Why I still hate Zook

The Kool-Aid drinkers often ask me in the comments why I am obsessed with moRon Zook. After all, he has been gone for four years now and is someone else's problem now. There are three basic answers to that. They are:

1. He made my life miserable for three years. Watching the football program at my alma mater begin to disintegrate was torture for me. When I entered the University of Florida as a Freshman in the late 80s there wasn't much to cheer for except Emmitt Smith. Then we turned the corner under Steve Spurrier. A winning tradition was established at Florida. Then Ron Zook came along and almost single-handedly destroyed it. His tenure was an unmitigated disaster.

2. He won't shut up about how "unfairly" he was treated by the fans. He points to the creation of fireronzook.com as an example. Well he could have taken care of FRZ very easily. All he had to do was WIN. Then we would have had to shut the fuck up. I would have been ecstatic. But no. When the Gators won the BCS Championship in 2006 Ron Zook made the claim that he would have won it too, and perhaps even earlier. That would mean that Ron Zook would have had to win a championship in 2005. That was a team that Urban Meyer (who now has two of those BCS championships under his belt) went 9-3 with. That 9-3 record was better than any year Zook has had as a head coach to date, including last year's "Rose Bowl Team".

3. I keep finding out little things about how the program was under Zook that infuriate me. Like how he basically abandoned Jarvis Moss. I recently read Buddy Martin's book "Urban's Way" and you get a lot of hints about how the Gators Meyer inherited from Zook were in many ways bad characters. Meyer was able to reach some of them and others, not so much. But by talking about how players responded with disbelief to some of the policies and discipline instilled by Meyer we gain insight into how poorly Zook had managed his job as coach. After winning the BCS Championship last Thursday Meyer said that the 2006 team was a good team but that at that time is was a bad program. Another veiled insinuation that UF football was a mess when Urban Meyer arrived.

In the vein of number 3 above, I found this article today very interesting. Here's what I mean:

Tim Tebow is coming back.

But what about Florida's two other juniors who are considering leaving for the NFL?

Linebacker Brandon Spikes and receiver Percy Harvin have yet to announce their decisions, and UF coach Urban Meyer said Sunday he's not sure what either is going to do.

"The good thing about these guys, you're talking about quality families and you're talking about educated guys," Meyer said. "Four years ago, if you asked me that, I had no idea. I wasn't involved. There were some people that shouldn't be involved. Some making horrible decisions. I don't blame them. I didn't recruit them. I didn't know them. They weren't my people. You would think after a while, I'd be their coach, but that didn't happen.

"These guys will make the right decision."

Read between the lines. Zook recruited a bunch of guys who only cared about the NFL. Of course many of them didn't know what it was like to win big time in college, so who can blame them?

So as long as I have something to say about moRon, I'll be here saying it.

Have a nice day.

I dare anyone...

I dare any one of you douchebags out there that wanted to give Ron Zook credit for Florida's 2006 BCS Championship team to come here and open your pieholes now. How many of the current Gator players were recruited by Zook?

Ha, I actually had commenters come here and tell me that Meyer couldn't win with his own players. Well think again asswipes. Where is Ron Zook with all of "his" players at Illinois? Home for the holidays, that's where. We had excellence at Florida before Zook and after Zook. So where was the problem during Zook's years? Was it the players or was it the coach? You know the answer. Last year the core of Illinois' Rose Bowl team was recruited by Ron Turner. Mendenhall, Lehman, most of the offensive line. This year, not so much.

Have a fun off-season. Hope springs eternal. I'll be here for you to vent with when it all comes apart again next year.

2008 Post Mortem

An anonymous commenter submitted a link to this great article:

Anatomy of a season gone wrong
By Bob Asmussen

Sunday, November 30, 2008 9:00 AM CDT

Ron Zook's 2008 Illini were expected to follow up a Rose Bowl season with a run toward a Big Ten title. Instead, Illinois never met expectations, losing four of its last five games to finish out of the bowl picture. What went wrong? Plenty, distractions popping up at every stop along the way. Here are 25 of them:

May 2

Losing Rashard Mendenhall a year early to the NFL was bad enough. Having the tailback bad-mouth his college program was worse. During his introductory news conference with the Steelers, the Big Ten MVP talked about his unhappiness at Illinois, part of it stemming from his brother Walter's transfer to Illinois State. "To tell you the truth, as long as Ron Zook is there it will be hard for me to support the University of Illinois football team," he said.

