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The rubber hits the road next week for Steve "Hi, I'll be your coach for awhile" Addazio

Can gator football's guest host Steve Addazio hold on to Uf's recruits? Coach A. may be a likable guy, but does he have the charisma to keep blue chippers -- like these two -- from jumping ship? Especially with so many opposing coaches whispering negative stuff in their ears?

Jimbo is on record -- much to his credit -- promising that Seminole coaches won't recruit negatively. But then, they really don't have to. Plenty of other coaches will do it for them. And FSU could well be the beneficiary.

Besides never having been a head coach on the college level, Addazio was well down the list of Florida coaches who might succeed His Urbaness. That is, before Charlie Strong and Billy Gonzales paddled out of The Swamp.

And it doesn't help that Addazio's promotion is not sitting well with a number of ex-gators -- guys who weren't crazy about him even as offensive coordinator, forget about head coach.

So beginning next week, we'll find out if Addazio can dazzle UF's current commits enough to keep 'em in the fold. That's when the recruiting dead period is over and teams can contact recruits on a limited number of designated days in January. Hard-selling coaches have until January 30 to make their final pitches before a dead period leading up to signing day on February 3rd.

Urban Meyer's Sunday TV special getting lousy reviews from the critics

While gator fans are crowing "We got our coach back!," trying hard to believe everything is right with their world again, some of college football's top writers aren't buying it. They're more confused than ever after Meyer's bizarre, confusing press conference on Sunday. And their reviews pretty much amount to one and a half thumbs down about the state of Florida football.

The cynics out there believe that this whole thing is just a ploy to salvage this recruiting class and get Florida through national signing day in February. In the absence of answers, that kind of cynicism will thrive until it is proven wrong—or confirmed. It is a risky place for the Florida program to be.

   --Tony Barnhart

Nobody knows what is going to happen down the road. Meyer said his gut feeling is he'll be back as Florida's coach next year. But only if he figures it out. But if he does come back, can he ratchet it down? Can he delegate? Can he not go full bore all the time?

He has to or Meyer has no business coming back. 
   --Pat Dooley Gainesville Sun

Those close to Meyer had long been familiar with his health problems -- ranging from in-season weight loss to searing headaches to the ongoing threat of an arachnoid cyst on his brain -- and his intense, inherently at-odds devotion to family and coaching made his recent flip-flopping almost inevitable.

Anyone who knows Meyer understands he had no choice but to change his mind, throwing himself and the Florida program into months -- perhaps years -- of uncertainty. 

   --S.L. Price, Sports Illustrated

Florida could be in for some rough sledding ahead. The demands of the job are too great, the SEC too competitive to be without one's head coach for an extended period...Florida will be at a disadvantage recruiting-wise for as long as Meyer's status is in limbo, and even when he returns, the famously relentless recruiter might not be able to pick off where he left off.

   -- Stewart Mandel, Sports Illustrated

There is something that Meyer is not telling us...Meyer has to understand that inquiring minds will want to know about the future of their franchise with or without him. All the pointed questions at Sunday's Sugar Bowl news conference in New Orleans announcing that the coach had indeed changed his mind and will return at some future date, were left unanswered. 

   --Dennis Dodd, CBS Sports

Urban Meyer went to Florida’s Sugar Bowl practice Sunday and had a change of heart? What happened to his health? What happened to his daughter hugging him because she had her daddy back?...But a “spirited practice” made all of those personal and family concerns secondary? I just don’t believe this story is over yet. 

     --Ivan Meisel, ESPN

FSU beats WVU in the Gator Bowl -- twice

Florida State teeing it up against West Virginia in the Gator Bowl? If it seems like you've seen this movie before, you have. In fact, twice if you were a Nole fan 27 years ago in the early days of Bowden's career at FSU.  

Cue the dreamy harp music as we flashback to both (and cross your fingers in hopes the Noles can pull the hat trick against the 'Eers in Jacksonville).

December 30, 1982:  Greg Allen rushed for 138 yards, Blair Williams threw for 202 and Billy Allen returned a kickoff 95 yards as FSU cruised over the Mountaineers 31 - 12. A crowd of 80-thousand braved the chilly night air to watch Bobby Bowden's new team spoil the revenge that many WVU fans -- still smarting over Bowden's departure in 1976 -- had hoped for.

January 1, 2005:  Chris Rix, playing his final game for Florida State, sparked the No. 17 Noles with two second-half TD's as FSU outlasted West Virginia 30-18. Leon Washington had a career performance with 195 yards on the ground, while Lorenzo Booker added 101. The loss continued West Virginia's Gator Bowl jinx, as the Mountaineers ran their record to 0 - 5 in the Jacksonville classic.

Urban Meyer not built for the long haul

Some guys -- hell, most guys -- aren't cut out for those super high stress jobs, like Fortune 500 CEO's, generals and football coaches. It takes a pretty special mensch to work a zillion hours a year and inspire his organization to push for ever higher levels of success.

Apparently Urban Meyer is not one of that special breed.

Sure, that's harsh. But if he's been having chest pains for three years, and throughout the current season, he'd be crazy to push his luck by jumping back into the 24/7 pressure cooker of a D-1 head coach.

