Will Muschamp Out as Florida HC

Submitted by 814 East U on

FLorida dismissed Will M. So our turn now right?

Meanwhile in college RT @Andy_Staples: http://SI.com  has learned that Will Muschamp has been dismissed at Florida. Story upcoming.

[EDIT]: Will may have stepped down (Brandon-style). Regardless, he will not be coaching Florida next season. 

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GoBlueInNYC

November 16th, 2014 at 11:56 AM ^

How would firing Hoke help the on field performance? Do we know that Hoke is the reason the QBs suck and that the offense goes nowhere? And how big of a turn around could you reasonably expect, even if we knew Hoke was what was holding the team back, given that there are two weeks to the end of the season? And who takes over as interim? Mattison, who doesn't want to be a HC? Nussmeier, the new OC who has overseen a horrible offense? Someone from the assistant ranks getting promoted over the coordinators?

And why would recruiting pick-up? It's a given that Hoke is gone, so the only difference between keeping him and not knowing who the HC next year will be and firing him and not knowing who the next HC will be is basically having anyone around (even a lame duck coach) to continue overseeing recruiting. Recruting is going to take a hit no matter what, at least Hoke and Mattison are around to try and keep things somewhat together until the next coach is hired.

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Badkitty

November 16th, 2014 at 2:59 PM ^

What's the sales pitch now?

"Oh I may be here next year and I may not be.  Why don't you come and play for us?"  That goes over well.  We already have a bunch of decommits.  How much worse would it get?  Firing means that we are serious about wins/losses/results.  And that may be positive for a recruit.

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UMaD

November 16th, 2014 at 11:51 AM ^

I happen to agree there's not much benefit to it, but you can definitely make the case that there are benefits to moving on with the inevitable.

Benefits:

  • HC search is more viable if you in fact have an opening.  Some people are going to view it as unethical to have serious consideration of a job that a peer currently has.  For example, this is something Harbaugh may take issue with given his reported respect for Hoke.
  • Not dragging recruiting issues out.  As soon as Hoke is fired there are going to be a couple recruits who will reconsider their position.  It can be argued it's better to air out the dirty laundry ASAP, rather than leaving these guys hanging. (Probably a minor issue for Michigan but you never know.)
  • Interim HC - this worked out pretty well for OSU to give Fickel a bigger profile.  For Michigan it could be a "lets see what we have in Nussmeir" type situation.
  • Motivation for the team - guys may play better and work harder for somebody new - or they may just play pissed off.

These arguments may or may not apply in the case of Michigan, but the point is it's not an indisputable fact that a mid-season firing is a bad idea just because Brian says so.  The idea that you would "sink faster" is dubious at best.  Michigan is going to get run by OSU either way.  If they lose to Maryland I see no benefit to holding on to Hoke for OSU. 

Mostly, it doesn't matter if  it happens on November 24th or December 2nd either way.

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GoBlueInNYC

November 16th, 2014 at 12:06 PM ^

  • How does the coaching search change if Hoke is gone now or at the end of the season? The bigger issue is when candidates are available - Harbaugh(s), Mullen, etc. are all locked into their current roles for weeks. You can't really get a jump on interviewing people; coaching searches go in cycles regardless of when your HC position is open at the end of the season or two weeks before.
  • I commented on this above, but I don't see how having a program with no one at the head of it is somehow better for recruiting than having a program with a lame duck at the head of it. At least Hoke and Mattison are good at recruiting and can make the effort to hold things together for a few more weeks. Here is one of those points that I have to ask, why would recruiting actually get better?
  • Not sure how it worked out for OSU. Fickell's one year at HC was a bit of a disaster, and I don't think most OSU fans like him as co-DC, either, and would have preferred he either be let go or drop back to the ranks of positional assistant.
  • And this last point is total speculation. Maybe they play better. Maybe they totally fall apart. Anticipating one over the other is just a guess. If anything, I don't know that this team has displayed much in the form of rising to the occasion or responding well to adversity.

If M was going to fire Hoke mid season, they needed to do it after the Minnesota game. Maybe then you get an interm guy to turn things around a bit. Maybe then you can get some recruiting momentum built up post-firing. But there's nothing to be gained by firing him now, other than placating a bunch of angry fans.

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UMaD

November 16th, 2014 at 1:16 PM ^

First of all - I think it mostly doesn't matter, as I said in my post above.  I'm simply disputing your assertion that it would be a very bad thing indeed to fire the coach before the season ends.  You're asking me to prove it's a very good thing, when I don't even think that.  But anyway, I'll play along.