June 26

Illinois agrees to allow "The Journey," a behind-the-scenes program on the Big Ten Network, to chronicle the 2008 season. "Illinois' amazing ride to the Rose Bowl last year was a tremendous accomplishment," BTN executive producer Leon Schweir said. "Everyone is wondering, 'Can they do it again?' We will be there to find out." The plan fizzled as Illinois limped to a 5-7 finish. Players and coaches denied the constant presence of cameras was a distraction, but other Big Ten programs said the attention would not be a good fit on their campus.

Aug. 4

Picked to finish second in the Big Ten by The News-Gazette, Illinois opens Camp Rantoul short-handed. Among the no-shows: Evan Frierson, London Davis, Brian Gamble and Mark Jackson. Frierson and Davis eventually join the team. Gamble and Jackson were not with the Illini during the 2008 season.

Aug. 5

D'Angelo McCray, one of the gems of Ron Zook's 2007 recruiting class, is introduced at Eastern Illinois media day. The defensive tackle never played a down at Illinois and transferred to Bob Spoo's program, where he had 11 tackles in 11 games.

Aug. 9

Sirod Williams injures a knee during workouts. Expected to be a team strength, the defensive line takes a hit because of the season-ending loss of the projected starting tackle. "Sirod is such a great guy and a leader," Ron Zook said.

Aug. 14

Starting receiver Jeff Cumberland (right) is ruled out for the first two to four weeks of the season after breaking a bone in his foot. Without Cumberland or Brian Gamble, the Illinois offense is forced to use inexperienced receivers to complement Arrelious Benn, who would face constant double-teaming as a result.

Aug. 15

Highly touted freshman cornerback Patrick Nixon and freshman receiver Jack Ramsey are kept off the field because of academic issues. Ramsey later joined the team as a partial qualifier but Nixon didn't start school, instead returning to Florida for academic reasons.

Aug. 24

Ron Zook announces practice is closed to media and fans. It's a change from past policy and indicates Zook's unhappiness with information leaking from the program. The ban doesn't affect "The Journey."

Aug. 30

Given a chance to end its slump against Missouri, Illinois gives up the most points in its 119 openers (52). The loss didn't knock Illinois out of the AP Top 25 but made it clear the team had deficiencies at many spots.

Sept. 6

Miami Thomas, best remembered for his interception in the 2007 upset of No. 1 Ohio State, tears his ACL against Eastern Illinois. His season-ending loss takes away a potential playmaker in a secondary already trying to replace two starting safeties.

Sept. 12

Defensive tackle Josh Brent, who had missed the first two games because of what Ron Zook said was "an illness," is cleared to play against Louisiana-Lafayette. He debuts with two tackles and two penalties.

Sept. 13

Ranked 24th, Illinois gives 58,632 home fans a scare with a 20-17 win against Louisiana-Lafayette. The football team played second fiddle to the school's former basketball stars, who played later at the Assembly Hall.

Sept. 23

Leading receiver Arrelious Benn is stopped by university police and cited for driving on a suspended license. At his Oct. 20 court appearance, he asks for a public defender. His next appearance is set for Dec. 15.

Sept. 27

The debut of junior college safety Donsay Hardeman (knee injury) was overshadowed by another defensive/special teams letdown in a 38-24 loss at Penn State. The loss knocks Illinois out of the Top 25 – for good. "For some crazy reason, I've got, I guess, a good feeling. If that's possible," Zook said.

Oct. 11

Riding the high of a rare win against Michigan, heavy favorite Illinois falls short on homecoming against Minnesota and former Illini Tim Brewster. The deflating defeat – Illinois outgained the Gophers 550-312 yards – sends frustrated fans home instead of remaining at Memorial Stadium to watch an outdoor basketball practice on a court positioned behind the south end zone.

