Zook, the cancer that never fully goes away

Here's the inevitable "Ron Zook says things were going to be OK despite all evidence to the contrary" story that appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times. Why do reporters continue to waste column inches on this guy? Oh, I forgot, it's because they are lazy douchebags.

“I don’t want to get into why it happened and how it happened and all that stuff,’’ Zook said of the 0-6 slide. “For whatever reason, even when we were 6-0, it didn’t feel right. There were some rumblings going on before the season began. I knew when coach Guenther left there were going to be some issues.’’

MoRon, I guarantee you that if you had gone 3-3 in the back half of the season that you'd still be peddling your bullshit at Illinois. But you're teams always cracked because they had no leadership.

It's amazing how delusional some people can be.  

Zook in the news

A new item of interest: this piece about fired coaches collecting cash from their former employers.

For the first time in his adult life, Zook isn't gearing up for training camp. Or looking at his playbook. Or writing letters to recruits. 

Ron Zook never looked at a playbook in his life, except the one he faxed to an opponent when he was an assistant.

Zook has been fired twice by BCS schools, first Florida, then Illinois. But his reputation as a recruiter should put his name in consideration when jobs open in 2012. And they will. Count on more than a dozen FBS positions changing hands after the upcoming season. The guy living by the lake will be interested.

Whoever takes a chance on Zook is a moRon.  His track record has been established.  He's a loser.  

Mike Bianchi proves again that he's a fucking idiot

I knew it was a matter of time before some enterprising reporter caught up with Ron Zook to see what he what he's up to nowadays. And earlier this month Mike Bianchi was that reporter. Fine. I was amused as I read the article up until I read this:

As the years have passed since he was run out of Florida, I’ve often wondered whether Zook got a fair shake — from fans, from administrators and from those of us in the media. When you see where the program is now after Urban Meyer left it in a mess, the Zook years are starting to look pretty good.

Are you fucking kidding me? Any credibility Bianchi may have had (and it couldn't be much, I haven't read the guy in years) is gone after uttering such a stupidity. How could anyone consider years in which the Gators regularly lost 5 games and the coach and team were belligerent towards the fans. Ron Zook was a walking NCAA violation the fact he never got busted notwithstanding.

Of course Bianchi brings back the old "cupboard was bare" argument about Zook's time at Florida which is absolute horseshit.

Bianchi brings up fireronzook.com and Zook answered this way:

“That’s my legacy to the profession,” he says. “I’m the first guy who had a FireTheCoach.com website. I had no chance. From the day I walked into the introductory press conference, I was fired.”

Wrong dipshit! You got fired because you're a dipshit that doesn't know how to coach. You could still be Florida coach today, all you had to do was WIN and keep the program clean. And what about Illinois? They were ecstatic when you were hired there. But you failed again because that's what you are, a failure. A failure and dipshit. Florida and Illinois made you very wealthy. You were a coach in big time college football. It ain't bean bag. I've never seen a whinier piece of garbage in my life.

Two years after Zook was axed, Meyer won the national title with 21 of 22 Zook recruits starting for the team. Zook still wonders what might have happened if he had been able to survive longer than 2½ years at UF. Would he have won a national title?

Oh please. Ron Zook was a terrible strategist and game day coach. His teams were undisciplined. That 2006 team would have lost 4 games instead of winning a BCS title.

The whole article was vomit inducing. To be a loser is one thing, to carry water for a loser is another. Bianchi, you suck.

Quote of the day

Illinois didn't play like it was trying to get embattled coach Ron Zook fired, it played like it wanted him arrested.

That was from Phil Miller in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Zook fired! Again.

So it took the University of Illinois more than twice as long to come to the realization that Ron Zook is not the answer to anything except a trivia question about the first successful fireyourcoach.com web site. Does that make them twice as dumb? No. I've come the realization that it was because the Illini faithful were twice as desperate. But alas facts are facts and a deaf-mute baboon could coach a football team better than the old Zooker.

Here's video of him reading a statement today:

He's gracious now. We'll see how long that lasts. Especially if his successor wins. It didn't last long after he got canned at Florida. I've always believed the best indicator of future performance is past performance. That's why I knew Zook would fail at Illinois and why I think he'll be on the record soon spouting sour grapes despite the fact that he was given every opportunity to succeed and was made quite wealthy in the process.

From a Tribune article we garner this nugget of Zookese excuses:

I think our program is very close, I really do. We just didn't finish a few games here and there.

The old we're getting better routine. But waiting for Zook's teams to finally turn the corner is the same as waiting for Godot.

The article goes on to say:

His arrival in 2005 brought higher expectations but also some skepticism after he was forced out in his third season at Florida. He achieved some terrific recruiting coups, signing Rashard Mendenhall and Vontae Davis.

That's not exactly true. Mendenhall was a Ron Turner commit who didn't de-commit when Zook became the coach.

