Larry Coker's Job security deathwatch

That is true. Also, traffic stinks, especially during the week. But you have to combine that with the fact that the area went from having two teams (the Fins and the Canes) to five teams (Panthers, Heat and Marlins), in a period of about five years. There aren't enough sporting dollars to support all of them.

 

There is enough money to support the teams but the fan base has moved to Broward, Palm Beach and Jupiter. Who the hell wants to drive to Miami to watch a game when the HD theater is a better view.

 

leo, I have to ask out of curiosity: with as many FL recruits in the state, if they are not going to The U, Tallahassee or Gainesville, would it be fair to say that all three schools are having difficulty keeping the FL kids in-state, as they (recruits) are opting to go to out-of-state schools?

 

Florida produces about 300 D-I football players a year, and the three biggies can only take 75 max, so most have to go out of state.

 

D-3, i think ace is on track but i also think it's more complicated.

first, i'd say the three biggies take far fewer than 75 of the top kids every year. that might be their total haul, but if you're a bluechip recruit who everyone pretty much knows is going to the NFL in 3-4 years, you're paying close attention to where other bluechippers are going, right? and that affects where you go. maybe each team has room for 5-6 superprep types each year.

and i think with 300 or so D-I players a year, there are enough of these bluechippers for each of the big three in florida to pull in their fair share. coker just needs to recruit them. everyone made a huge deal out of the huge number of UM kids taken in the 2004 draft but that was davis' last recruiting class. i'm not a close enough follower of college ball to name the kids he's failed to recruit over the past four years or so but the U is now just another run-of-the-mill top-20 program from a 17-year-old kids' point of view. that's not acceptable for fans down here.

 

Did Butch Davis have some kind of nervous break down that was kept hush-hush? Is he really ready to come back to coaching?

 

No way. Been there, done that. How about Davis' defensive coordinator for two seasons, Greg Schiano, who's turned what looked like a no-win situation at Rutgers into an amazing story?

 

Rumor I heard today, that Shalala has given Coker job security past this season because he suspended the kids for the FSU game and hasn't bitched about UM quietly upping its academic entrance standards since she took over.

 

It's not just the big three anymore. Central Florida, South Florida and Florida International are all at the D1 level now, with Florida Atlantic headed that way. Some of those blue-chippers gladly consider an offer from the "second three" before they'd consider going somewhere else. I mean, be serious --- who the hell wants to put up with a northern winter when you can play for a bowl bid without leaving the Sunshine State?

And I can think of at least one instance where a black kid turned down a schollie offer from the big three to go to one of Florida's 1-AA traditionally black colleges (he went to Bethune-Cookman, which has a habit of producing good NFL players). Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M are both magic names in the African-American community.

 

Just so it's clear, Georgia absolutely has the right guy now, though if Richt gets hung with a couple more losses to Flordia the next two years, there will be some asking for his job. Pair that with a couple of losses to Tech, and it'd be even worse. All I was saying is Donnan might have kept the job had he been more successful in rival games. He was the bitch belonging to both the Gators and the Jackets.

 

And I can think of at least one instance where a black kid turned down a schollie offer from the big three to go to one of Florida's 1-AA traditionally black colleges (he went to Bethune-Cookman, which has a habit of producing good NFL players). Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M are both magic names in the African-American community.
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A friend who was involved with the football program at FSU said that FAMU was a great recruiting tool for the Seminoles. Having an all-black school a few miles away was great for those black players who didn't feel comfortable on FSU's campus.