Oct. 12

Backup quarterback Eddie McGee is arrested for his involvement during a fight at a campus homecoming dance. McGee, who was given a chance at adult diversion in lieu of criminal charges, is cleared to play the following week by Ron Zook. "We do have good kids," Zook said. "Sometimes they get into situations maybe that you wish they wouldn't, but that's life. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people. He's a good kid. I'm not going to punish him for something that I feel very, very comfortable with the outcome."

Oct. 14

Starting quarterback Juice Williams was ticketed by Urbana police for driving on a suspended license. He was ordered to appear in court Nov. 10 but arrived late, resulting in the issuance of a warrant for his arrest for failure to appear. He appeared in court Nov. 20, the judge quashed the warrant and Williams was ordered back in court Feb. 23.

Oct. 25

Favored to win at Wisconsin, Illinois gives up 17 unanswered points in the second half in a game that marked the end of any Big Ten title or Jan. 1 bowl game hopes. "You better have it strapped up," Zook said. "Two years in a row now, we haven't done that. That's where your leadership has got to come in. We've got to get it corrected."

Oct. 27

Ron Zook cuts short his postpractice interview session after a college newspaper reporter asks the coach about possible changes. "I don't know. Have you got any ideas? Everybody seems to have ideas. I'll take them all. Here's the deal, we'll be ready to go, OK. Don't worry about it, we're going to be ready to go." Illinois beat Iowa 27-24 the next time out, its final win of the season.

Oct. 30

Ron Zook says starting tailback Daniel Dufrene has not practiced to take care of "personal problems" and that he'd likely miss the Iowa game. "I'm worried about Daniel right now," Zook said. "He'll be fine. We just got to work through this thing."

Nov. 1

Freshman running back Mikel Leshoure sustains a season-ending broken jaw during an altercation with teammate Jeff Cumberland. Leshoure's loss further depletes a running game that winds up fifth in the Big Ten after being first the previous two seasons. "I'm very disappointed something like this has occurred," Ron Zook said. Cumberland continues to play but is kept off limits to the media.

Nov. 7

Offensive coordinator Mike Locksley (below), in Detroit on the eve of Illinois' game against Western Michigan, interviews for the Clemson head coaching position. Locksley's name later surfaces with the Syracuse opening. A day later, Illinois loses to Western Michigan in front of the smallest crowd (12,865) to attend an Illini game since 1945. The Illini played without linebacker Ian Thomas and fullback Rahkeem Smith, who were held back for violation of team rules. "I told the seniors, 'You guys are going to determine what kind of legacy you're going to leave here.' These next 14 days are going to be crucial. We can fold our tent and put it away if that's what they want to do," Zook said.

Nov. 8

Leading tackler Brit Miller is given a notice to appear in court for obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest. During a bar sweep by campus and state police, Miller repeatedly was told to get away from a bus being used for detention purposes. Miller was handcuffed briefly before being released.

Nov. 15

Illinois loses to Ohio State for the seventh consecutive time at Memorial Stadium. Star cornerback Vontae Davis continues to decline postgame interview requests, reportedly upset about having to answer questions about his potential early entry into the NFL draft.

Nov. 21

Illinois arrives in Evanston for a must win without starting linebacker Martez Wilson (violation of team rules). A lackluster performance in a 27-10 defeat to Northwestern keeps Illinois from making consecutive bowl appearances for the first time since 1991 and '92. It also leaves Illinois as the first team to go from the Rose Bowl to a losing record since Michigan in 1965.

It's official, you can now call 2007 a fluke. It'll never get any better for Illini fans as long as the Zooker is on the sidelines.

I was wrong

I have to admit it, I was wrong...

I thought Zook and this team were good enough for six wins and a trip to Boise or some other equally undesirable December location. But no, moRon failed to live up to even my low expectations.

As I've documented here all season long the Illini faithful have made this the year of the excuses. It's Locksley's fault, it's the two-coordinator system on defense, it's the special teams, it's the athletic director, etc. etc. The other argument in favor of Zook has been last year's trip to Pasadena, a trip you'd think most fans would want to forget. But in moRon land getting your ass kicked on national TV is a huge accomplishment.