  • HC candidates absolutely ARE having conversations about potential job openings.  These conversations are probably 95% happening between agents and search firms, but some ADs won't even take the step of HIRING a search firm until they've fired their current coach, and it's plausible that, for example, Harbaugh's agent says something like "Jim has too much respect for Brady to discuss taking over his job."  The agent would thereupon talk about just that, but it gives him a plausible excuse for Harbaugh not making any commitments or even conceding real interest until later, which probably helps his leverage.
  • Recruiting wise, It's probably not better or worse, but you are delaying the inevitable.  A guy like Mikey Weber may take issue by being left in the lurch, knowing Hoke is going to get fired, having interest in Michigan anyway, but unsure about the direction of everything.  If Hoke is fired and Mattison or Manning or Singletary can focus on pitching the program itself, this could be a good thing. "Whoever we get is going to be good and the bottomline is the degree and networking sets you up for the rest of your left" and so on.
  • Fickell's current position is supposedly based in large part on his recruiting ability, which is probably aided by the fact that he has experience as a head coach. It also helps the "family atmosphere" sales pitch that he was retained and rewarded for being a program steward through the transition from Tressel to Meyer, which was inevitably going to have some bumps.
  • Yeah - it is total speculation.  Just like the counter-argument that it is costly.

Totally disagree about mid-season.  That WOULD have had some costs as the team could have really fallen apart and the season could be a LOT more embarrasing than the 5-7 or 6-6 business that's about to occur.

I fully admit there's not much to gain by firing Hoke, but there's also almost nothing to lose.  Florida isn't making a mistake.

 

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The Baughz

November 16th, 2014 at 11:29 AM ^

Why can't Michigan do this with Hoke? Let him coach the final two games and be done with it. Regardless if they are bowl eligible or not, Hoke should not coach beyond the OSU game.



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M Fanfare

November 16th, 2014 at 11:32 AM ^

Two thoughts. First, our new head coach is going to need a defensive coordinator, and Muschamp has a well-proven track record on that side of the ball.

Second, if Florida hires Rich Rodriguez, we play them in a couple of years...

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Ryno2317

November 16th, 2014 at 11:37 AM ^

This really does not matter.  I assume we are doing what we need to do to find a replacement.  Everyone knows Hoke is gone, so the fact that he isnt officially fired yet is not a big deal.  

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Don

November 16th, 2014 at 11:49 AM ^

He's in the perfect spot in AZ. He can go 9-3 and as long he beats ASU occasionally they'll love him in Tucson. If he does the same thing in Gainesville they'll be roasting him for not being Meyer or Spurrier.

The cultural fit for him down in Florida might be better than in A2, but the pressure to win now and win big will be just as intense, if not moreso.

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Don

November 16th, 2014 at 1:53 PM ^

What would you think their expectations should rationally be?

Arizona has been playing football since 1899, and they've won a grand total of six conference championships: 1933, 1934, 1941, 1964, 1973, and 1993. Michigan's won 42.

In all those seasons, they've won 10 games or more twice. Michigan's done that 26 times.

Arizona is the only PAC 12 program that has never played in the Rose Bowl. Michigan's been there 20 times.

As long as he can beat ASU with some regularity, I think he can go 8-4 or 9-3 with the occasional 10 win season for a long time in Tucson.

 

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RJMAC

November 16th, 2014 at 11:55 AM ^

So Michigan doesn't get Mullen. No big deal. If Michigan doesn't get Harbaugh, there are still plenty of possible good coaches. I'd seriously consider Wisconsin defensive coordinator Aranda. He's a young and upcoming coach.

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RJMAC

November 16th, 2014 at 3:23 PM ^

Yes and No to your questions. Impressed by Wisconsin's very good 3-4 defense. Would like to see that brand of play at Michigan. They would have a stout, lock down D. Offense should be like they run at Wisconsin too. Funny thing, Wisconsin is playing like Michigan ONCED PLAYED a while back; a physical run game and play great defense. Now, Michigan longs for that day, but acts like they don't have a clue most of the time how to run the ball. Like they never had a history of great backs running for 180 yards a game. It's embarrassing. While Michigan flounders and has running backs slamming into the backsides of their offensive line, Wisconsin has backs go off for 400 yards in three quarters. So either they are recruiting better or they are being coached better, or both. Either way I would be looking at what they're doing, INCLUDING THEIR COACHES and see how I can get that here. You don't have to be a Michigan AD to at least SEE IT.

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bronxblue

November 16th, 2014 at 12:00 PM ^

Needed to happen.  I don't know how this affects UM's job search, though, simply because Mullen would be the only likely crossover and I'm not even sure he'll be leaving MSU.

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SalvatoreQuattro

November 16th, 2014 at 12:10 PM ^

I would assume her husband's happiness trumps all that.

The Raiders are not guaranteeing that they will be staying in the Bay Area. They are even looking at San Antonio(!) as a possible relocation. Does Harbaugh really want to be part of that hot mess??

I understand a desire to win a Super Bowl, but Harbaugh is no idiot. The Raiders are the worst ran team in the league. No matter of coaching will change that. 

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