FLORIDA

Say goodbye to ...  Ron Zook
Record: 23-14 in 3 seasons.
Reason for leaving: Fired.
He was never loved in Florida by Gators fans from the start -- how many days after he was hired did fireronzook.com launch? -- many of whom believed this was a guy they had to settle for after first Mike Shanahan and then Bob Stoops said no thanks.

Zook had never been a head coach before and many believed he was in over his head. They also believed his emotional demeanor would cause him to lose his head too many times and leave him unable to manage a game properly. In some respects, they may have been right. Bad losses to inferior opponents only supported that argument. An off-field incident where he was sent as a peacemaker to settle a dispute between football player and a fraternity and ended up becoming argumentative with fraternity members only furthered his demise.

Douglas C. Pizac / AP Urban Meyer

Hello ... Urban Meyer
Coaching record: 39-8 in four seasons at Bowling Green and Utah.
2005 prediction: 9-2.

Meyer has certainly become the Golden Boy of college football the past few years, twice being named national coach of the year and owner of a sparkling 10-1 record against BCS opponents.

But he’s in the major leagues now, and at a place where nothing short of annually contending for a national title is expected. The good news for Meyer is he has 15 starters and 47 lettermen back; and this is a high quality group, thanks to Zook. This is a team ready-made for success, though some of that will be determined how quickly Heisman contending quarterback Chris Leak and the rest of the group adjusts to the spread option.

Long-term outlook: Everyone knows Meyer is a supreme tactician, but he must also prove he’s a supreme recruiter if he is to prosper. Like it or not, he also must stay at least one step ahead of beloved ex-Gators coach Steve Spurrier, who is back in the SEC at South Carolina, in order to keep the natives happy.

But if Meyer is as savvy as he appears to be, it may not be long until the Fun ‘N Gun is all but forgotten.