Toothless Gator Defense?

While I think the Gators made a great hire in Urban Meyer, I am a bit confused by his retention of Charlie Strong as defensive coordinator. Much as Lou Tepper played a huge role getting Gerry DiNardo fired from LSU, Strong was instrumental in getting Ron Zook run out of Florida. Don’t believe me? These five games from 2003 and 2004 ruined any chance Ron Zook had to remain at Florida.

· (2003) Leading by 23 mid way through the 3rd quarter, the Gators go on to lose to Miami, 38-33. The canes scored with 1:44 left on the clock. The game winning drive lasted 4 minutes, taking 11 plays that covered 89 yards.
· (2003) Florida loses to Ole Miss at home 20-17 after allowing the Rebels to score the go ahead touchdown with 1:16 left in the game. The drive covered 50 yards over 8 plays and took over 4 minutes.
· (2003) On 4th and 14 with 55 seconds left to play, the Gators give up a 52 yard touchdown pass and lose to FSU 38-34.
· (2004) Tennessee kicks a game-winning 50-yard field goal with six seconds left, as the Volunteers defeat the Gators 30-28. Florida allowed UT to drive 28 yards in 5 plays in only 31 seconds to set up the game winning kick.
· (2004) LSU completes a 10-yard touchdown pass with 27 seconds remaining to lift the Tigers to a 24-21 victory over Florida. The final drive went 50 yards in 1:39 and took five plays.

Ultimately Ron Zook took the fall for these debacles but I think a great deal of the responsibility lies with Strong. I know Florida has had talented defensive players the last two years, but it seems they were unable to make stops when it counted.

The numbers don't lie. In 2003 the Gators were ranked 65th in run defense, 44th in pass defense, 51st in total defense and 28th in scoring defense. 2004 wasn’t much better as Florida was ranked 53rd in run defense, 46th in pass defense, 42nd in total defense and 31st in scoring defense.

As a comparison, the last three SEC Champs finished 1st in the SEC in scoring defense, with Auburn and LSU finishing first in the nation in that category. (Georgia finished 4th nationally in 2002) All three also finished in the top 15 nationally in total defense. (Auburn 5th, LSU 1st, UGA 15th) The recent trend appears to favor teams with great defenses. Florida will need one to win a very tough SEC.