DIA Still Operating on the Cheap
In RG's never-ending quest to ensure that the DIA stays in the black, we have more examples of his cheapness.
1) The Ron Zook Show. The set looks like a piece of plywood in the background, along with a fake fern plant and a cheap flat screen tv.
2) The plywood covering up the construction in the West Main Stand. How about painting it orange? It looks like a tar paper shack.
3) The scoreboard needs a fresh coat of paint.
4) How about using the scoreboard for "this date in Illini history" and give the fans more than the same two scores from other games!
Folks, the DIA expects Zook to win games but the DIA does everything on the cheap.
posted by Fire Ron Guenther at 1:42 PM
3 Comments:
As mich as your "DIA" expects Zook to win, those are lofty expectations. As a Florida fan who supported the Zook firing 100%, I'll tell you that the Illini won't be a contender in the Big Ten with a one-dimensional coach who may have a knack for recruiting but can't figure out how to WIN FOOTBALL GAMES, which is what really counts when all is said and done.
If Zook can't surpass a 3-win record this season, perhaps Illini fans should start calling for HIS head as well as Guenther's, too.
Seriously, both Rons need to go. I am a Florida alumni who was initially a supporter of Ron Zook.
His first year at Florida, he had a team that went 10-2 the previous year under Spurrier. All of the key players returned for 2002, RZ's first year. It ended 8-5.
RZ is a very likable guy, and I gave him the benefit of the doubt for 1-1/2 seasons. No, he wasn't Steve Spurrier - we expected too much.
RZ has a real knack for recruiting top notch players. No doubt about it. But if you stop listening to what he is saying and really look at the Illini on the field, you will see as we saw, that some positions are incredibly thin and that just to fill some positions players had to be moved from elsewhere. RZ does NOT consider the full needs of his roster when he is recruiting. He would do much better if he went after more average + players who were good in the positions to be filled.
But, unfortunately there are several other major problems with RZ's coaching that outdo the recruiting:
1. Poor pre-season and in season conditioning of players. Properly conditioned players play a full 60 minutes with no problems.
2. Totally inadequate training of players in the basic skills they need for their position. When Urban Meyer took over the Gators in 2005, he inherited a QB who had been the started under RZ for 2 years. Chris Leak's throwing mechanics were terrible. AND, in 2 years he had never received the play or audible signaled in from the sideline! The center, Mike DeGory, called all the plays in the huddle and the audibles on the line!
3. Micromanagement of the coordinators. The only reason we even had a winning season in 2004 is that he turned the coaching over to the OC and DC for the last two games.
4. He blames everybody but himself. He is pulling the strings through micromanagement.
5. He goes into "safe" mode on both offense and defense whenever he gets any kind of lead. In the words of John Madden "All prevent defense does is prevent you from winning."
6. When a play is not working, he will stubbornly keep trying it.
7. Florida has been known as a passing school for decades. In 2004, we lost to Mississippi State, a team that had the worst rated passing defense in the entire NCAA. RZ chose to run the ball that day with very little passing.
8. RZ will not make adjustments at halftime to remedy things that are not working.
RZ is a very likeable guy BUT he is a snake oil salesman. What is he really saying in all that babble? Does he make sense? After the fact, Gator players admitted that they were confused, but figured he knew what he was talking about - he was the coach and he was confident.
You Florida need to understand the immeasurable amount of damage Ron Guenther has done to the Illinois football program.
Not only has he destroyed our recruiting base and reputation, but he has destroyed our fanbase so that now the only coach Illinois football can afford is a castoff like Zook or an up and comer.
Yeah, Illinois could take a shot at getting lucky with someone like a Schiano, but the chances of them being successful are almost negligible and even if they were we wouldn't be able to keep them. They'd move on to Texas A&M or Georgia Tech or some other school willing to pay them market salaries the year after they started winning.
It's all academic anyway. Guenther can't make those kind of hires. The next best thing is Zook, a proven recruiter who is almost guaranteed to rebuild the pathetic talent in the program.
When your AD is perfectly willing to let multiple coaches atrophy a program's talent, you'll find yourself stuck with those coaches. We better just hope Amaker hasn't found a new job in 4 years when Weber finally gets fired.
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