Connecting the dots ...

Indulge me for a few minutes and play a game of connect the dots as we attempt to pinpoint the next football coach at the University of Florida.

We know that athletic director Scott Stricklin is looking to make a home run hire, your basic wowser who will not only send enthusiasm among the players on the Florida roster through the roof but will resonate even stronger throughout the Gator Nation. When you consider the current emotional state of players, boosters and fans, plus the perception that Florida football is in tailspin and on the verge of crash and burn, Stricklin can’t afford to bring in a meh candidate. Stricklin knows he can’t do a Jeremy Foley and bring in someone for on the job training – Ron Zook and Will Muschamp might have had a chance to succeed if they had spent at least a couple of years at some outpost in the minor leagues of college football – so this has to be a home run hire.

The new coach needs to be able to check some or all of the following boxes:

1. Head coaching experience is a must, so that would eliminate Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables (fine coach, just never been an HBC), Kendal Briles, Graham Harrel, Dan Lanning and a dozen other coordinators who do excellent work but have never run a football program.

2. The only way a current assistant could be considered would be one who was a successful head coach somewhere else but then rehabbed at St. Nick’s or one who was a head coach, then did time in the NFL before returning to the college game.

3. Former head coaches who did a rehab at St. Nick’s would be given strong consideration.

4. Coaches with ties to Nick Saban probably go to the top of the list.

5. Coaches with dynamic offensive minds should be at the top of the list. No offense to defensive coaches, but Florida fans will not be breaking another mirror (seven years of bad luck) that brought us the years of wandering through the offensive desert from 2011-17.

6. The only way it could possibly be a coach known for his defense would be someone who has a track record of hiring an offensive coordinator then giving him a free hand to design and call the plays. In other words, a defensive coach who has a history of putting his thumb on the offense is a no go.

7. It has to be someone who understands the impact of social media and knows how to use it to his advantage. Social media in the wrong hands can be poisonous, but a coach who understands how to make it work on every platform is a must.

8. The new head coach has to have a lightning rod personality that attracts attention. Some people say any publicity is good publicity, but that’s not true. In his last 15 months on the job, Dan Mullen went from a perky guy who you sensed was having fun into a surly guy who came across as arrogant and smug. Mullen’s personality in the last 15 months was a lightning rod for bad juju with media, fans and recruits. A coach whose personality can inspire recruits and get the fan base in a come to The Swamp and we’ll do a Go Fund Me to raise money so you can rehab your burst ear drums is an absolute must.

9. The new head coach has to have strong ties to the state of Florida. Let’s face it. One of the reasons why Dan Mullen failed is the state of recruiting in this state. In the three years before Mullen, you could say most of the coaches at the top high school programs in the state filed divorce papers with the Florida coaches. Mullen tried, but not hard enough to reconcile the relationships and to be perfectly honest, his personality didn’t mesh with the coaches at schools like American Heritage, St. Thomas Aquinas and other powerhouse programs throughout the state.

10. The new head coach has to be able to come to Gainesville immediately with a carefully constructed plan to (a) pump some juice into recruiting to salvage the 2023 class of freshmen, (b) convince some of the players who are seriously considering putting their names into transfer portal that they would be better off to stay, (c) convince some of the players who are seriously considering putting their names in the transfer portal that even though we hardly knew ya it’s been swell, and (d) ready to fill in the blanks with transfers who can step in and help immediately. It would help if said coach has already figured out how to use the portal and bring in players who made an immediate impact. The new head coach also has to come to UF with a plan for bringing in a dynamic staff, understanding fully that the last three head coaches have been done in, in part, by lousy assistant coaches.

11. The new head coach MUST understand how to make NIL work. It has been somewhat of a disaster here at Florida while at places like Alabama and Georgia, the process has gone smoothly. NIL makes cheating legal. There’s no other way to explain it. The new head coach must also have an agreement in place with the president of UF, the athletic director and the sometimes too hands on compliance department that rules will not be broken but the NIL rules will be used to UF’s advantage.

