Shortly before today’s game between Florida and No. 2 Florida State, Gators athletic director Jeremy Foley met with the media and reiterated his support for coach Will Muschamp.
Foley pointed to Muschamp’s work ethic, philosophy and successful 2012 seasons as reasons why he does not want to change coaches despite the team sitting at 4-7.
“I don’t have my head in the sand,” Foley said. “No question there’s a lot of noise out there, and I get that, but we wanted to make sure the world knew where we stood. That’s important to Will, it’s important to recruiting and it’s important to our organization. It’s important for our coaches to understand that things are tough and we’re going to be there for him.”
The Gators are wrapping up their first losing season since going 0-10-1 in 1979 and will miss a bowl game for the first time in 22 years. If they lose today, they will finish with one of the 10 worst records in the program’s 107-year history.
Muschamp is the man overseeing this debacle, which has been created in part by a rash of major injuries and a sputtering offense.
Heading into the Florida State game, the Gators rank 111th in total offense, 110th in scoring, 82nd in rushing and 105th in passing.
In three years under Muschamp, the offense has not been ranked higher than 104th. The blame for that falls on offensive coordinator Brent Pease, who could be on his way out after two years at UF.
“I don’t think it’s any secret, and Will will tell you, we’ve got to fix that side of the ball,” Foley said. “I’m not being disrespectful to anybody, but you look at some of the games we’ve lost, we haven’t scored many points. This year or last year or what have you, that has to get fixed. And that’s going to be Will’s responsibility as the head football coach.
“I’ll help him, support him, advise him. If you ask him today, it’s his biggest concern. We’ve got to fix that side of the ball.”
Foley said if there are any staff evaluations or changes, they will begin Sunday or Monday. He declined to say whether he wants change in the overall approach of the offense, which has been a pro-style, ground-and-pound attack during Muschamp’s time.
The Gators’ defense has been in the top eight nationally in each of Muschamp’s three seasons.
Muschamp is 22-15 since taking over for two-time national champion Urban Meyer in January 2011. Former coach Ron Zook was 20-13 when Foley fired him in 2004.
This situation is different, though, Foley believes.
“I don’t think it’s apples-to-apples,” he said. “I’m not being disrespectful to anybody. Zooker and I are friends, but it’s just not apples-to-apples.
“It’s my job to evaluate and see where the program is headed. At that point in time, I didn’t think it was headed where we wanted it to be. This time, I think it’s headed where we want it to be.”