A few words about Pat Fitzgerald. Take a look at him closely Illini fans. On the sideline does he inspire confidence? Does it look like his players understand what he is trying to implement? Be honest with yourself. You know that when you look at him you see a coach. Now look at Zook pacing the sidelines nervously back and forth, talking into the microphone on his headset with a faraway look on his face. Think about the way Zook talks, you've all been watching "The Journey". Is this a man that young men will follow and become better listening to?

Now some of the action from the game thread at the Scout message board (insideillini.com):

The faqs still apply.

That's the very first post on the thread. For those of you who aren't message board afficionados, the FAQs are the guidelines for the board (thou shall not curse, thou shall not take the name of our lord and savior Ron Zook in vain, etc.). The very first post on the thread is a clear indication that Illini fans were expecting to lose and that people would be going out of their minds. Prophetic.

What is more dead? A) Our team's emotional output or B) This gamethread?

Yeah I noticed that too.

That is a good question. I think the vast the majority have given up on the season, including the players

Ron Zook couldn't inspire a team out of a wet paper bag.

This is pathetic. I want to vomit watching this. I am very close to turning it off, and I NEVERRRRRR miss a snap of Illini football.

Welcome to my life circa 2004.

No $h!+, tell me about it! Whenever the Illini defense (or whatever the announcers call it) is on the field I want to punch a hole in my television screen!

I think I'm going to have new contributors to this blog soon. Send applications to notbaghead [at] lycos [dot] com.

Man the OL is bad. I don't care what all world receivers we have next year, if our OL is anything like this they will never see the ball.

Yeah, if you only had those Ron Turner recruits from last year...

Is anybody surprised? This board suffers from lethal doses of kool-aid, and nobody should have expected us to win this game. Zook and company laid a huge egg this season, and it was clear since the ULL game that we weren't ready for prime time.

I can't offer you any pay, but our readership is increasing every week and we have the top billing on google when you search for "Fire Ron Zook" and "Zook is an idiot" etc.

I honestly don't see it any better next year.

No reason to. As long as moRon is your coach this is what you can expect.

what a pathetic season. Maybe I need to become a "co-fan" with another team, so that I can watch a winning program.

I took a liking to Hawaii while Zook was coaching the Gators. They were an overachieving team. I still have the hat if you want it.

well look at the bright side, at least "the journey" is over, no more distractions

"The Journey" will go down in history as one of the best pieces of journalism ever. Face it, how often do you get to watch the behind the scenes of a team imploding, in living color right in your living room?

Attention moderators of insideillini.com

You all are a bunch of thin-skinned fuckheads. Apparently one of your members posted a link to this humble blog and you kool-aid drinkers decided that that could not stand. Well guess what, just because you pretend that this blog doesn't exist it isn't going to make moRon a better coach.

Last laugh will be on you. Douchebags.

How to recruit...

Just win baby.

Remember in 2006 when all of the fucking apologists for moRon in the sports media couldn't stop mentioning how many of Florida's starters were recruited by Zook?

Where are all those assholes today? As I mentioned about last year's Illini squad, more than a few of the key players weren't recruited by Zook but instead by his much-maligned predecessor, Ron Turner.

Now we see that Zook, when left to his own devices and his own players, sucks ass.

Meanwhile take a look at the Gators, folks. Do you think a recruit is more impressed with a motormouthed coach who can lift 225 lbs 25 times or a coach that gives that recruit an opportunity to play in front of national audiences on a week-in/week-out basis and a chance to play for a conference championship and maybe more?

Dear Illini fans. Please don't fall into the trap. You don't need the moRon to recruit. You need a coach that can coach. Recruits are attracted to good programs.

OSU postgame fallout

Nobody is surprised that Illinois went down again, this time to Ohio State. Nevertheless here's some of the best material from the Illini message boards:

Something has happened to Juice since Wisky

Yeah, he remembered he was Juice Williams.

