A letter and petition supporting the fired coach are circulated in a last-ditch effort to have the players' voices heard.
By ANTONYA ENGLISH
Published November 23, 2004
GAINESVILLE - Coleen Martinez was trying to empower a good friend, Florida senior free safety Zephrin Augustine, when she suggested he rally his teammates to fight for their fired football coach, Ron Zook.
It almost worked.
A planned march of about 2 miles from the O'Connell Center to the Tigert Hall office of president Bernie Machen, who was out of town, was canceled at the last minute Monday afternoon at Zook's request.
Martinez gave Augustine the idea after he said players felt their voices hadn't been heard. Augustine and senior defensive back Cory Bailey spent Sunday and part of Monday organizing the march.
Until 2:45 p.m. Monday, the plans were still on track, Martinez said. But after a previously scheduled mandatory team meeting with Zook, things changed.
"I'm not marching anywhere but home," sophomore receiver Andre Caldwell of Tampa said as he left the meeting.
Martinez, at the request of Augustine and Bailey, authored a two-page letter on behalf of the players. It was distributed to news organizations Monday and read in part: "We believe the perception of college football needs to change. We are not professional football players. Auburn University's football team basically imploded last season, but the town rallied around the head coach and now the team is a contender for the national title. We are not telling you that we will win a national championship next year if Zook stays, but at least give us a fighting chance. Surround us and support us or just don't say a word."
The plan was for the players to sign a petition and deliver it, along with the letter, to Machen's office.
"I felt that the players needed a voice, so I wrote a letter trying to capture what 99-plus players would feel about Zook," said Martinez, a 2003 UF grad who is preparing to attend graduate school. "I tried to create a rally, a stir so the town could see how many players really felt like their coach should stay the coach, but unfortunately it didn't happen."
The letter went on to read, "We believe in our coach, Ron Zook. We believe in the coaching staff. We believe that the university and Gainesville can turn a corner and start believing in us. We also believe in ourselves as players, teammates and people. Please hear our voices and rehire our beloved coach, Ron Zook." It listed Augustine and Bailey as co-signers.
A petition to rehire Zook was distributed among some 95 players during the team meeting, but only 24 signatures were collected. Most were freshmen and seniors, including seven starters. Prominent starters who signed were sophomore defensive tackle Ray McDonald, who was named the SEC defensive player of the week Monday, senior tackle Mo Mitchell and sophomore defensive end Marcus Thomas. Sophomore quarterback Chris Leak, junior running back Ciatrick Fason and starting linebacker Channing Crowder did not sign, although the sophomore has been an ardent supporter of Zook. None said why he did or did not sign. "I'm not marching," Crowder said. "I'm going home to play video games."
Zook was not available for comment. Athletic director Jeremy Foley could not be reached for comment.
The undelivered letter and petition remain with Martinez, who hopes to make another pitch at having more players sign it.
Zook was fired Oct.25 but agreed to coach the final four games of the season. Florida went 3-1, defeating Florida State 20-13 on Saturday, its first win in Tallahassee since 1986. During Monday's meeting, the players said Zook did not say whether he would coach the Gators in their still-undetermined bowl game.