12. The new head coach can have a history of bad behavior, but that can be forgiven if he has shown contrition and has shown with his actions in recent years that he has learned from his mistakes.

13. The president of UF, the athletic director, compliance, the UAA and boosters have to understand that UF doesn’t need a home run hire – UF needs a GRAND SLAM.

14. With all the people who have to sign off on this hire on board, the new head coach should be in Gainesville at the earliest possible date.

Given that criteria, let’s look at some candidates and figure out who connects enough dots to be UF’s head coach.

BILLY NAPIER, HBC LOUISIANA: He’s young (42), he’s been mentored by Dabo Swinney and Nick Saban and he’s 38-12 as a head coach, 31-5 in the last three years. He is loved by high school coaches in Louisiana where he is known as a relentless recruiter. He did some recruiting in the state of Florida for Dabo and Nick. He’s a CEO type who gives his offensive and defensive coordinators plenty of latitude. He’s seriously well organized and puts great emphasis on academics, strength and conditioning and team discipline. Few if any off the field troubles for his team. Does he understand NIL? Can he command social media? Those questions should be answered. He’s got Louisiana in the Fun Belt championship game. Can UF afford to let him stay that extra week?

HUGH FREEZE, LIBERTY: This would take some forgiveness on the part of UF compliance, but they have to understand that football has become such a business thanks to NIL that past sins can be forgiven since they are now legal. That being said, Hugh can coach. Period. He beat Nick Saban twice. Nobody else in the SEC has done that. He recruits extremely well. NIL might be a problem. Social media might be a problem since at Liberty the profile has to be very conservative. He would leave Liberty for one job and that’s Florida. He turned down Auburn and Tennessee last year. He makes $4 million at Liberty and folks in the know say he’s been washed in the blood and is not the lowlife he was at Ole Miss.

BOB STOOPS: We’ve been down the Bob Stoops road a bunch of times before. Each time we end up feeling like Wiley E. Coyote when we discover that Acme doesn’t have the answers as the road ends and we fall off the cliff. He has a national championship, has a 190-48 record as a head coach, and his teams always score points. He knows Florida, still owns a condo over at Crescent Beach, and he’s best of buds with Steven Orr Spurrier, who would lend a helping hand gladly. No Nick Saban connection needed. He understands the dynamics of recruiting and builds staffs that get the job on the field and in the living rooms of recruits. He can get it done, but does he want to coach again? It’s being whispered that THIS TIME he will be glad to come to Florida. Will he? He’s 61, but a young 61 and it’s entirely possible he would bring in Brent Venables from Clemson to run his defense.

MARIO CRISTOBAL, OREGON: He has a great gig at Oregon where Uncle Phil (Knight; Nike) will basically write a check for anything he wants. He’s coaching in the Pac-12 where it’s a lot easier to win the championship than it would be in the SEC. Nobody has more ties to the state of Florida. He’s from Miami, played at Miami, has coached at Miami and Florida International and has recruited the state hard for Nick Saban. Nobody believes in winning the line of scrimmage more. It is a lot easier to recruit great players to Florida than it is to Oregon so that’s going to be a plus. He learned how to organize and process things during his time with Nick Saban. He’s got plenty of personality and thanks to his time around Uncle Phil, he indeed understands NIL. That, of course, might keep him at Oregon because there isn’t a booster in America with deeper pockets. And there will always be a concern that when Mama calls (Miami) he just might bolt. He’s 51 years old and has never had any personal issues that have surfaced.

MARK STOOPS, KENTUCKY: He knows the state having coached the secondary for Miami’s 2001 national championship team, perhaps the best secondary in college football history, and three years as Jimbo’s defensive coordinator at FSU. Although he didn’t coach for Nick, Jimbo did so he’s an extension of the Saban coaching tree. He’s won at Kentucky (57-53). Nobody does that. The Wildcats will go to their sixth straight bowl game this year, which is a school record. His teams are very physical on both sides of the line. His O-linemen make All-SEC and get drafted. Until 2021 his offenses were very bland, but his defenses have been very good. He’s going to win wherever he is, but can he deliver championships? Does he have the lightning rod personality that will super charge recruits? Can he inspire outstanding assistants to come with him to UF if he is the guy?