Ron Zook has to go!, underachieving team. The Illinois football team could very well end its season missing a bowl game and under .500. Zook has had discipline problems (see broken jaw) and has not had commitment and dedication from his players all year. True they guy can recruit but that is not enough, that's why Florida fired him. This season has to go down as one of the most disappointing seasons in Big 10 history because of the talent the Illini has. Ron Zook will never win a major bowl game because he is a poor coach and horrible leader. If Illinois is serious about being a real contender in college football, it has to dump Zook.

Looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

You realize with a win over NW, Zook will have accomplished something no other UI football coach in about 20 years has accomplished? Yeah, let's get rid of him now

Ah, yes. Your past mediocrity justifies your present mediocrity.

I'll bet Urban Meyer, Pete Carrol, Nick Saban, or ___________(fill in blank with any other winning coach) would all jump at the chance to come to Illinois for half their salary.

Dummy, do you realize that Bowling Green and Utah had Urban Meyer before Florida did? Do you realize that Michigan State had Nick Saban before LSU and Bama did? No, you're not a top program and you won't attract the top coaches in the game, but you can attract an up-and-comer who can truly turn your program around.

How quickly a Rose Bowl appearance is forgotten. Zook brought the Illini back from the depths of the Turner Era--which was nearly at death penalty status.

A Rose Bowl "appearance" (barely, I could have sworn USC played a High School team) gets you a scholarship from criticism in Illiniland? It was a fluke. Get over it.

Regardless, if RZ doesn't do something about our discipline, special teams, and play calling in the redzone, I just don't see how we'll ever be able to win consistently.

Discipline, special teams, and play calling in the redzone? What's left?

As I said on the game thread forum, if Zook can't get these goons under control then fire him. I don't care how good of a recruiter he is, if he can't teach discipline he must go!!!!

Perfect description of the type of players Zook loves to recruit: goons. Not all of them, of course, but enough to get in the way of building a clean program that wins.

I'm with you. I want to win against NW and then beat some directional MAC school in the Motor City Bowl. That should be very doable, yet I give us a 20% chance to accomplish this pedestrian feat.

Just like Zook, set the bar low and then expect NOT to clear it.

Post-game highlights from the boards

Well, after losing to Western Michigan the Illinois message boards are lit up like a Christmas tree. The Illini fans are hot and throwing blame around everywhere. Curiously, the big target of the hate is Ron Guenther, the athletic director. But not for hiring a moRon but for agreeing to a game against a MAC team in Detroit.

Anyway let's get to the action:

Typical trap game right before friggin' OHIO STATE.

Every game is a trap game, when you have a moRon for a coach.

Hopefully this team is incredibly ticked off, comes out ready to run through a wall and catches tOSU sleeping on a team that just lost to Western Michigan.

Yes, this is their fifth and final "wake-up call"

Way to keep those three timouts in your pocket Zook. I love what he has done for the excitement of this program. However, I can't stand the constant mismanagement of the clock, and not knowing basic football situations. WMU had first down at their own five with 43 secs left in the first half, and the Illini had all three timouts. To not use them is just unbelievable to me.

Zook has made a career of not knowing basic football situations. Why are you surprised?

one hit wonder. no reason to believe next year is any better.

And that one hit was a four-loss season capped by an embarrassing Rose Bowl performance.

I don't know what to say. Terrible scheduling move. Terrible Juice. Terrible O-Line. Terrible defensive gameplan. Terrible athletic director.

You missed one. Can you guess which?

Zook is TERRIBLE at winning the games when his team is favored. I am beginning to see why FL canned the guy. He either can't get the team ready to play weaker competition or can't coach the more subtle points of the game.

He can't coach the obvious points of the game, forget the subtle ones.

The bubble screen on 3rd and 10 in the last series was a terrible call.

Bubble screens. I had never even heard the term before Zook became coach at Florida. Then it didn't matter if it was Zaunbrecher or Fedora our offense became all bubble screens, all the time. Get used to it.

Please stop talking about "trap" games. Illinois is a bad football team. They haven't beaten a good team yet. And, no, they won't give OSU a game. They'll lost by four TDs, minimum. Fire Ron Zook!

Did someone call my name?

Coaching. Coaching. Coaching. We have NONE. Does not do any good to recruit if you can't coach 'em.

