Scathing Stricklin article from All kinds of weather

Wow...I didn't realize how bad it actually was. I really like what Mike Hill has done at Charlotte since leaving UF. Strong ties to the GOAT, Foley. I wouldn't mind seeing him return as AD.

Mike Hill - Staff Directory - Charlotte Athletics

 

I think SS will go the way of Napier or Golden so he really needs one of these hires to hit.

 

I agree, and think this institutional culture started well before Stricklin was hired. I blame Foley for a lot of missed opportunities to really put UF on the football & basketball sports map for many years to come, but everyone has a boss, and as far as we know he wasnt' able to pull the trigger on such things because he couldn't convince his bosses it was the right thing to do. Foley definitely had some high profile misses, but most of his hiring (a very inexact science, btw) was pretty solid and at times downright stellar (Donovan, Holloway, Meyer).

 

I never understood the hate for Foley. Dude was really good at what he did.

 

Revealing, but only for those that need a graphic to tell the difference in the direction of the overall Athletic program at UF.

 

And/or restrictions. We will never go out for a big, established name. Not going to do it. Even SOS and Urban were hired on the way up and that's always going to be the formula, IMO.

 

Don't leave our Kevin O'Sullivan, Tim Walton, Amanda O'Leary, Anthony Nesty and Roland Thornqvist. Lots of titles for all of these coaches as well.

 

This is true. Take a look at the Athletic Admin. Only one of the top Associates has a UF degree. If anyone needs explanation of why there might be a problem, that tells a story right there.

 

Well, you definitely want to hire coaches that are on the way up. Unfortunately a lot of our hires lately only looked like they were on their way up.

 

I only follow the major sports, and I get that football and basketball are down, but I thought the other non-revenue sports were doing well. This shows that we may be winning, but not at the same pace we were winning at previously under Foley. Eye-opening to me.

 

And maybe more importantly, the ones winning aren't Stricklin's hires at all. I do have high hopes for Nesty, though. I think he will prove to be a good hire.

 

Just saying. Kelly, Jimbo ain't happening here. I was sad to see the Washington guy go to Alabama as he was my No. 1 choice if we got rid of Napier.

 

You don’t have to hire a top very successful coach, a Nick or Kirby type, typically you can’t anyway, those don’t leave where they’re at. The current UF formula doesn’t work well though, imho. Of the last 4 guys hired, one had no HC experience, the other 3 only had one stop. Both Steve & Urban had 2 HC gigs before UF and it was obvious both had the goods. That’s the winning formula to follow, again imho. Kalen DeBoer fits this to a T, and that was likely a big factor in Alabama hiring him. Billy should’ve had to go up a level from ULL and prove his worth there, first.

 

I was more disappointed about his replacement moving.

 

I was disappointed that Stricklin didn't fire McElwain for cause after the fake death threats. That cost the program $13 million. Then was further disappointed at the hiring of Dan Mullen.

 

But who was "that guy" when those guys were hired?

 

The AZ guy (UF grad)? But he has no experience playing football. The board would slay that guy, UF grad or not.

 

Nesty was an All-American swimmer for UF and is in the Gator Athletics Hall of Fame. He's been the Men's S & D head coach since 2018 and has been on the coaching staff at UF for 24 years, being an Assistant coach starting in 1999, Associate Head Coach at UF from 2006-2018, being in charge of the swimming part while another guy was in charge of the diving. He just took over as head coach of the Women's S & D team for the 2023-24 season. So he's a long time Gator originally brought on board by Foley.

 

I think they negotiated the buyout down, though, so no nasty and costly court fight was necessary.

 

I don’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday, much less that far back.

This is not a great era in coaching, imho, the depth of the pool is rather weak now. Scott doesn’t have a very good eye for talent though, and the proof is in the pudding.