The Gators coaching search is so fluid that my column might be dated by the time it publishes...
Welcome to the Orlando Sports Weekly Rundown, I'm David Baumann.
It's Chip Kelly, Scott Frost, or nothing at all for Florida fans right now.
Sure, Charlie Strong and Dan Mullen have been mentioned, but those are "eight-win season" guys.
Kelly and Frost are the true "franchise" guys.
The "Let's compete for a National Title again" candidates.
The guys who will make Gators football fun again...
Like it used to be.
Uptempo. High scoring.
That's exactly what the Gators desperately need.
Enough of these Saturday snoozefests.
Frost might have the better momentum in terms of being young and ultra-successful right now, riding a perfect 9-0 season so far with the UCF Knights.
He's a star in the making.
There aren't many coaches in America who could run a scout team offense like Frost did prior to UCF's game against Navy.
Orlando Sports Weekly Rundown: The Florida Gators Coach Search Is On.
How flippin' cool is that?
Meanwhile, Kelly is enjoying an ESPN analysis sabbatical after a failed NFL coaching stint with the Eagles and 49ers.
However, you could look at Kelly's failed NFL run with crimson-colored lenses.
Nick Saban failed miserably with the NFL's Miami Dolphins but then gave a re-birth to the Alabama Crimson Tide's sheer dominance of the NCAA.
Kelly might never want another piece of the NFL ever again, like Saban.
Plus, top college programs pay so well these days that the lure of NFL money isn't as enticing as it once was.
Cost of living is pretty low in Gainesville... He could live like a king with the salary they'd pay him.
And if he turns the Gators program back around... he'd become a God to Gator fans.
And consider, Kelly is one of the most successful college football coaches in history with a 47-6 record... That's a Knute-Rockne-like 86.8% win percentage. In fact, Kelly's win-rate is second only to Rockne's 88.1%.
It seems to me like the fanbase was originally gung-ho on Frost, but when Kelly became a realistic possibility, many jumped on the Kelly bandwagon.
Even Frost has said this about Kelly, via Open Mike on 96.9 The Game, "I know this: College football is going to be much better if Chip Kelly is in it, so I'm rooting for him."
Frost said he does not know whether Kelly will take the Florida job because Kelly "plays everything close to the vest."
Whether it's Kelly or whether it's Frost... the Gators will be in great position for a major turnaround.
But if they get neither, it could be very worrisome.
Nobody wants to endure another year like this, last, or any of the prior five seasons.
David Baumann is a Sports Columnist for 407area.com and can be heard on Tuesdays, 7-9pm on EK Sports, 96.9 The Game FM. He can be seen Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 10:30 pm on Spectrum Sports 360's Face Off Segment on Central Florida News 13, channel 1013.
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