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Florida Football: Five worst head coaches in Gators history

By Benjamin Henderson

Oct 30, 2004; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Florida Gators lame duck headcoach Ron Zook watches Chris Leak in action against the University of Georgia at Alltel Stadium.Mandatory Credit: Preston Mack-USA TODAY Sports(©) Copyright 2004 by Preston Mack
Oct 30, 2004; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Florida Gators lame duck headcoach Ron Zook watches Chris Leak in action against the University of Georgia at Alltel Stadium.Mandatory Credit: Preston Mack-USA TODAY Sports(©) Copyright 2004 by Preston Mack /
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Florida football has had some all-time great coaches at the helm of the program, including Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer.

The Gators have also had their fair share of clunkers over the years.

We here at Hail Florida Hail are going to look at the five worst hires that Florida has had in program history. For the purpose of this list, we are only looking at the coaches Florida has had since 1960, so the 0-9 season that Raymond Wolf led in 1946 will be spared. Circumstances were different back then.

We are looking at the overall record and the lasting damage they left behind.

Florida Football Worst Coaches: Ron Zook

  •  Head coach from 2002 – 2004
  •  23-14 Record

Tapped to be the successor for Steven Spurrier, Ron Zook just never got it going in Gainesville. His 2002 season featured a big win over then-fourth-ranked Tennessee, but also featured a three-point loss to Ole Miss, and blowout losses to LSU and FSU.

Mind you, that was with Rex Grossman at QB.

In 2003, with Chris Leak now under center, Florida once again went 8-5 with losses to Miami, Ole Miss, Tennessee, FSU, and Iowa.

The Gators finished the year ranked 24th, and the pressure was on for the 2004 season.

Florida started the season ranked 11th, but an early season loss to Tennessee had Zook squarely in the crosshairs of Gator Nation.

A loss to Mississippi State sealed his fate, and it was announced Zook would not come back in 2005.

But as poor as the Ron Zook Era was, key contributors to the 2006 national title team, including Leak, Dallas Baker, Andre Caldwell, and Deshawn Wynn, were all brought to Gainesville by Zook, so the damage done wasn’t irreversible.

Plus, he did have a better winning percentage than some other coaches on our list.

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