Buddy Martin Blog: The Triangle of Winners: 747 victories, numerous championships. Rich paydirt!
“The Triangle just got richer with the arrival of Urban Meyer to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Gus Malzahn at UCF to go with Bruce Arians of the Bucs in Tampa and the Dan Mullen/Steve Spurrier tandem in Gainesville.”
OK, so I’m not making this up…but I’m making it up. The Triangle of Winners: From Jacksonville to Orlando to Tampa and in between, with coaches who have won 747 games, four national championships, one Super Bowl title and a whole bunch of conference trophies.
Imaginary playground? College football gerrymandering? Insignificant geographical designation? Perhaps all of that. But this bastion of braintrusts has emerged on the Florida football landscape intentionally and not by accident, which bodes well for the future of college and pro football around here. Impressed? Why wouldn’t you be?
Aside from any well-defined circle or cube or triangle around Tuscaloosa, Ala., I would say the square footage of our “Triangle of Winners” is just about as talent-rich in coaches as any other patch in America. Remember the Cradle of Coaches? (see below). Well, maybe the Florida Triangle of Winners is the next level elevation of that kind of group in Miami of Ohio.
Cradle of Coaches, Miami, Ohio
Earl (Red) Blaik Army 1946
Paul Brown, Cleveland Browns 1951, 1969
Woody Hayes, Ohio State 1957
Paul Dietzel, LSU 1958
Ara Parseghian, Notre Dame 1964
John Pont, Indiana 1967
Jim Root *, New Hampshire 1967
Weeb Ewbank, New York Jets 1968
Bo Schembechler, Michigan 1969
Bill Narduzzi , Youngstown State 1978
Rick Carter, Dayton 1980
John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens, 2013
The Triangle just got richer with the arrival of Urban Meyer of the Jaguars in Jacksonville and Gus Malzahn at UCF to go with Bruce Arians of the Bucs in Tampa and the Dan Mullen/Steve Spurrier tandem in Gainesville.
You can manipulate numbers, but there’s no denying that the current occupants of the Florida Triangle of Winners has upped the ante. Eight of their 747 wins have been over the GOAT, Nick Saban.
Who else can claim such a crop?
If you subscribe to the wise old axiom, “A Rising Tide Raises All Ships,” that could mean a fortuitous uptick of fortunes for schools like the University of Florida, University of Central Florida and University of South Florida. We’ll withhold any comments judgment about USF for the moment.
On that basis, UCF’s hiring of Gus Malzahn might have been college football’s most brilliant off-season move, unless you buy the theory that honor should already be awarded to Texas for getting Steve Sarkisian. (I don’t.) USA Today named the Malzahn as the best choice for several reasons, with this comment:
“Availability and increased financial flexibility on both sides allowed UCF and Malzahn to connect on a five-year deal worth $2.3 million annually. It's a bargain-basement deal relative to Malzahn's ample SEC experience and the program's goals of reaching the College Football Playoff and aligning itself for the next round of conference expansion.”
Malzahn seems poised to take the Knights to heights never imagined. Gus had that sparkle in his eye as he told the media UCF was getting “the best version” of him because he was so refreshed after an eight-week layoff. And he flatly stated he was going to craft the Knight squad into a national contender and get them to “The Final Four.”
Smart football pundits look at UCF as a door-knocker which has been threatening a breakthrough and see in Malzahn that guy who might break the door down. There is little doubt that if – and when – the playoffs expand, UCF is the kind of program that could quickly qualify for one of eight spots. Especially with Malzahn’s offensive acumen and the fact that he’s won everywhere else.
Gus won 68 games at Auburn before getting fired. Working in the shadow of the GOAT isn’t something you’d wish on any coach. Three of those wins were over Nick Saban. (By the way, Malzahn is also a Spurrier “Visor Coach.”)
