Mike White Back On Hot Seat

"GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 06: Head coach Mike White of the Florida Gators reacts during the second half against the Texas Southern Tigers at Stephen C. O’Connell Center on December 06, 2021 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)"

It’s not an easy job to be a head coach of a major sport at the University of Florida. Dan Mullen just found that out after one rocky season at the helm of the football program. Now Mike White is once again feeling like his feet are being held to the fire.

The Gators lost 70-68 to Maryland on Sunday, that marked the Gators 3rd loss in their last 4 contests. Mike White is no stranger to the heat surrounding his job, fans were left frustrated during the 2020-2021 seasons as the Gators finished 15-10 and were eliminated from the NCAA tournament by a 15-seed. White had his team roaring out of the gates with signature wins over rival and ranked Florida State and a buzzer beating win over Ohio State. White seemed to have silenced a lot of the critics with his teams 6-0 start and appearances in the AP top-25 polls. One humiliating loss to winless Texas Southern awoken the critics and now the losses are snowballing with the latest defeat against a so-so Maryland team.

SEC play is about to open right after Christmas. The Gators have one more tune-up game against Stony Brook to try and get themselves to 8-3 heading into a gauntlet. I don’t think that Scott Stricklin will bite the bullet and fire another coach during the season, I would expect a potential firing to come after the SEC tournament. If there was a window to fire White during the season it would be shortly after the new year if the Gators plummet in their first four SEC games. Three of the Gators 4 opponents are ranked teams and we will find out very quickly what this team and Mike White really are.

Two good wins early in the season have officially been wiped out by two bad losses in the last week. Coming into the season a lot of people had the Gators pegged as a team that would be missing the tournament this season. At this point in the year, I would have to put them on the outside. Fortunately for them, and White there is a ton of conference basketball left. They are going to get plenty of opportunities to play top teams, White controls his own destiny with the university over the next few months.