Well, that's that. This site will stay up. No need to take it down. No doubt that Ron Zook will wind up in the booth somewhere and continue to make obscene amounts of money and spout his incoherent ramblings. ESPN used to be the home of the fraternity of failed former coaches, not so much anymore so we'll see. Either way, there will always be a place that needs to fire Ron Zook.

Gophered

A Minnesota victory SHOULD guarantee a Zook canning, so let's go Golden Gophers!

-Anonymous Commenter

Well, his words about the game were prophetic, let's see what happens with Zook's job. In a collapse of Zookese proportions the Illini went 0-6 after starting the season undefeated at 6-0. Though technically bowl eligible it would be crime to all this team to travel anywhere as a "reward" unless there's a new bowl game in Siberia I haven't heard about (possible).

Was reading a recap of the game at the Chicago Tribune and had to laugh out loud:

The loss was especially surprising because the Illini played perhaps their worst game of the season against one of the worst teams in the Big Ten.

Minnesota, which entered the game ranked 110th offensively and 93rd defensively in the nation, stormed to a 27-0 lead as the Illini appeared energy depleted.

Energy depleted? Is that what the fancy journalists call giving up? That's what this was, a team that simply gave up. They gave up on the season, they gave up on themselves, they gave up on their fans and they gave up on moRon Zook.

For old times sake I dropped by the forum that used to be called Illiniboard. I found a thread entitled: New Coaching Comments Thread. Here's some highlights:

Chances were slim to none this coaching staff would be back, and slim just left the building.

/thread

Shortly afterwards this admonition:

Posting rules still apply.

Yes, I know about you and your silly rules, Nazi. Anyone that posts anything negative about Zook gets banned. Well there's too many of them now, they'll have to ban the whole community. Then there was this shining nugget:

Have we seen our final swinging gate?

Zook's special teams really looked ridonkulous with that swinging gate formation. And then there was this gem:

I am an Illini grad living in Florida and I look back to his hiring and all the Florida fans that laughed out loud to me when it happened. They knew he could recruit, but to make the recruits happy, you have to be able to coach and there were many many times in Florida games when he made seemingly bonehead calls where it seemed he was oblivious to the game situation, but we certainly have not seen that at Illinois.....ha

Bingo! No Gator fan cares about Illinois football, but you guys didn't want to listen to reason.

I just hope Zook was smarter with the 1.7 million dollar salary than he was with clock management. If so, he'll be fine. Take a year or two off and coach at a mid-major if still wants to work.

This guy made millions since 2002 at Florida and Illinois. I echo the sentiment, I hope he didn't spend it all on wet suits and ski boats because this clown won't be coaching again. A mid-major would be dumb to hire him.

So we can probably look forward to the firing announcement tomorrow or Monday at the latest.

Getting the old photoshop ready. Good night folks, I may have to start working on firewillmuschamp.com.

FRZ Redux

I was recently contacted via email by a journalist writing a story about the whole fireyourcoach.com web site phenomenon. He had a couple of questions about this blog, asking if I was the original webmaster of fireronzook.com. I told him the truth which was, no. As I clearly state in the first post of this blog, this is a tribute to the original fireronzook.com site. Anyway I exchanged a couple of emails with the guy and he didn't even mention this blog in his piece. Oh well. I thought there was an interesting angle there but apparently not. Anyway, read the article and enjoy. Fact is that none of these other sites that has popped up has been as a big a success or had such a lasting impact as the original FRZ. Often imitated but never duplicated.

Zook walks from presser, the end is near.

It's been more than two years since I posted on this blog. The reason for that is simple. Real life intruded. I just didn't have the time to care about Ron Zook and his moronic ways. Remember, I'm not vested in the Illinois program. I'm a Florida Gator and our Zook nightmare ended a while back. I had my reasons for maintaining this blog which I've outlined in previous postings but it was also good fun to poke at the Zooker since he always seemed to jab UF whenever he was given the opportunity.

It's safe to say that the Zook experiment at Illinois is coming to a close and it was a bust. The man simply does not know how to elevate a program. We could dance around the issue but in plain English, he's dumb. Running a modern-day college football program in a major conference is complex stuff and a dummy just isn't going to get the job done. Anyone who has heard Zook speak understands that his intellectual capacity is below average.

This year the fighting Zookers got off to a deceiving 6-0 start. But as with water, Zook's teams always seek their level. After 4 straight losses to legitimate teams, Zook is on the hot seat again and walked out of a press conference when the questions began to come about how long he could last under the current circumstances.

For all you Illini fans, I harbor no ill will toward you. I understand why you pinned your hopes on Zook back in 2005 when he came aboard. You wanted him to be the magic bullet. Recruiting was your answer. And Ron Zook was the "master recruiter". But we Florida fans tried to explain. We tried patiently to educate you on who this man is, having seen him up close as an assistant and a head coach over many years.

