George O'Leary's troubles at UCF have exploded over the past week. Last off season, UCF player Ereck Plancher collapsed and died during a workout session. An enormous amount of controversy followed the player's death with questions around the amount of transparency provided into the subsequent investigation.
In the fallout, George O'Leary essentially went to war with his local paper. A stupid move given that the Orlando paper was the only paper covering his program.
O'Leary's o'problems were o'compounded by a 4-8 season which was highlighted by a season ending shut out loss at home to the Fighting Callaway's of Birmingham (Note: See...I don't always say negative things about Neil C.) His problems hit nuclear levels when another player, Brandon Davis, collapsed and was taken to the hospital during workouts a few days ago.
To quote Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel, "Either UCF's coaches and training staff are very unlucky or very stupid. Either way, O'Leary must go." Since the Orlando paper called for O'Leary's head yesterday, things have further escalated. Today, UCF's president is expected to discuss the findings of his investigation into Brandon Davis' situation.
All of this is a shock to O'Leary as his resume credits him with an M.D. in Sports Medicine from the Mayo Clinic and a Pulitzer Prize in Journalism from Columbia.
The Charlie Strong Issue
InsideKnights.com / Scout.com are reporting that O'Leary will be forced out at UCF in the wake of this saga as early as tomorrow. They are also reporting that Charlie Strong, UF's defensive coordinator, is already in discussions to take over the head coaching position. The Orlando Sentinel says, not so fast.
According to the Scout.com article, Strong has recruited at least 15 current Gators from the central Florida region. He would be the ideal hire for that program. This is a situation to keep an eye on for Georgia fans.
Florida has already lost its offensive coordinator to Mississippi State. Losing an elite defensive coordinator would be another negative for Meyer's program. Additionally, defensive line coach Dan McCarney is a finalist for a head coaching position out west. McCarney, the former head coach at Iowa State, completely revamped the Gator DL this year, and he is a solid position coach.
Keep your eye on this one for more news.
PWD
BTW -- Karma's a bitch George. Jasper was down.
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20 comments:
Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of people. Screw O'Leary and Urban.
The Mayo Clinic? I thought O'Leary graduated form Columbia, right after winning that Super Bowl ring with the Packers.
Maybe O'Leary will counsel Myron Rolle on how to handle being a multi-discipline genius without having to cut corners.
UCF, please take another FloriDUH coach away.
Mullen goes to the bizarro Bulldogs, Strong takes the UCF job. Auburn hires O'Leary.
Its the perfect storm.
Please sweet baby Jesus make this happen.
RedCrake: It would ALMOST make up for the Jan Kemp banishment to the wilderness.
Jasper Was Down, The Tech Defensive guy took the ball ran back into the endzone and was tackled.
It was down by contact and a saftey. That missed call still pisses me off.
Mr Martinez will be kicking him self over UCF.
Word from high sources down here suggest: do not count out Terry Bowden.
You heard it here first...
"It was down by contact and a saftey. That missed call still pisses me off."
Maybe if your coach was smart enough to run down the clock and kick a field goal that wouldn't happen...
Don't forget about who was smart enough to kick a field goal on third down so if it got blocked they could do it again on fourth...
p.s. Don't take Bianchi's word for things. The guy is a notorious ass clown in Central Florida.
Anonymous 1:21: The same brain trust who penned the resume that got him canned at ND.
O'Leary has never had anything above a mediocre season without Ralph Freidgen.
I cannot stand BFG (Big Fat George) and hope he does get fired. He's a POS. And if his firing weaken's the Jean Shorts program by losing Strong, I see it as a win-win.
I wish it were true, and something could still happen, but UCF just had a press conference about the latest player to be hospitalized after collapsing during a workout and the school president opened by saying O'leary was the coach and would continue to be be so.
Wonder if the Florida faithful wanted Charlie Strong fired last year when his D was ranked #41 ... This year they're #9 so it's all good.
Aside from my snarky comments, I feel that Charlie Strong should already be a head coach.
George O'Leary - (Ralph Friedgen + ineligible players) = Chan Gailey. Or worse.
I will never cease to be amazed at how many Tech fans still treat him as the Second Coming.
GOL might be the coach right now and have "full support" right now, but if this "investigation" comes back with an ounce of scrutiny, then GOL is GONE. You've got one kid that's passed away and another that has kidney failure. At what point does your coach go from "loser" to "legal liability?"
It may be over for the moment, but I think GOL getting canned at UCF is only a matter of time.
off topic but ESPN just gave Tebow it's Academic Player of the Year Award...I guess they didn't notice Myron Rolle's Rhodes Scholarship.
Green got SEC freshman of the year per the SEC coaches.
I'm sitting here watching the Ncaa awards and watching Tim Tebow talk about the award he has just received. This kid is just amazing in what he stands for: the love for his team, desire of how he plays, and how he conducts himself in public. I'm not shooting Stafford down, but I miss that local talent that has the "it" factor when you think about a college QB. Stafford has never been the media guy, and I think that has hurt him. With Murray coming to Athens, maybe Zach Mettenberger might be a good fit. I hate taking shots at our guys, but in the near future I want a QB that makes UGA like the Greene and Shockley of the past. Stafford has let it been know that UGA was a launching point for him the get to the NFL. I have heard things that make me think Stafford is only looking to the NFL, and I want a guy who wants to make UGA better! Am I wrong on this? Please let me know!
What is it with O'Leary & guys getting knocked out at practice? Didn't he order his defensive line to gang tackle some poor sap half to death during practice at Georgia Yech awhile back? Seems I recall O'Leary catching flak for that too......
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