Bobby Bowden, FSU coach: "Following a guy like (Steve) Spurrier would be mighty hard. I don't know of many coaches in the history of college football who have come into a school and done what Steve did."
Lloyd Carr, Michigan coach: "Things are just getting out of hand. This is just further proof that there's too much money, too many games, too much pressure, too much buildup in intercollegiate sports, and that all adds up to unrealistic, outrageous expectations. We all need to take a good look at ourselves and re-evaluate our priorities."
Mark Richt, Georgia coach: "It's a little bit strange to have (the firing) in the middle of the year, certainly right before this game. ... It's certainly not good when anybody loses his job. I'm sorry for Coach Zook that it happened. My guess is their players will be very adamant on playing hard for not only Coach Zook but their entire coaching staff."
Sylvester Croom, Mississippi State coach: "Any time a fellow coach is fired, that's disappointing. Ron's a good football coach who has had an excellent career. I hate that he and his coaching staff and their families have to go through that. We know this is part of the business, but it's not a part of the business that any of us enjoy."
Utah coach Urban Meyer: "I don't know what's going on in Florida and I don't care. I have a football team to coach. ... You're going to get a whole lot of no comments."
Robert Stern, president-elect of Florida's alumni association: "It's tough because this guy was loved by the players, loved by the recruits. Everything was perfect except the all-important win-loss record."
George Edmondson, "Mr. Two Bits," Bull Gator: "That's the way the ball bounces unfortunately. He just has not made any improvement. In fact, it's been going downhill."
Debbie Murray, Bull Gator and past president of the Pinellas County Gator Club: "Ron Zook is a nice guy and a great recruiter. I also think those two things don't make a great coach."
Katie Zimmer, president of the Pinellas County Gator Club: "They should have waited until the end of the season. My next thought is, the poor man, even before he stepped back on campus, too many people didn't want him there. Zook is probably too nice. He's unbelievably hardworking. Loyal. And I think he was an adult role model for a lot of the players. Everyone had his cell phone number. I don't know how often they used it. But I can guarantee they didn't have Steve Spurrier's."
- Times staff writers Brian Landman, Dave Scheiber, Chris Goffard and Curtis Krueger contributed to this report, which used information from the Associated Press and Detroit Free Press.
