Florida has serious problems with its football program, but money isn't one of them.
Now that Will Muschamp has stepped down -- and look for someone to grab him as a defensive coordinator quickly -- Athletic Director Jeremy Foley has said the search has begun, but he isn't in a hurry.
Well, either he has someone in mind or he needs to step up the pace, because the Gators currently rank No. 73 in this year's recruiting race. That's after going eighth, fourth, third and 12th under Muschamp.
Before the sun had set on Muschamp's resignation, South Carolina's Steve Spurrier, Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, Arizona's Rich Rodriguez and Mississippi State's Dan Mullen had said they weren't candidates for the job. That's a good thing since they probably weren't on Foley's short list.
Foley passed on bringing Spurrier back when he hired Muschamp. Stoops has not been interested twice before. Rodriguez has been at a school (Michigan) where football was the king of unrealistic expectations. It's rumored that Mullen doesn't have a great relationship with Foley.
Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy and Louisiana-Lafayette's Mark Hudspeth's names come up a lot during job searches, but neither ever seems to get an interview.
Of course, San Francisco 49ers Coach Jim Harbaugh's name is going to come up. He's the new Jon Gruden. It is more likely Harbaugh will cross the bay and coach the Oakland Raiders next year.
Charlie Strong's timing was bad or he would have been perfect for Florida, although some of the Texas boosters might be willing to pay whatever buyout he has.
Mississippi Coach Hugh Freeze's name has been mentioned, but Freeze was born and bred in the Magnolia State and he seems to be the best fit for the Rebels in decades.
Philadelphia Eagles Coach Chip Kelly is a popular name on radio and television talk shows, but it usually isn't mentioned that Oregon received three years of probation from the NCAA for the illegal use of recruiting services and Kelly received an 18-month show cause penalty. He had already gone pro by that time after leading the Ducks to a 46-7 record in his four years at Oregon.
If Foley asked yours truly for some advice -- and understand that will happen when Hades freezes over -- here are a few names who deserve consideration:
JIM MCELWAIN He seems to have made a seamless shift from offensive coordinator to head coach. He's led Colorado State to a 9-1 record this season after going 8-6 in his first season. A resume strength is he worked for Nick Saban at Alabama, and his four years as offensive coordinator there produced a 48-6 record and BCS national championships in 2009 and 2011. That pretty much wipes out the fact he worked for John L. Smith at Louisville and Michigan State. The issue is his $7.5 million buyout, which is a lot for even Florida.
DOC HOLLIDAY The Marshall football coach -- not the outstanding sheriff of Pulaski County -- currently leads one of only two undefeated teams at the highest level, the other being Florida State. He is a former Florida assistant who has the reputation of being a great recruiter. The Thundering Herd are 20-4 over the past two seasons with two games remaining this season.
GARY ANDERSEN Bret Bielema's successor at Wisconsin turned around the Utah State program in four seasons. In his two seasons with the Badgers, they are 17-6 with two games remaining. He is also a former Broyles Award finalist.
GREG SCHIANO He was a proven winner as a head coach at Rutgers, but another NFL failure. It took him four years to turn around the Scarlet Knights, but he was 49-28 in his last six years.
Those are some proven winners, but none of them may be Gucci enough for the Florida Gators.
Sports on 11/19/2014