GAINESVILLE - Eight hours after he was fired as the Florida football coach, an emotional Ron Zook said he was grateful for having had the opportunity and will leave the program at the end of the season "in very good shape."
Zook, 50, was fired Monday morning less than three years into his tenure and with four games remaining. He and his staff will remain with the team until the end of the regular season.
Zook will receive about $1.8-million to buy out the final four seasons of his contract, about $450,000 for the next four years.
"I want to take the time to thank a number of people who have done all they could to help us move forward in our time here at Florida," Zook said, pausing at one point and choking back tears. "This has been a wonderful experience for my family the past three years. It hasn't always turned out the way we wanted it to week to week, but I can assure you we've worked very hard at this and been very fortunate to have had so many good people working to help us."
Speculation on Zook's successor immediately focused on his predecessor, Steve Spurrier. The most successful coach in Gators history isn't coaching this fall after resigning as coach of the Redskins after last season. Spurrier, who went 122-27 from 1990-2001, seems open to the idea of returning.
"I've had no contact with anybody," Spurrier told reporters at a charity golf tournament in Orlando. "It'll play out in due time, and we'll go from there. I don't think there's anything I can say right now. I think you need to allow those coaches to finish out the season."
Zook's firing comes just two days after Florida's 38-31 loss to Mississippi State, a 241/2-point underdog that had won just one game. Florida is 4-3, 2-3 in the SEC, the first time since 1989 the Gators have lost three SEC games. Zook's tenure has been marked by losses against key opponents (0-2 records against Florida State and Miami and in bowl games), by leads that slipped away late (including losses to Tennessee and LSU this season) and by losses on the Gators homefield (Spurrier lost five home games in 12 seasons; Zook six in 21/2). He is 20-13 overall.
Although there was nationwide anticipation of Zook's demise, the timing caught many by surprise. Athletic director Jeremy Foley said the decision to remove Zook now, instead of waiting until the Nov.20 FSU game was the "honorable" thing to do.
As for allowing Zook to finish the season?
"I thought that Coach Zook deserved to be the coach," Foley said. "He's been here for three years. This is his football team, and he's worked extraordinarily hard. To sit there and say, "You can't finish the season,' that would be inappropriate and inappropriate for the kids too."
In his first two seasons, the Gators finished 8-5 and Zook was never able to fully win over fans. Foley thanked Zook for his work ethic and personal sacrifice, but said it just wasn't working out.
"In the final analysis as you evaluate our football program and take a look at the last three years, it was apparent to me that something was not working here," Foley said. "I know that is kind of nebulous, but it's the truth. I cannot put my finger on it exactly, but it certainly has not appeared to be working as we all had envisioned. Certainly it wasn't working as I had envisioned it three years ago when I hired Ron Zook, and I accept full responsibility for making that decision. But now we turn our attention to the future."
Foley came under fire when he hired Zook, a journeyman assistant, in 2002 to replace Spurrier. Foley had tried to hire Broncos coach Mike Shanahan and Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, so Zook was a third choice.
"You don't follow Bear (Bryant), you don't follow Dean Smith, you don't follow John Wooden," ESPN analyst Lee Corso said. "It can't be done."
University president Bernard J. Machen and Foley said a national search to find Zook's replacement will be conducted. Foley will provide the list of candidates for Machen's approval, and a committee may be chosen during the process to help in the decision.
Along with Spurrier, those mentioned as potential replacements are Utah coach Urban Meyer, Louisville coach Bobby Petrino and Stoops. Foley said he has not had any contact with Spurrier and that no current head coach will be contacted until after their season ends.
Meyer was hired by Machen when he was president at Utah and Stoops is a former defensive coordinator at Florida.
One of the criteria? The candidate must have head coaching experience.
"I think where the University of Florida is today," Foley said, "having made that run and not having it pan out as we wanted, you want that head coaching experience this go around."
Foley called Machen Saturday evening in the mountains of North Carolina where the president was golfing. He told Machen he thought a change needed to be made. Machen told Foley to sleep on it. Foley called again on Sunday morning; the message was the same. Machen got back to Gainesville Sunday evening and talked with Foley one last time.
"The decision was made somewhere between here and North Carolina, in my mind," said Machen, who summoned Zook to his house at 8 a.m. Monday where he and Foley delivered the news. "It took two votes. If he (Foley) didn't agree, we wouldn't have done it. You don't do this trumping each other. You have to have a team that agrees."
Asked if the decision would have been made if Florida had beaten Mississippi State, Machen replied: "I don't know if we would be here, no.
Zook, who thanked his wife Denise and two daughters for sticking by him, said he'll do everything in his power to get the team ready for Saturday's game against Georgia and the remainder of the season.
"I want to thank all of our players, particularly these seniors," he said. "We've been together for a long time and we've had their utmost respect and support. I want them to know they have our utmost respect and support as well.
"I take pride in the fact that we leave this program in very good shape, with a lot of good young talent and good people. The future of Gator football is very bright."
