I'm not sure I am a Mike White supporter anymore, though I will claim ignorance on the coaching landscape to suggest a replacement. I will say that I could make a better argument for retaining Mullen for football than White for basketball, and I was very lukewarm on Mullen based on this football season.
Well said. All I’ve got to say to those wanting Mike White gone. We’d better have a home run hire to replace him. Otherwise, we may be stuck in a cycle of the bubble team with attrition at head coach. It took Billy nearly 8 years before he made his run with the 04s. Many fans forget how Billy was treated before the 04s came along. Many wanted him gone for the constant 1st and 2nd round exits. Be very careful what you wish for. All I am saying.
So you are saying if we fire him we can be “stuck” in virtually the same position as we are now? Except we’d at least have hope every once in awhile
How many times were we in the top 3 to 4 teams in SEC league play before 2006? SEC tournaments? What was our program like before Billy outside of that great 94 year? Speaking of the 94 final four, billy's 2000 run established a lot of leeway even if we had some really bad tourney exits the following years. How many weeks were Billy's teams not ranked in the top 25 after his first 2 years? All of that may sound like I expect another Billy Donovan. I don't. Some don't acknowledge it but we were blue blood level elite performance wise for most of his tenure. But we should be a top 25 team. We should be a top 3rd SEC team. I'm not going to restate everything I have in other posts but the devil we know is better than the one we don't stuff is getting less and less valid with the current trend line of our seasons.
Nice try to bring some context for what appears to be a "fatal affliction". Too bad we have some folks who need more bloodletting. Aren't there other threads for that?
Time to move on and see if we can do better. He really should not have been hired in the first place, after what Billy built, but Foley was the type to hire a Zook after Spurrier. Now it’s time to make the Meyer hire in basketball. Next year will be another roster with missing pieces that will prevent us from being great, because White refuses to recruit balanced rosters with a cohesive identity. Expecting in year 8 to be different is insane. He has had more than enough time to identify and fix the structural issues that have plagued his teams, but he hasn’t. Same tired story year in and out because there is little margin for error with the formula (whatever that is) he’s using. With Billy, you always knew the type of player he would recruit at each position, and it generally worked. Even in the years we bounced early, they were challenging for the SEC title. A floor general, a sharp shooter, a versatile 3, a 4 that could go inside and out, and an athletic big man. Add depth, and a scrappy player or 2, and viola, a winning formula. Many of these players went on to make a great living in either the NBA or Europe, which helped it keep going year in and out.
Solid guy...given PLENTY of time to go from good to great. Never demonstrated that he could do more than what we have seen. Could we keep him and just be content with mediocre seasons...sure..but why and why him? Its clear this is the last season for him and if he has other "opportunities" then go get them.
Billy had no choice but to play some walk-ons in his first 2 years at UF. Sweet 16 in year 3. National title game in year 4. All I am saying.
Herein lies the problem. After last year, this was my position. We could actually do worse. After another season of the same, it is time to see if we can do better. Agree, no guarantee that we will. My problem is as much with the administration as it is with White. We'll see with the next hire how much they care about basketball. If they are unable to put a compensation package together to attract a proven, successful Power 5 head coach, you can expect this downward slide to continue. I'd say its 65-35 that it happens. Odds are that White is replaced by another mid major guy, who's cheap and hungry, but (like White) lacks the necessary experience and chops to be successful in today's ultra competitive SEC.
First, there are 6 power conferences, when you include the Big East. I see no need to go after any coach from any of those conferences. The chances are that Jeff Linder and Anthony Grant are better than anyone we could get from those conferences. Kevin Boyle, from Montverde, might be more of a gamble, but my guess is that he also would be better than anyone we could get from a power conference. Tommy Amaker, from Harvard, is another possibility given that he no longer has a chance of getting the Duke job. There are plenty other possibilities out there. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Let’s get a move on it.
In order for any program to acquire/retain a successful coach, there needs to be support and commitment at all levels. Having a lower salary pool for assistant coaches; or having lower recruiting budget; or lacking staff positions such as “director of scouting/analytics”; or lacking promotional efforts … all handcuff success. We saw Billy Napier clearly detail and map out what he required to accept the position and to succeed. And the necessary changes were made to meet those needs. It would be interesting to see if a perspective basketball coach would do the same, and how such would be received.
Agree, and it will easy to see if things have changed when the next coach is hired. Reach for Mike White, version 2 and it will be obvious nothing has. I know that if I was a successful coach, I would never make a lateral move to a program that lacks commitment. It would be career suicide. A hungry, not as well off mid major guy would take the chance.
Mike was largely considered a very good hire at the time. He had previously turned back overtures from other schools, including Missouri and Tennessee. So, he was not considered a reach, but rather a pretty darn good get. And there are now other mid-major candidates who would appear the same. There is nothing wrong with going that route, and i wouldn’t find it to be an indictment. But if any hire is made in any sport…. and support structure/commitment is lacking- that would be telling. I’m not as big of a football guy, but I was pleased with the Napier hire… mostly bc of his requirements and our commitment to meeting them. He has a plan and Florida is providing to tools to facilitate.
I suppose I shouldn't use Power 5 as its too restricting. I'm using it more to describe the coach I don't want to see. Grant, to me, while he doesn't coach at a Power 5 school, has a lot of experience at them. He's coached at the highest level too. Amaker has the Coach K and Duke experience. These guys don't look like gambles to me. They know what to expect and will have firm demands out of the administration at the outset. I'm not alone in my fear that we'll get another Mike White. I just hope for the sake of the program that there will be a renewed commitment. Without that, we won't attract who we truly need.
This is interesting phrasing. And I agree! The question becomes…. What is it about the Florida job that strikes the upper-echelon, Power6 coaches from the “could get” list?
Napier has had years of exposure to and active involvement in championship culture. Donovan did as well, at Kentucky with Pitino. I think this is very important. I know White is no dummy and has learned from his father, but coming to Florida from La Tech, I don't think he was in a position to make many demands. I thought White was a reach. He was Foley's way of telling everyone how smart he was. He also could have been our best option at the time (I am guessing) as there was little to no interest from the hot prospects that year (A. Miller, Mack, etc). I was very much against the hire, grew to like him and the job he was doing. However, its run its course and now its time to try again.
Thats the standard? There would be almost zero head coaches employed if that were the case. Plus, White made it to an Elite 8.
As it stands now, not very much. There will have to be a lot of $$$$ reasons and a renewed commitment to this program. Maybe a big name can convince them to do that.