JAMES FRANKLIN, PENN STATE: He won nine games twice and went to three bowl games at Vanderbilt. Vandy. Nobody does that. In the Big Ten East Penn State is always in a steel cage match with Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State. Essentially, he’s playing for second place in his division, which was evident when he won the Big Ten (2014) and yet Ohio State was chosen for the playoff (won the national title). In the SEC East there is Georgia. Can he go toe-to-toe with Kirby and win the recruiting battles? Franklin has no ties to the state of Florida but he’s a dynamic enough personality that he could be a lightning rod. He’s 7-4 this year. Is he too much like the guy who just had the screen door hitting him on the butt on the way out? Also, the Penn State compensation committee meets Tuesday to give him a Mel Tucker-like extension.

LUKE FICKELL, CINCINNATI: Three things to consider before we go any further: (1) There is every good chance Cincinnati will make the playoff and become the first Group of Five team to do so, so he’s not going anywhere until the Bearcats’ fate is sealed for 2021, whether that’s in the American Athletic Conference title game in two weeks or in the playoffs in a month; (2) Would UF be willing to X out an entire recruiting class because that’s what could happen with a coach unavailable until January and leave Cincinnati for the SEC when it would be much easier to get to the playoff as a member of the Big 12 (it will happen PRIOR to 2024 and you can bet your bippy Okie and Texas will also be gone to the SEC by then) than it is in the SEC?; and (3) If Ohio State was to open, could UF keep him from answering the call of Mama?

BRIAN KELLY, NOTRE DAME: First and foremost, he has a track record of winning everywhere he’s been. He won two Division II national championships at Grand Valley State, turned Central Michigan into a winner in three years, got to the Orange Bowl and the Sugar (12-0 regular season in 2009 … played the Gators in the Sugar) Bowl at Cincinnati, and at Notre Dame has made the national championship game (2012) and the College Football Playoff twice (2018, 2020). He’s 283-97-2 as a head coach, 112-40 at Notre Dame. He wins. When faced with adversity in 2016 after the only losing season he’s had at Notre Dame, he came up with a plan to totally restructure the recruiting organization and it worked. He loves the state of Florida and knows how to recruit the country. The realignment that is taking place throughout college football may make scheduling well difficult for Notre Dame so it might be time for a change. He is 60 years old, but talks academics as well as anyone in college football. Can he ignite the fan base? Would he leave Notre Dame, which is the most recognizable name in all of college sports?

LANE KIFFIN, OLE MISS: He has a lightning rod personality, understands NIL, has the Florida and Nick Saban connection, and extensive head coaching experience. What he’s done at Ole Miss is remarkable but there is a ceiling at Ole Miss. There isn’t one at Florida or LSU, which also is very much in play. Is Florida willing to get into a bidding war with LSU? He was a dynamic recruiter at Tennessee, Southern Cal and during his time at St. Nick’s. The late John Reaves was his father-in-law. His dad is defensive genius Monte Kiffin and he’s been mentored by and has national championship rings with Pete Carroll and Saban. He’s 75-41 as a head coach. He had a bad boy image for years and he still has a brash personality, but when he’s your coach you love him and when he’s someone else’s you hate him. He may be the one coach out there who can give Kirby a real run and he has the kind of personality that could keep Florida kids from going north to Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State. Is Florida willing to overlook past sins to bring in a coach who checks so many boxes? Kiffin’s final regular season game is Thursday night in the Egg Bowl in Starkville. He could be in Gainesville Friday and he does bring Arch Manning into play as a 2023 recruit.

These guys are front and center as we know it in Florida’s coaching search. You’ve got the criteria now who connects the most dots in your mind?