Is Zook the man?

By Sean Rogers Sports Central Columnist Okay, Gator faithful, you are excused. I understand your pain in trading Steve Spurrier for some guy named Ron Zook. I remember being a UMass basketball fan, when we lost John Calipari and picked up Bruiser Flint. UMass has never been the same. And for crying out loud, why couldn't the Gators snag Bob Stoops or Mike Shanahan? Jon Gruden might have been interested? What about Nick Saban? And for a final question, who the heck is Ron Zook?

Well, try, for a second, to view the positive light of the Ron Zook hiring. Florida AD Jeremy Foley knew what he was doing. Sure, he might have overpaid, but what if Zook ends up to be a phenomenal coach? Foley would be saving himself the pain of renegotiating his contract later. In addition, Foley made the hiring quickly and effectively.

Unlike in Notre Dame, where George O'Leary was originally hired and then resigned, Foley was sure to look at the background information of the coach that he was hiring, which was easier since Zook had worked at the University of Florida before.

The quick hiring enabled Zook to retain some of his key players who were considering declaring for the NFL Draft. If you were Rex Grossman, would you have stayed at Florida if there was not a coach in place? What if Foley hired -- say, Bobby Knight? By signing Zook quickly, Florida allowed themselves to retain the core of a very successful Florida team that routed Maryland in the Orange Bowl.

However, don't believe that Zook isn't the right man for the job. Sure, he was working with New Orleans' defense, which wasn't so good this year. However, the man proved to Jeremy Foley that he was a quality coach while he worked at Florida, and is clearly a familiar face to the Florida program.

He isn't a big name? Yeah, he isn't. However, Mike Shanahan had a rough last year, and he wasn't interested, anyway. Jon Gruden would have been difficult to pry from Al Davis and the Raiders, and who is to say that he would make a great college coach, anyway? There are downsides, and upsides, of course, to every candidate.

Ron Zook, though, has showed so far that he will carry the Florida tradition strong. Don't get me wrong, there is more to winning football games than good recruiting, but Zook has done a phenomenal job recruiting since he got to the Gators. Florida's best high school quarterback, Gavin Dickey, committed to Zook. Not bad for a guy that most people haven't heard of.

Reggie Lewis had originally committed to LSU and Nick Saban. However, with Zook on board, Lewis switched to favoring Florida as the place to hone his athletic abilities. Zook has done this all in a matter of a week. Not bad.

Even if Zook was a terrible recruiter, though, there wouldn't be much reason for Florida fans to worry. Steve Spurrier managed to build a program where just about anybody would want to coach, and play. The Florida name sells itself. Plus, of the three big Florida Schools (Miami, Florida, FSU), only Florida State has a big-name coach to sell itself. Do you really think that Larry Coker's big name will sell any better than Ron Zook? Absolutely not, but Miami's success will sell recruits on his program, just as Florida's success will work for Florida recruits.

Maybe Zook is the right guy. Maybe he isn't. But unlike UMass basketball, the Gator football program will retain its strength whether Zook is the second coming of Knute Rockne or Rich Kotite. Gator fans needn't worry. And, oh, yeah, doesn't Zook look a lot like Gary Condit?

Article courtesy of Sports Central.