Bingo! You bought a faulty, one-dimensional head football coach.

This team just doesn't have it together and Zook should get the blame.

The effects of the Kool-Aid lasted a little longer in Illinois, but not much longer.

Remember when we were pre-season top 15 in the nation? I think I'm going to go dig out my August edition of ESPN the magazine and stare at it until I forget this season ever happened.

I know the feeling. Florida was similarly ranked in the pre-season in 2002, Zook's first season. I want to forget that season, and the next, and the next. But I can't forget those years or get them back, so this blog is my revenge.

Fire Ron Zook! Or else, demote him to a recruiting assistant coach. He's not smart enough to be a head coach.

That sounds very familiar. Where have I heard that before?

I'm looking forward to reading Fire Ron Zook tomorrow! Can this clown.

Why put off until tomorrow, what you can do tonight?

So should we hire the coaching staff of Western Michigan?

It wouldn't be a bad idea. The Broncos are 8-2. Seriously, who was Urban Meyer before he was head coach at Florida. He turned around Bowling Green and Utah. You need to find an up-and-comer. Zook never was one.

I'm beyond ill. I don't know who to blame anymore...but I do know that this season is officially a disaster.

C'mon, it's not that hard to figure out.

While listening to Zook's post-game show, he said we'll find out what this team is made of in the next 14 days. WTF, you got to be kidding me!!! I know one thing they'll find this team is NOT made of... GUTS!!!!

Ron Zook only learns what his team is made of 85% of the way through the season? Yeah that sounds about right.

Zook, Illini Screw the pooch. Again.

I want to welcome all of the new readers that are sure to visit this week. That feeling that you're feeling right now is what I suspect many Americans will be feeling after of a few years of Obamunist rule. But let's talk football. Ron Zook is simply not a good football coach. There is no doubt about it. He is what I have always called an "excitable meathead". He talks a big game but he simply doesn't have the intelligence to coach a football program above the High School level. What you are seeing this season is exactly what Zook is. Last year was the flukiest of flukes. By the way many of the key players from last season were seniors that were not recruited by the "master recruiter".

So here we are, right on course to fulfill my pre-season prediction:

I was looking at the Illini schedule and .500 seems about right. The way I see it Zook will have to be very lucky to beat any of the following teams:

Missouri
Penn State
Michigan
Wisconsin
Iowa
Ohio State

That leaves:

Eastern Illinois
Louisiana-Lafayette
Minnesota
Indiana
Western Michigan
Northwestern

No doubt Zook will win one of the games he should lose but will also lose one of the ones he should win. 6-6 along with a visit to some 4th tier bowl is my prediction.

So the Zookies are 5-5 with games against OSU and Northwestern left. I hear Boise is nice in December. Bowling on a blue field is the best this team can hope for.

For your consideration...

Ron Turner:

1997: 0-11
1998: 3-8
1999: 8-4
2000: 5-6

Through four seasons: 16-29

Ron Zook:
2005: 2-9
2006: 2-10
2007: 9-4
2008 (to date): 4-4

Through 3+ seasons: 17-27

Ron Turner's Illini won the Big Ten in 2001. Will Zook win the Big Ten in 2009?

Hahahaha.

Odd and Ends

One poster at an Illinois message board had this to say about Zook:

...when he thinks, his team suffers.

That's going to be the new slogan of this blog.

Also catch this column by Mark Tupper. Money quote:

Do they bring in good players and generate some real excitement? Yes. Do they win some games that really give you hope? Yes.

But Illinois also loses too many games it should win, repeats mistakes week after week, and has a cruel knack for disappointing a fandom that gets suckered into believing, only to have those hopes crushed time and time again.

Good night now!

Four years ago today

Exactly four years ago Ron Zook was fired as head coach of the University of Florida's Fightin' Gators. This column written by Pat Forde gives a brief overview of moRon's tenure in Gainesville from the disbelief that a top program was being turned over to an overrated motormouth assistant coach to embarrassment as he ultimately took on the student body. As to Forde's question of what to do with the original fireronzook.com web site, we know that's a distant memory but I'm here to commemorate those fellow Gators that were right about Zook from day 1.