staff - quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler,â†µâ‡¥cornerbacks coach Vance Bedford and new wide receivers coach Zachâ†µâ‡¥Azzanni - are on the candidate list for head-coaching openings at twoâ†µâ‡¥different schools.â†µâ†µâ†µLoeffler and Bedford -- both longtime Lloyd Carr assistants -- areâ†µcandidates for the job opening at Buffalo, where former Michiganâ†µdefensive lineman Warde Manuel is athletic director. (Manuel is alsoâ†µinterviewing former teammate and former Notre Dame defensive coordinatorâ†µCorwin Brown: someone with Michigan ties is getting the Buffalo job.)â†µAzzanni, who Meyer just hired to take over for Gonzales thisâ†µweek, is a candidate at Central Michigan, the school he was hired from.â†µIf both those schools pick off Florida assistants, Meyer will beâ†µreplacing half his staff in the course of two years. â†µ

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â†µHow much will this matter? You'd think not very much, as long as Meyerâ†µkeeps the train of hyped recruits coming to town -- uh, check -- but Florida fans spent the year complaining about new offensive coordinator Steveâ†µAddazio ...â†µ

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â†µâ†µ... as the UF offense nosedived from 15th in total offense to ... uh ...â†µ13th. Which you’ve probably figured out is actually an improvement. Scoringâ†µdid decline from 4th to 13th, I guess. â†µ

â†µâ†µOn the other hand, LSU has limped along since Bo Pelini left despiteâ†µMiles scooping up similarly epic recruiting classes, and Meyer has alwaysâ†µbeen regarded as an offensively-oriented guy. Losing Strong right on theâ†µheels of co-DC Greg Mattison’s departure for the NFL leaves Florida’sâ†µdefensive braintrust slightly wobbly. â†µ

â†µâ†µBut not that wobbly: the guys left over are Bedford, who was Oklahomaâ†µState’s defensive coordinator between stints as Michigan’s DB coach,â†µlongtime college assistant and current assistant DC Chuck Heater, andâ†µformer Iowa State head coach Dan McCarney. So it’s not like you’reâ†µlooking at a bunch of amateurs here. Dangit.â†µ

â†µâ†µMaybe Florida will fall into the sea at the same time Los Angelesâ†µdoes. Yeah, that’s the ticket.â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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