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ANTONYA ENGLISHSchool says football coach's job not in jeopardy despite recent "unacceptable" behavior.
Ron Zook, at the center of controversy since the day he was hired as Florida football coach, found the pressure ratcheted higher this week when athletic director Jeremy Foley termed his behavior in a confrontation with students "unacceptable."
The Sept. 16 dispute at a fraternity house came to light on the heels of a difficult loss Saturday against LSU when the Gators blew a 14-point lead and lost in the final 27 seconds.
According to witness accounts in a University Police Department report, Zook told a student accused of assaulting one of his players, "Oh, you're going to get yours," and also said of the Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity house, "I will do anything in my power to bring this house down."
Foley declined all interview requests Wednesday, but issued a statement saying he didn't approve of Zook's behavior and the incident has been dealt with internally.
"Coach Zook went there with the intention of keeping his players out of trouble, which he did, but he let his emotions get the best of him," Foley said. "Obviously, certain aspects of that evening could have been handled better and some of his behavior was unacceptable. This is not what this program is about and Coach Zook knows that. This matter is now behind us."
Zook said he received a call from Foley on the evening of Sept. 16 informing him that several of his players were at the fraternity house, apparently in response to a scuffle between fraternity and team members in the early morning hours. Foley suggested Zook should go over to keep them out of trouble.
"In the course of getting my players to return to their dorm across the street, I got into an exchange with some of the fraternity brothers," Zook said in a statement, reiterating what he told reporters Tuesday night. "At the time, I didn't think the exchange was confrontational. If I raised my voice, I apologize. This university deserves to be represented in the right way and in a professional way.
"I care deeply about our players and because of that sometimes my emotions get the better of me," he said. "The one thing I would never do is intentionally embarrass this university. I owe too much to the University of Florida to do that."
Dealing with the fallout from this incident and the LSU loss have been tough for Zook. His demeanor has been different from the aftermath of other losses. His voice has cracked and he has become emotional several times when asked about the game.
"He's hurting," Foley said Monday.
Foley said Zook's job is not in jeopardy. But the incident was fodder for sports talk radio across the nation and has divided Gator supporters, much like his 21/2-year tenure.
Some question why Foley would ask Zook to go to the frat house and deal with a potentially volatile situation knowing his high-strung personality.
"If he was not to get involved, why did you contact him?" Pinellas County Gator Club president Katie Zimmer said in an e-mail to Foley on Wednesday afternoon, adding that he owed the coach "a public apology."
Zimmer told the Times she likened the situation to one neighbor telling the other across the street that one of their children was torturing the neighborhood cat.
"Why call just to let them know?" Zimmer said. "He's very protective of his players. The respect and admiration these players have for him, if that would win games, he would have two national championships by now."
Florida graduate and season-ticket holder Sharon Stern believes Zook's intentions were honorable.
"I can't imagine he went there and threatened a fraternity, I just don't see him doing that," she said.
But longtime Gator supporter Eric Schneider has a different view of both the season and the incident. He said he wants to give Zook a fair chance, but the past few games have "soured" him.
"I'd like to see how the season plays out before I make my final decision, but I'm not happy with the way the team is playing right now, that's for sure," Schneider said.
The fraternity incident makes matters worse.
"That's not what you want to see, coaches having fights," Schneider said. "If he would have gone over and just left it at that, that's one thing. But to actually get into an argument with the frat house, that kind of bothered me."
UF long-snapper Casey Griffith was at the frat house that night. He said he gave police a sworn statement several days later that Zook did not verbally or physically threaten anybody from Pi Kappa Phi.
"I think this is a little thing and a fraternity is running a smear campaign just to bash Coach Zook," Griffith said. "I think it's interesting it came out after we lost to LSU. If we were sitting here undefeated, those guys would have kept their mouth shut."
Zook repeated his apology Wednesday evening, but said he believes loyalty should beget loyalty.
"I'm always looking out for our players," he said. "I think we hold our players to the wall in all areas - whether it be academics, going to class or going to study hall. But on the same token if you demand from them everything that you can get out of them, then I think that loyalty is a two-way street."