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Stompin' Gator

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Dec 24, 2025, 3:00:35 PM12/24/25
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How are we feeling about the hire? I admit I was skeptical at first, but I am starting to get excited!

Shane Ford

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Dec 25, 2025, 12:18:46 PM12/25/25
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I’m very skeptical! 🧐 I’m willing to give anyone that will take our job a chance. I’ll give him 2-3 years before I make up my mind for good. BUT! I’m not looking for this hire to work out. I have a lot of reservations. I did like what he said at his opening press conference, but as we learned with the last guy those are just words. I’m really worried about what we’re going to see on the field. I do like his OC and OL coach hirings. Am nervous about DC hire. I never liked UK’s defense personally. I don’t like the bend but don’t break philosophy of defense. Sure it can work, but I would rather attack your offense and try to take away what you do best and make you uncomfortable. I’m really excited about the OC’s background and I hope they allow him to run more of an air raid open style offense. I’m super ex about brining Trautwein back home! I’m very nervous about the amount of Tulane hires he mad on his staff. I am hopeful that a lot of them came over taking position demotions. With the last coach, they all came over doing their same jobs which we found out quickly that staff was unprepared and not ready for SEC play. Sorry for the long winded response, but I will cheer hard for whoever is our HBC but I’m not as excited about this hire as I would have been for a bigger name proven coach, but I guess we’re never going to hire one of those. 

GO GATORS!!!!!

SHANE

Sent from Shane’s iPhone
Go Gators! 

On Dec 24, 2025, at 2:00 PM, Stompin' Gator <g8o...@gmail.com> wrote:

How are we feeling about the hire? I admit I was skeptical at first, but I am starting to get excited!

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GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY!
1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007)
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Oliver Barry

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Dec 25, 2025, 1:02:35 PM12/25/25
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When Napier was fired there were a couple of writers who talked about potential coaches. 
Jon Sumrall had the best qualifications of the available coaches. He picks players according to how they fit into his game plan. He’s involved in his players’ lives outside of football. He’s ready to go win from the start. 
He doesn’t have any national championships, but Ryan Day, Dabo Swinney, and (God forbid) Kirby Smart weren’t available. 
If Tulane’s quarterback hadn’t left them they would have come a lot closer to beating us last year in the Gasparilla Bowl! 
He’s also been successful getting players out of the portal. 
I can’t count how many people told me how Florida probably “dodged a bullet” losing Kiffin. Wee would have kept him just long enough to get into the CFP when he decided Alabama or the NFL would be his next destination. 
Sumrall is going to take us back in to a much better place if we give him a chance. 
Oliver Barry CRS, GRI
Real Estate Broker 
Crye-Leike, REALTORS 
964 Main Street 
Nashville, TN 37206
Office: 615-650-7447
Mobile: 615-972-4239

On Dec 25, 2025, at 11:18 AM, Shane Ford <goufga...@gmail.com> wrote:



Stephen Manuel

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Dec 25, 2025, 3:11:44 PM12/25/25
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What people have to realize is in this new age of college football, hiring a big name coach from another school is nearly impossible, every school has money now, look at Indiana and Vanderbilt, both have excellent coaches, in years past both would have been courted by UF, Auburn, Penn State, etc., but schools signed them to lucrative new contracts that made them top 10 highest paid coaches in football.

LSU hired Kiffen, they paid over 50 million to get rid of the old coach, they are paying Kiffen over 70 million, they are hiring coordinators at 2 to 2.5 million each, not counting NIL and Recruiting  budgets, LSU is look at easily a 150 million dollar decision, not many schools are willing to gamble that kind of money on a new coach. 

In years past hiring coordinators from top schools has proven to be the best choice, Georgia, Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Notre Dame all hired their current coaches who had no prior head coaching experience. In fact the last 3 coaches at Oklahoma were top coordinators with no prior head coaching experience. 

Bottomline, unless you prepared to spend the kind of money LSU is spending, hiring a top coordinator or G5 coach is your best option, it will be interesting to see who Michigan hires this late in the game. 

Stephen Manuel




From: 'Oliver Barry' via GatorTalk <gato...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 25, 2025 10:02 AM
To: gato...@googlegroups.com <gato...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [gatortalk] Hi Gators!
 

Oliver Barry

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Dec 25, 2025, 3:22:51 PM12/25/25
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Good points, Stephen!
Also, everybody’s looking for another Nick Sabin. Kiffin is no Sabin. He’ll easily make LSU look better than Brian Kelly did. But, Kiffin has had some unexplainable losses, too. Like last year’s UF game. He made Napier look good in that game when he was just being a bad coach, at least in that game. 
BTW, I miss the big blue tent!

Oliver Barry CRS, GRI
Real Estate Broker 
Crye-Leike, REALTORS 
964 Main Street 
Nashville, TN 37206
Office: 615-650-7447
Mobile: 615-972-4239

On Dec 25, 2025, at 2:11 PM, 'Stephen Manuel' via GatorTalk <gato...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



John Bowers

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Dec 25, 2025, 3:56:13 PM12/25/25
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Good point about everyone looking for the next Saban, the next Urban Meyer, the next Kirby Smart (gag). The next guy who'll be The Chosen One.

