Damn Its December!

quote:

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I think those three and myself with Atl should all get together in front of a fireplace and drink egg nog...with rum of course and anybody else who wants to join should.

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Sounds kinda gay if you ask me.

Very, very, very, very, very special circumstances must unfold for a victory here. UF is too thin from injuries. You can't be thin when you play Bama. Even in 2009, just missing Dunlap was a killer. Absent a victory, if the team plays hard, plays smart, keeps it tight till the 4th quarter, and loses because they got beat, not because they look inept, it's basically a good day for Mac. As big as the Bama game is, the bowl game is bigger.

I think strategy and trying to predict events in complex human systems is fascinating, so I'm going to indulge myself for a bit:

The Mac Era rests on the bowl game, assuming he doesn't go to Oregon. With some commitments flipping and another saying he can't watch the offense, and mega dollar projects getting started, Strickland has a lot to think about.

If the bowl game is a poor performance, we may see more recruits get cold feet or bail especially if the SECCG looks bad. This of course could spread to the big boosters writing checks to help get some of these projects going.

Strickland was an associate AD when Mullen was hired, so he's never had to hire a football coach as an AD.

This is why I said previously it would not surprise me if he sat down and asked Spurrier if he would take over. People scoff at that, but by the time the bowl game is done, it's too late to go through the normal firing and hiring cycle. Strickland may feel he has to make a change to prevent the bottom falling out of the recruiting class and financing for these big projects coming up. At that point in time, options will be extremely limited. He may then feel compelled to go to Spurrier. A relatively young AD having never hired a football coach before, has Spurrier in the building. The temptation is going to be there.

I also think Strickland may worry that another program may offer Spurrier a job an that he may take it. He's already said he gets bored in retirement.

I would expect Spurrier to tell Strickland to be a little more patient; however, if Strickland says he feels his hand is forced due to other factors Spurrier may take it.

Also, I think there are probably some boosters / funders that will be influenced by Spurrier's presence as well. They may push Strickland to make a move to try and get Spurrier back on the sideline. And, so far it doesn't appear Mac has done a great job of swearing off any possibility of a move to Oregon, to my knowledge. That too may irritate Strickland and some boosters. From what I've seen Mac said this about it:

"It's always interesting, this time of year, how whatever comes out," McElwain said. "No, I haven't heard from Oregon. The things that get thrown out there, at times, I don't know how it does sometimes. I guess slow news day. I got my hunch there might be some recruiting things behind it. I don't know."

That's pretty wishy-washy. Even Meyer stepped up and said UF was his dream job and such when Notre Dame rumors came out. By the way, if Mac bolts for Oregon, I would expect Strickland to immediately go to Spurrier.

If the SECCG is respectable and a strong bowl performance follows then Mac and the program are probably OK. Three weeks is quite a bit of time to get healthy and get ready for a game. Looking like a bag of dookey after that much practice time is something Mac can't afford.

On the topic of coaching rumors, Randy Shannon may be up for the FAU job. Taggart from USF and Schiano from OSU being mentioned for Oregon, which makes me think the Mac rumors are true and that Oregon wants someone familiar with the southeast for recruiting.