It's never good for a coach to make emotional decisions.
We've heard Florida coach Urban Meyer say that offensive coordinator Steve Addazio would be back next season. We've also heard Meyer say that quarterback John Brantley was going to be fine.
Both of those things might prove true, but Meyer has some hard decisions to make about his offense if the Gators are going to dig their way out of the worst offensive funk of the Meyer era.
The regular season couldn't have ended much worse for Florida, which saw its six-game winning streak against Florida State come to a screeching halt in a 31-7 loss Saturday that magnified yet again how wretched the Gators have been on offense. It's the third time this season they've been held to seven or fewer points. They managed just 64 passing yards and turned it over four times.
The Gators (7-5, 4-4) had already qualified for the postseason, although you wonder how excited they will be to be going anywhere.
More pressing for Meyer is figuring out what the Gators are going to be offensively. If Brantley is going to be their quarterback, then they're going to have to change their offense. If they're going to run the offense they've always run under Meyer, then Brantley probably isn't going to be their quarterback next season.
It's always convenient to blame the play-caller for everything when things go sour on offense. But when you recruit at the level the Gators have the past few years, you sure can't blame the talent.
The bottom line: The Gators can't stay status quo in any area offensively and expect much to change next season.
We've heard Florida coach Urban Meyer say that offensive coordinator Steve Addazio would be back next season. We've also heard Meyer say that quarterback John Brantley was going to be fine.
Both of those things might prove true, but Meyer has some hard decisions to make about his offense if the Gators are going to dig their way out of the worst offensive funk of the Meyer era.
The regular season couldn't have ended much worse for Florida, which saw its six-game winning streak against Florida State come to a screeching halt in a 31-7 loss Saturday that magnified yet again how wretched the Gators have been on offense. It's the third time this season they've been held to seven or fewer points. They managed just 64 passing yards and turned it over four times.
The Gators (7-5, 4-4) had already qualified for the postseason, although you wonder how excited they will be to be going anywhere.
More pressing for Meyer is figuring out what the Gators are going to be offensively. If Brantley is going to be their quarterback, then they're going to have to change their offense. If they're going to run the offense they've always run under Meyer, then Brantley probably isn't going to be their quarterback next season.
It's always convenient to blame the play-caller for everything when things go sour on offense. But when you recruit at the level the Gators have the past few years, you sure can't blame the talent.
The bottom line: The Gators can't stay status quo in any area offensively and expect much to change next season.
- ESPN.com SEC blogger
- Joined ESPN.com in 2007
- Wrote for The (Nashville) Tennessean
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