Thing is, there obviously are very few of them. And remember how many coaches in all professional sports do great with one team and then not great with other teams. Same guy, different results. 

Ron Zook used to say it's not the Xs and Os, it's the Jesses and Joes. Older I get, more I think he's right. And not just physical gifts. Mental, too. Understanding situations, able to make correct adjustments, able to know your role and do it. I think Saban one time said he'd tell his players each of you have YOUR role. Do it. Don't think about other players. Know YOUR job on each play. 

John
   

-----------------------------------------

ken kirkley.net

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Dec 25, 2025, 4:00:52 PM12/25/25
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Great points Stephen. Stricklin would've been hung out to dry of he hired a coordinator off a top tier team, yet all the long term successful teams did just that. 

I'm this new age of mini pro football masquerading as college football, the GM is as important as the head coach. Get a head coach that can manage game day and a GM that can get the Jimmies and Joes in the locker room and you have a chance at success.

From: 'Oliver Barry' via GatorTalk <gato...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 25, 2025 3:22:36 PM

Stephen Manuel

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Dec 25, 2025, 4:30:57 PM12/25/25
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A couple of other notes, on the GM job, I look at the position as a glorified Recruiting Coordinator. IMO, there is no way in the world a college GM will have overall authority on talent acquisition.

At UF they are paying Jon Sumrall 7.5 million per year, in what world would you hire a GM making a fraction of that and give him authority over talent acquisition. The College GM will manage the NIL money, scout HS and Portal Talent, organize the recruiting weekends, etc...when it comes down to offering a scholarship or paying someone to remain on the team, the head coach will have the final say. I can't imagine a college head coach at any school operating under a system where he would not have the ultimate authority over recruiting and the portal. The new UF GM wasn't in the group that visited Jaden Baugh; it was Sumrall and two other assistants. 

On Kiffin, if his name wasn't Kiffin he would likely be out of college football. Remember he was fired from 2 previous head coaching jobs, plus he ran out on a third head coaching job in the middle of the night.  He's gotten chances to be a head coach at multiple big-time programs and made a mess out of a couple.  He left Ole Miss after their most successful season in decades; he's never been known as a great recruiter. If he had come to UF, I would be happy to have him, but I'm not disappointed he didn't take the UF job. 

Just imagine if Kiffin came to UF, got us in the playoffs and left to take the Alabama Job or a top NFL job right before the first playoff game; Gator Fans would be furious, you can't blame Ole Miss fans for hating him. 

Stephen Manuel


From: gato...@googlegroups.com <gato...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of ken kirkley.net <k...@kirkley.net>
Sent: Thursday, December 25, 2025 1:00 PM

Oliver Barry

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Dec 25, 2025, 5:08:09 PM12/25/25
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Right now I’m just looking for a coach who can get 11 players on the field, no more no less, for each play. 
Then, we can go for a championship. 

Oliver Barry CRS, GRI
Real Estate Broker 
Crye-Leike, REALTORS 
964 Main Street 
Nashville, TN 37206
Office: 615-650-7447
Mobile: 615-972-4239

On Dec 25, 2025, at 3:30 PM, 'Stephen Manuel' via GatorTalk <gato...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



ken kirkley.net

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Dec 25, 2025, 6:29:12 PM12/25/25
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I don't disagree with you on the role of the GM today but give it 2 or 3 years. We will have collective batting and, just like in the NFL, the GMs role will be critical to a teams success.
From: 'Oliver Barry' via GatorTalk <gato...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 25, 2025 5:07:56 PM

John Vega

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Dec 29, 2025, 11:11:46 AM12/29/25
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On Dec 25, 2025, at 3:56 PM, John Bowers <jbow...@cfl.rr.com> wrote:

Thing is, there obviously are very few of them. And remember how many coaches in all professional sports do great with one team and then not great with other teams. Same guy, different results. 

Ron Zook used to say it's not the Xs and Os, it's the Jesses and Joes. Older I get, more I think he's right. And not just physical gifts. Mental, too. Understanding situations, able to make correct adjustments, able to know your role and do it. I think Saban one time said he'd tell his players each of you have YOUR role. Do it. Don't think about other players. Know YOUR job on each play. 

I feel like we are on the cusp of a seismic shift in college football.

UF used to have several substantial advantages. A disproportionate number of top high school athletes come from Florida and many have been lifetime fans. Our spending on athletic facilities is top tier. Our attendence and fan support is also upper echelon. Our coaches (usually) are among the best.

None of that matters anymore. Just NIL money.

In this new arena we are competitive, so we should remain relevant, but it will erode the advantages we had in recruiting.

In fact, I wonder if the top schools will even bother recruiting in the near future. Why tie up your NIL money to redshirt an 18 year old who may never be competitive at the collegiate level? 

Far smarter to let lesser tier schools and conferences spend two to three years coaching (and paying) the kids right out high school, then swoop in and buy the players that you want once they are ready to contribute on the field.

I see a landscape where the non-major conferences simply act as farm leagues for the SEC and Big Ten.

-Zeb

John Vega

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Dec 29, 2025, 11:12:24 AM12/29/25
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May I also hope that they all wear 11 different numbers?

-Zeb

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