I truly hate to break this to you after all that effort, but we were talking about the So Miss defense, not UF
Almost. The Gators ranked No. 129 of 131 FBS teams in third-down conversion percentage allowed, No. 87 in scoring defense and No. 97 in total defense, the second-worst mark in the SEC, last season.
I think UF was ranked 101 in 1st down defense last year too. That’s on the DC imo. Glad we have a new one!
My point is that it's silly to dismiss Armstrong by stating he's "not qualified" to be our DC. Many fans cried when we hired Meyer because they wanted Spurrier or Stoops or Petrino or Rodriguez or "someone more qualified" than a Mountain West HC. Maybe you weren't one of them, and maybe they were in the minority, but it happened. I don't blame you for being skeptical, I just don't understand being upset about this guy when realistically there aren't a ton of great options out there, and his resume seems fine to me. Who would you have preferred?
Nobody cried when we hired Meyer. He was universally pegged as the #1 coaching candidate out there. We beat out Notre Dame for his services. Let’s not rewrite history.
I'm not rewriting anything. I think MOST everyone approved of Meyer, but there are always naysayers when it comes to G5 coaches. Hell, just look at all the "Sun Belt Billy" references since the moment we hired Napier. Look, that's beside the point anyway. I never suggested Armstrong would be the next Meyer or even the next Lanning. The way I see it, you have three real options at DC: 1. Promote from within 2. Hire an experienced retread 3. Poach someone from another school Was #1 the best option? I don't think so. Bateman has experience, sure. What about option #2? Jim Leonhard doesn't even plan on coaching in 2023. Charlie Strong? No thanks. Who else is out there? Show me a list of all these quality DC's who are unemployed and sitting by the phone waiting for us to call. We chose #3, and guess what? We weren't convincing a solid DC at another bigtime school to make a lateral move here. Instead, we got a young guy who produced results as a DC (albeit at a smaller school) and seems to be highly regarded by our HC....and also some guy named Saban.
If a great recruiter and can put us in the right defensive formation, I’m okay with a hire Saban wanted. Toney was said to be very smart but OC’s outcoached him. Was not able to get us in the right play on D.
Again, skewed perception based on what you want to promote. Try again. All teams wanted Meyer that year. We won the lottery with him.
It doesn't matter what teams wanted him. Not the point. You're telling me EVERY Florida fan wanted us to hire a G5 coach over Steve Spurrier? "Try again."
Speaking of….the HBC didn’t come from a power 5 school….there’s only so many Power 5 schools to pick from as well, so at some point coaches gotta come from somewhere non-power 5. Not aimed at you, just stealing your post.
We don't know if Toney was 'encouraged' to seek another opportunity or if he decided on his own. I've always said that end of year 2 we will all have a better idea on the future prospects of our football program. Considering the Mullen situation and the 'nepotism' with seemingly assistant's relationships with CDM more important than performance, I'm pleasantly surprised that these changes are occuring. The only disappointment is the WR coach leaving, however CBN may come up with a great replacement.
They moved up, it’s very doubtful any were asked to leave. If so, they are very lucky to have fallen uphill.
You are correct and for whatever reason I just don’t associate them of being anything power wise in football. After research, “Power 5” wasn’t really used until 2006. So no, Duke wasn’t Power 5 at that time.