The Triangle of winners includes Spurrier’s 228 college football wins, national championship, six SEC Championships and one ACC title. His 54 wins at various pro teams – Tampa Bay Bandits, The Washington Football Club and Orlando Apollos – is also accounted for the 747 wins. His record vs. Saban was a lofty 3-1 at South Carolina and Florida.
Why Spurrier? I realize Steve’s not coaching, but the UF field is named after him and he’s drawing a check from Florida as ambassador/consultant. Spurrier was the architect and originator of “The Swamp” and those who came after him built on his legacy. Meyer has confirmed to me a half-dozen times that the HBC’s footprints spurred him on, with comments like: “You just CANNOT lose to Georgia because of Steve Spurrier.” On Spurrier’s last gig, his Orlando Apollos were declared regular-season Association of American Football Champions, so you’d have to admit his influence is still being felt.
Clearly winning the Super Bowl has vaulted Arians to the top of the heap for at least a season, with an assist from General Manager Jason Licht. Arians told the media when he was asked what he would have thought two years ago had someone told him he'd be in Super Bowl LV against the Kansas City Chiefs with Tom Brady as his quarterback, he said, "What are you smoking or drinking? And get me some."
The North Star is Meyer. Some doubt his ability to translate his coaching vernacular from fuzzy-faced collegians to the hard-scrabble language of veteran pros. Can he? Others wonder how losing — a guaranteed pain point forward NFL coaches — can be tolerated by him. However, they cannot question his veracity as a three-time national champion, and hugely successful record -- two of his wins coming over Saban at the highest level, offset by two losses to Nick. His 187 victories over Power Five teams, a 12-3 bowl record and complete dominance over all of his biggest rivals is tough not to notice. Plus he gets the No. 1 overall pick in Jax and has a treasure trove of picks and free agency money.
If Urban Meyer is going to get Clemson’s quarterback – and there is every reason to believe he’ll take Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick – then at least USF got his coach. South Florida announced in December it had hired 38-year-old Jeff Scott, offensive coordinator for Dabo Swinney in charge of The Franchise. What role Scott played in the development Lawrence at Clemson remains to be seen, however, and more important is how he’s going to build an offense around one of five quarterbacks, including newcomer Timmy McClain, a three-star lefty from Sanford Seminole and a 4.6 blazer in the 40.
Clearly, the rising tide in the Florida Winners Triangle adds to challenge for Scott, where USF and UCF side-by-side comparisons are inevitable.
Up the road, to the heart of the Triangle, Mullen has his work cut out. He has masterfully scoured the transfer portal, but is not recruiting at a high enough level to satisfy a significant segment of critics, even though he has picked up some slightly used 5-stars in positions he wanted to fortify.
At his first presser of 2021, Mullen seemed pleased with his roster.
Competition for signing the Florida athletes, however, just got stiffer. Among other things, any recruits with enhanced offensive skills who want to play earlier than what Mullen can offer have another option at UCF. Maybe not the four-stars, but certainly the others. And before you sneer, remember: Heisman Trophy finalist Kyle Trask was a two-star.
Don’t read too much into this, but Mullen hit some speed bumps, or potholes, in late 2020 which are going to require some repairing. After two almost honeymoon-like seasons, he’s taking on a little friendly fire, some of it self-induced. And no doubt somebody will point out that while all of the other coaches are 8-8 combined vs. Saban, Mullen is 0-10. (Remembering almost all of those were while at Mississippi State).
Gator fans want to be assured that he’s committed to remaining as Florida’s coach. Some of them took umbrage at Dan’s flirtation with the NFL. Although Mullen says he “never interviewed” with an NFL team, that’s poppycock, because we all know that any testing of the water is done by agents and not the coaches.
I think it best that Mullen and the fan base hug it out and move on with appreciation for each other. Mullen couldn’t get a better job unless he jumps to the NFL. Gator fans couldn’t have a better coach, who by the way, except for winning the SEC, has been on pace with Steve Spurrier’s and Urban Meyer’s track record. Put it all in the rearview mirror with the rest of 2020. But don’t ignore what’s in your windshield: The Florida Winners Triangle.
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