You can argue with my methods, my style, whatever. But you can't argue with the substance of my message. Ron Zook is a terrible coach. But as they say with alcoholics, the first step toward recovery is to acknowledge that you have a problem. You can thank me later.

Answering reader comments

This is the level of intellect of the typical Ron Zook athletic supporter:

Hey Dickhead what do you have to say about the game yesterday[?]

Ron Zook for coach of the year. That's what I have to say. With that win coach Zook beats his first FBS opponent of the season. Way to go there Ron!

Is one unlikely win per season, like the one against Florida State in his last season with Florida or the one against OSU in the Rose Bowl season, supposed to make everyone forget what a shithead he is during all the other games?

Here's an idea. Schedule Illinois State for 12 games every year. Then Ron might have another winning season. Dickhead.

Give Zook the Hook

That's the name of the latest addition to the fireronzook movement. You'll find this new site in the sidebar or just click here.

Zook gets vote of confidence

And lays (another) egg.

I was just looking at the Illini page on Yahoo Sports. This is too funny. At the top of the page it says:

Illinois Fighting Illini

1-6 (0-5), 11th Big Ten

That's right Illini fans, you're 11th in the Big TEN!

Guys, it's official. Ron Zook is the worst coach in the history of the game of football. He took a great Gator program and made it mediocre and he's taken a terrible Illinois program and made it even more terrible, if that were possible. If you look up "Fluke" in the dictionary, the 2007 season is mentioned there as an example.

Have fun folks. I know I am.

Emulate this!

Too funny. Take a look at this fantastic piece of comedy posted at Daily Illini.com under the headline, "Zook, Illini attempt to emulate 2007 season."

2007 is of course the high water mark for Zook's tenure at Illinois with a 9-3 record and a Rose Bowl appearance (thanks to Ohio State playing in the BCSCG) where the Illini were blown out.

So the solution of course is to emulate what was done that year according to Zook:

“I’ve already done it,” Illinois head coach Ron Zook said of trying to make changes to emulate the 2007 season. “I’ve already gone back and tried to do a lot of the same things with practice times and the whole bit.”

Yes, changing those practice times will surely put you back on the winning track. Of course, if that was the formula for success why did he ever deviate from it?

But Zook's brilliance (sarcasm) continues:

“One of the things, if you go back and look at that year, is that we had some guys who made some plays and you wondered how they made them,” Zook said. “We’re not making those plays this year and even to a certain extent we weren’t last year either. A lot of that has to do with passion.”

Yeap. Passion, that's what the Illini need! Not coaching, not leadership, not discipline, and certainly not X's and O's. It's passion and making plays that leave you in wonderment.

The next few paragraphs are a scathing indictment of Zook:

The Illini have fallen to the bottom of the Big Ten despite having plenty of returning talent.

Quarterback Juice Williams returned to become a four-year starter at quarterback after leading the Big Ten in total offense last season.

He was supposed to have one of the nation’s most heralded receiving corps at his disposal, led by junior wide receiver Arrelious Benn, who is projected to be one of the top receivers taken in next year’s NFL draft if he decides to leave early.

ESPN’s Mel Kiper has Jon Asamoah rated as the nation’s top senior offensive guard for next year’s NFL draft, and Illinois has three seniors who have seen significant playing time since coming to campus — Williams, cornerback Dere Hicks and defensive end Doug Pilcher.

“I remember in the summer during the Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon, a lot of the buzz was about Illinois’ talent, how they were going to be really the most talented team in the league,” Purdue head coach Danny Hope said. “They still might have the most talent in the league.”

But talent alone doesn’t win football games, and Zook has largely failed to capitalize on his highly rated recruiting classes. Of Zook’s 2007 recruiting class, which was rated as the No. 20 class in the nation by Rivals.com, only five are currently in the starting lineup. Eight players from the class of 21 are no longer on the team for various reasons.

Ouch. Here's a Zookese response to the lack of wins from such "talented" squad:

“A lot of that has to do with passion,” Zook said. “When our guys are finally tired of this and decide, ‘That’s it, I’m sick of it, I’m not going to take it anymore,’ that’s when we’ll get back on track.”

Zook pointed to the up-and-down nature of football in both college and the NFL.

“There are a lot of things that have to go right to have a successful season, and as I told them last night, the Tennessee Titans had the best record in football last year,” Zook said about the now 0-6 Titans. “They’re basically the same guys, and coach (Jeff) Fisher is a great football coach, but for whatever reason, things aren’t clicking and that’s the nature of this game sometimes.”

There's that blame the players line again mixed in with a "hey look over there!". Of course Zook just has bad luck. Not his fault. Nothing is ever his fault. Those Illini just keep improving and improving.

And this guy has the balls to speak ill of Urban Meyer. I've never heard Meyer blame a player for a loss or simply chalk up a failure to bad luck. Make your own luck, loser.