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How good is Coach Mac?

B1GTide

B1GTide

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Bazza said:
OK...not the perfect analogy....but you get my drift.....your starting QB is the main dude...if he's not there....you're fighting an uphill battle.
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I don't disagree with the premise, but if you are a deep and well coached team, the loss of one player (even the QB) should not derail your season at the college level. Especially if the QB is only as good as Francois. He is a good QB, but not a difference maker.
 
81usaf92

81usaf92

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Bazza said:
I don't want to beat a dead horse on the injury aspect.....but why is everyone saying "There goes FSU's chances to win their conference and/or return to the playoffs just because their starting QB went out....yet when Florida loses their starting QB (two years in a row)....all I hear is "Phew....Florida's offense stinks....I wonder if Mac will keep his job."

OK...not the perfect analogy....but you get my drift.....your starting QB is the main dude...if he's not there....you're fighting an uphill battle.
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The big problem is he is in the State of Florida and hasn't had a qb in 3 years. He is also not great at recruiting at Florida when lesser coaches like Zook and Mush have done better.

Again I think he is an average coach that needs another year or so to prove anything. But he really needs to show Nuss the door.
 
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bamamick

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I have a good friend who is a lifetime Gator fan, and from our discussions this morning the shine is definitely off of the Coach Mac/Nuss partnership. He is willing to be patient but Nuss has to go pretty soon.

Right now I would put the odds as being pretty good that Coach Mac is sitting on a very hot seat in the next few months. Winning the east by default two years in a row and having no shot at all at beating Bama, and then this season? The natives are restless.

rtr
 
J

JustNeedMe81

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It's Coach Nuss that's holding back the offense. Nuss is predictable playcaller. If Nuss struggles against Tennessee, Jim will take over playcalling.
 
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BamaInCummingGA#1

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It's been said on here when Mac was our OC that recruiting was not one of his strong points and something he didn't enjoy doing. That will hurt your program unless most of your staff is lights out recruiters.
As far as his partnership with Nuss ............. well that little arrangement needs to be dissolved if Mac has any hopes of remaining the head coach at UF. He needs to find a qb and stick with him and develop him. Like someone else said earlier, the qb carousel ain't helping.
All that having been said, when you have 10+ players suspended and injured that can kind of deflate a team.
 
D

deliveryman35

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Strictly as a HC, I think the jury is still out. He has been snakebit at the QB position from almost the start. If Will Grier stays at QB two yrs ago, I think things may have played out much better for him, but we will never definitively know for sure. So far he has choked whenever he's had a big stage against top opponents. All that being said I think it's too soon to write him off. Barring an absolute disaster, he should get at least 4 yrs.
 
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bamaslammer

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I think Florida is suffering a bit from the rise of Florida State. I know there are tons of players in Florida but EVERYBODY recruits Florida so you're really talking about the kids who want to stay in Florida. The most disturbing thing I heard this week is that the offensive line was just pushed around. Everybody struggles in the first game at OL but it could also be a sign of a lack of toughness, something we are intimately familiar with from the Bucket Step Bob Days. You can't fix a lack of toughness in one season, in fact It often takes at least two years to purge the spirit of weakness from a program most of the time.

I see now why Auburn was so non combative about the idea of moving them to the East, they would own the East right now.
 
M

mdb-tpet

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deliveryman35 said:
Strictly as a HC, I think the jury is still out. He has been snakebit at the QB position from almost the start. If Will Grier stays at QB two yrs ago, I think things may have played out much better for him, but we will never definitively know for sure. So far he has choked whenever he's had a big stage against top opponents. All that being said I think it's too soon to write him off. Barring an absolute disaster, he should get at least 4 yrs.
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On the QB situation. It's really the head coach's responsibility to recruit and retain at least 2 solid QBs. A good coach has to have a solid succession plan for every starter and sometimes even for the second string. If the team is always struggling because a "starter is out", then the coaches are simply not up to the task of running the program. As beat to death here, Coach Shula suffered mightily from his inability to recruit and develop a strong second and third string.

You simply can't run an successful SEC program without at least 2 serviceable QBs: one QB to start, and the other to backup/push the starter/give the starter a rest in games that are won/come in games that are going really badly for the starter/replace a hurt starting QB/preparing for the time when the starter graduates or moves to the NFL. And it's the OC's job to be sure both those QBs are ready to play. Sorry to bring up bad memories, but we've been beat by 2nd and 3rd string QBs in the past.

I think you CAN win a lot with just a first string at some of the middle-tier conferences, as that's what most teams are playing with. But in the SEC, that's not the case. SEC teams are usually too deep and the schedule is too hard for teams with only a good first string.
 
UntouchableCrew

UntouchableCrew

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I agree with the OP. Simply put he's been an average recruiter and for an offensive minded guy he hasn't been able to field good offenses or develop a QB since Grier. He's had some bad luck with injuries and suspensions but he's also been extremely fortunate the SEC East has been so down. If you had a legitimately good Georgia or Tennessee team winning those division titles he'd be on much thinner ice.

Anybody who legitimately thinks McEwlain is a better coach at this juncture than Harbaugh is either a huge homer or completely out of touch with reality. Harbaugh may be a jerk but has won everywhere he has gone, typically in short order. CJM simply hasn't earned that type of respect yet.
 
CoolBreeze

CoolBreeze

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Moro Creek said:
I think he is a very good coach but not a great coach. His problem is he is an average or less recruiter.
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I think you nailed it. Saban came in and made an instant impact at Bama. Mac did the same at Colorado State to a certain extent and the powers that be at UF pulled the trigger on a Saban disciple. Unfortunately, I don't think Mac was quite ready for such a powerful job (similar to Muschamp) and does not have experience to draw on as head coach. One thing that is the cornerstone of Saban's success - RECRUITING. Until he learns to recruit Extremely Well personally and emphasize the hiring of extremely good recruiting coordinators/position coaches then he will always only have marginal success.
 
RTR91

RTR91

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JustNeedMe81 said:
Reminder: Treon Harris and Will Grier are playing well right now and they're not at Florida.
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What does that have to do with it?

Treon Harris was crap at Florida, so he was benched.

Grier took steroids, so the NCAA told him to sit out a year. Maybe Florida's better if he hangs around. Who knows.
 
RTR91

RTR91

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I don't think he gets canned, but worth remembering he has a new AD now. Scott Strickland didn't hire him.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
GP for Bama

GP for Bama

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He'll get on the hot seat if the Gators lose to Georgia and Florida State and one other game.
 
81usaf92

81usaf92

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I honestly hope the best for Mac as long as it doesn't get in the way of Bama's success, but I believe his tenure at Florida has been filled with luck, bad breaks, head scratching, and excuses. I think ultimately the question moves to "how would Florida be under Mullen?"

I think Florida lacks optimism and real leadership. I think the lack of leadership predates this year because I remember Florida players interacting with fans during a game last year with a toy tiger to get back with LSU. Everyone loves to criticize Harbaugh for his antics, but his antics are off the field and out of the program. He has far more control and respect with his team than Mac. I really think Mac needs to make changes within his staff, and also find a better way to get control over his team. There is a difference between being Charlie Strong and between being Dennis Erickson in terms of control.

I think Bazza's info on fellow Florida fans is pretty telling of their expectations, and if something doesn't change then something up at the top will. I think Mac's biggest support group has been Bama fans, and that's not a good thing for Florida coaches.
 
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