So at 45 years old, he's going to take a breather, smell the roses, and get his health back.

Meanwhile, Bobby Bowden must be secretly wondering what's up with these young whippersnappers who can't cut it? After all, Bowden's 35 years older than Meyer and just getting around to hanging up the whistle.

Did he ever have chest pains!? Naw. Just bunions and occasional heartburn from the spicy cooking of some recruit's Mom.

Stress!? Just chew through another unlit cigar and read a Bible verse or two. Maybe break off another piece of that Hershey bar in the top left drawer.

Sabbaticals!? Shoot, those are for college profs doing research in Patagonia, not college coaches on a non-stop mission.

Of coure, Bobby isn't the only coach scratching his head over Urban's untimely time out. Up in Happy Valley, Joe Paterno just turned 83 with no thought of retiring, much less turning the reins over to an assistant so he can catch his breath.

Remember the irony of Bear Bryant? It wasn't the coaching grind that killed him. It was the retirement.

Heck, most of the truly successful coaches seem to thrive on the pressure, with no apparent health scares. Like Mack Brown (58 years old), Nick Saban (58), Paul Johnson (52), Jim Tressel (57), Frank Beamer (63), Les Miles (56), and Kirk Ferentz (54).

And then there's 44-year old Jimbo Fisher. Very soon he'll join that high risk/high reward club of head coaches. And like Bowden, Paterno, Brown, et al, this "youngster" who's been head coach-in-waiting appears to be equipped for the long haul. 

He seems to know the coaching gig is a marathon. And those who drop out along the way may never catch up.

Urban mired in indecision; confusion only adds to gators deconstruction

First Tebow, now the whole gator nation is crying

West Virginia will line up in the Gator Bowl minus two defensive starters

Two players that West Virginia was counting on in next week's Gator Bowl won't even dress out for the game. Starting safety Nate Sowers and defensive tackle Scooter Berry have been declared ineligible, apparently due to academics.

Sowers is a fifth-year senior who started in 11 of 12 games this season.

Berry, a junior and one of WVU's top D-Tackles, missed several games this year due to injuries and suspension after being charged with public intoxication and disorderly conduct.

According to The Charleston Gazette, "the loss of both players is significant."

West Virginia's defense is ranked #29 nationally in Rush Defense, #52 in Pass Defense and 34th in Total Defense. The 'Eers were tied for #24 in scoring defense, giving up an average of 20.75 points per game.

In its final game of the season, WVU's defense held Rutgers to 65 yards rushing, 9 of 27 passing with two interceptions, and 1 of 15 on third down attempts.

The lighter side of Bobby's final days at FSU

Laugher over Skyhawks has Hamilton smiling

by Bill from Tampa

When was this one over? At the 18:56 mark of the first half when Solomon Alabi made the first basket of the game for FSU. It was downhill for the Skyhawks after that. Really downhill.

Even Leonard Hamilton knew this one was going to be a blowout before the game started. He never had a doubt of how the game would turn out.

Frankly UT Martin is a terrible team. Except for three players who can shoot the ball fairly well there is not much else on that team. Nor can they play defense.

FSU certainly did however.

It was clear the Skyhawks were greatly outmanned and outclassed. So it should have come as no surprise that FSU would roll that team by a score of 95-68, even with just one day to prepare for this team.

The statistic that stands out to me was the season high 28 assists, 15 of them occurring in the first half and 6 of them on the Seminoles' seven baskets.

It was very clear what had been worked on in practice, passing and moving the ball. Numerous times a possession ended with a basket after the ball had been passed around four, five, and six times finding the right guy. And that continued all game long. And this was at times working the ball around quickly versus UT Martin's zone defense.

Only mid-way into the second half did FSU lose a little focus on defense but that was due in part to a lineup you don't see on the floor very often, that included Pierre Jordan who played well and has much quicker hands on defense than I realized. He's a little better than I originally thought even after considering the talent level of the opposition last night. Very quick at knocking the ball away if the other player puts it on the floor. He could be useful in ACC play.

At least Bowden drove his own golf cart

Pardon us while we get a little nostalgic about yesterday's scene at the FSU practice fields.

Whew, as much as we believe Bowden's retirement is a positive move for the program, the finality of seeing the old coach steer his golf cart (without a chauffeur, thank you) through the practice field gates for the final time...well, it's just coming to end even faster than we imagined.

A grand finale at next year's opening game would've been a far better way for us all to say our goodbyes. That possibility was hinted at in this interview Bowden gave just a few days ago. Very possibly his last as head coach.

But as you can tell from the interview and his comments Tuesday after practice, he really doesn't want any fuss. He's downplaying all the drama and sentiments of these final days at the helm -- almost to the point of being in denial.

Which makes it even harder for thousands of FSU fans who have known Bowden and only Bowden as the Seminoles Chief. For them this is a form of separation anxiety, for which they deserve a little understanding. 

For the rest of us -- well, better days are ahead for FSU football. But probably never again as good as Bowden's best years. Never again at Florida State, and never again in college football.

Meanwhile, we hope Paterno has a flat tire in that damn golf cart that he can't even drive on his own.