Fire or not fire? Ohio State, Florida keep coaches to lead college football paradigm change
Never allow the situation to override the strategy. It looks easy enough.
Until the world collapses in Michigan one late November afternoon after yet another loss gives rise to yet another reason for change.
According to Ross Bjork, athletic director of Ohio State, “you have to be grounded in your process.” “You are unshakeable.”
After nine months of preparation and preaching about what would happen, Florida loses 24 games at home in the season opener, and hated rival Miami is parading out of The Swamp, making fun of that unstoppable strategy.
Scott Stricklin, the athletic director for Florida, stated, “I believe in what we’re doing and how we’re building it organically.” “This job cannot tolerate timidity.”
In 2024, Ohio State and Florida are at opposing ends of the success spectrum, but they are walking hand in hand in a battle that was necessary to restore some measure of control over the dysfunctional coaching hiring and firing process.
Either you trust the plan and your coach, or you don’t. If you do, put up a fierce fight against everyone, regardless of the criticism.
The Buckeyes will play in the national championship game of the College Football Playoff on Monday. For the first time since 2020, the Gators concluded the season on a high note with a winning record and genuine momentum.
However, Bjork and Stricklin, who have been friends for years while serving as opposing athletic directors at Mississippi State and Ole Miss, respectively, are standing together. It is unacceptable to provide a coach who is unproductive tens of millions of dollars in walkaway money.
But to follow the crowd, to move who and what you think should go with the flow rather than to battle upstream, that’s a whole other beast. That’s caving in.
The practice of colleges paying Gus Malzahn (Auburn) $21.5 million, Willie Taggart (Florida State) $18 million, Ed Orgeron (LSU) $16.8 million, Scott Frost (Nebraska) $15 million, or Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M) $76 million to not coach is no longer viable.
Therefore, Bjork and Stricklin doubled down when Michigan defeated Ohio State for the fourth straight season under coach Ryan Day, while Florida suffered its worst September in decades under beleaguered coach Billy Napier after losing to Miami.
