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Zook name emerges in ECU coaching
swirl
By Denny O'Brien
©2004 Bonesville.net
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Bonesville
Power Hour |
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Replay
Wednesday night's show, as Patrick Johnson, Denny
O'Brien and Al Myatt discuss potential candidates for
ECU's pending opening for a football coach:
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TALK OF THE TOWN |
| Replay
Wednesday's show, as Henry Hinton and Denny
O'Brien discuss breaking news about ECU's search
for a football coach:
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Terry Holland isn't
discussing the search for East Carolina's next football coach, but that
doesn't mean the Pirates athletic director isn't working the phones.
According to a source
close to Ron Zook, the outgoing Florida Gators coach has been contacted
about the ECU opening — and has indicated an interest in the job.
Zook thinks the East
Carolina opening is very attractive and likes the school's deeply rooted
football culture, the source said.
Zook was out of the office
Wednesday and unavailable for comment.
Zook was fired earlier
this season following the Gators' disappointing loss at Mississippi
State but agreed to finish out the season. Florida is 7-4 on the year,
including a win over rival Florida State last week.
The Gators are 23-14
overall under his direction, 16-8 in the Southeastern Conference.
Florida tied for first in the SEC East in 2003, a year in which it
defeated eventual national champion LSU.
Florida also boasts a 2-1
record over rival Georgia under Zook's direction.
"In the final analysis, it
was apparent to me that something's not working here," Florida AD Jeremy
Foley told reporters about the decision to fire Zook. "I know that's
kind of nebulous, but it's the truth. It's hard to put a finger on it
exactly, but it certainly just didn't appear to be working as we all
envisioned."
Considered one of the
nation's best recruiters, Zook has landed ten Parade All-Americans
during his brief stay In Gainesville. Among them is starting quarterback
Chris Leak, a Charlotte native.
Holland recently met with
former Pirates players George Koonce and Carlester Crumpler, as well as
senior associate AD Nick Floyd to discuss the potential criteria for the
next coach. Among the desired parameters is success as a Division I head
coach and the ability to assemble a proven staff.
"Our first option will be
to seek a coach with a successful record at the Division I level,"
Holland said in a statement last week. "It is apparent that this is a
small pool of people and 99 percent of them are under long term
contracts at their current institution. Therefore, the pool of
candidates will include coordinators at highly successful Division I A
programs and highly successful head coaches from other Divisional
levels."
Among other names swirling
around in connection with the ECU opening, former Georgia and Marshall
coach Jim Donnan apparently will not be a candidate. According to a
colleague of Donnan, he is not interested in a return to the sidelines.
Holland plans to
meet with
the media next Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. to address questions regarding
the football search. In a statement released Wednesday, Holland
said that he is in the initial stages of the search and that no
candidates have visited campus.
02/23/07 11:30 AM
Compiled from Bonesville.net
staff reports. Copyright 2004. All
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