GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- One question drowned out all the others
across the Gator Nation and throughout the college football world
Wednesday.
Who is Ron Zook?
|  | | Jeremy Foley, left, shakes hands with newly hired head football coach Ron Zook on Wednesday. |
He is, of course, the new Florida football coach, a good friend
of athletic director Jeremy Foley and, quite naturally, a coach who
felt like the luckiest guy on Earth.
"Obviously, this is a very exciting time for me," Zook said at
the news conference where he was introduced as the replacement for
Steve Spurrier.
The 47-year-old Zook is NOT Steve Spurrier -- he reminded
reporters of that 11 times during his sometimes-hyper,
often-engaging, 30-minute getting-to-know-you session.
Zook IS a career assistant whose emphasis has been not on
offense -- the side of the ball Spurrier revolutionized in his 12
seasons -- but on defense. He was Florida's defensive coordinator
from 1991-93, and spent the last two seasons as defensive
coordinator for the New Orleans Saints.
Not to worry, he assured restless Gators fans.
"We're going to be an attacking offense," he said. "We're
going to throw the ball around the ballpark, as coach Spurrier once
said. We're going to score points. That's my personality. That's my
style."
Zook said he has hired Ed Zaunbrecher, the offensive coordinator
at Marshall the last two seasons, to fill the same position at
Florida. He'll announce the rest of his staff later.
Zook was the third friend Foley turned to when he boarded the
school's airplane and began his cross-country search after
Spurrier's sudden resignation last Friday. Bob Stoops and Mike
Shanahan both said "No."
Zook, who might be even closer to Foley than the other two guys,
said "Yes," to a five-year contract that will pay him about $1
million a season when the deal is completed.
Fair or not, the hiring has brought a collective "Huh?" from
Gators fans.
It also brought a big sigh of relief from 11 other Southeastern
Conference campuses. They now find themselves preparing not for the
so-called Evil Genius, but for Zook, a guy they hadn't really heard
of until his hiring Tuesday night.
They weren't alone.
"I don't know John Zook, but I'm sure he'll do a good job,"
Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy said, when asked for his
reaction.
Um, Tony -- John Zook was a defensive lineman for the Falcons and
Cardinals in the 1970s. The Gators hired RON Zook, who played
defensive back for Miami of Ohio from 1972-75.
This is Zook's second stint at Florida. The first ran from
1991-95. He was viewed as the best recruiter on Spurrier's staff, a
tireless worker who helped turn the nearby talent hotbed of
Jacksonville in Florida's favor, after years of being dominated by
Florida State.
"Zook's the one that came in, and really got some key players
out of here," said Dan Disch, coach of Jacksonville's Ed White
High School.
That's one of the reasons Foley hired him.
The athletic director has always loved Zook's fire, the way his
players played hard and the way he never quit, even after Spurrier
demoted him from defensive coordinator to special teams coach in
1994.
"You've got to go with your instincts," Foley said. "I've
known Ron since 1991. I saw his passion then. I saw his ability to
recruit then. I saw how his players played."
While Foley was spinning a success story, a lot of football fans
across the Southeast were more skeptical.
Asked if Zook was a good hire, respondents to an Atlanta
Journal-Constitution Web site voted 4-to-1 against. Postings on fan
forums were about as lopsided.
The baggage of the demotion still lingers for those opposed to
the hire. So did the fact that Zook left for the pros almost
immediately after Spurrier gave him his old title back, following
the 1995 season. Neither did they like the fact that the Saints
gave up 160 points in their final four games this season.
But mostly, fans were upset because they wanted Stoops or
Shanahan, and when they didn't get either, they felt Foley settled
on the easiest choice.
"It seemed a little rushed to me," Florida freshman Tim Duclos
said.
Foley insisted he didn't settle. He said Shanahan, Stoops and
Zook were the only three coaches who were ever on his list, and
after that "I have absolutely no idea where I would have gone."
But he did feel it was crucial to get a coach in place by
Friday, which is both the final day of the dead period for
recruiting, and the day underclassmen must declare for the NFL
draft.
"If you lose a recruiting season in football or even a couple
weekends in football, I think there are some issues," Foley said.
Indeed, the future of sophomore quarterback Rex Grossman hangs
in the balance. Grossman said he might leave for the NFL in the
wake of Spurrier's departure. The Heisman Trophy runner-up met with
Zook later Wednesday, but was not immediately available for
comment.
Even before the meeting, Zook made his message clear.
"Rex Grossman wants to hear he's got the same opportunity he
had last year to win the Heisman Trophy," Zook said. "I promise
you this. He'll have that same opportunity."
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Florida News Conference
The head Gator
