Urban

I was literally driving to my office to write my Goodbye Urban post when the news broke that he's changed his mind. ESPN is reporting he's going to sit out all next season and Addazio is going to be the coach, but local radio says the length of the "leave of absence" is up in the area and speculation is that he'd find it hard to stay off the sidelines next year. This is unquestionably unique, but with a coach like Urban you give him as much time as he needs. He is simply the best and we should all be grateful to have him (I'm sure the last 18 hours have led you to the same conclusion). Apparently the leave of absence was the initial suggestion of the University and now he's embraced the idea. In the end he may discover that he can't go less than 100% and will have to retire permanently, but as I said, he's the best and the right move is to retain him and let him try and work it out.

For the record, my version of who we should hire to be our next head coach would be as follows in order of priority-

1. Stoops- OU fans are complaining about losing bowl games. Let them try and do better. Stoops would do great with our talent and his learning curve in terms of being The Man at Florida would be short. Foley would need to make one call and simply ask if he's in or out.

2. Gruden- You gotta at least make the call. I think he's a pro guy at heart and wouldn't last more than 3 years but it would be a helluva entertaining 3 years and we'd load up with recruits year in and year out.

3. Whittingham- He's an Urban guy and has had a great run at Utah. He might not want to try and replace Urban again but he'd be great.

4. Tuberville- He beat Urban twice, went undefeated in the SEC, and had a great run against Bama.

5. Terry Bowden- This would never happen because Foley wouldn't put up with his history of off the field incidents, but he did go undefeated at Auburn and I'd love to see a Bowden on our sidelines hammering FSU. Same with Derrick Dooley against Georgia.

6. Patterson/Petersen- If you can run the table at TCU or Boise State you could do wonders with the talent that UF brings in.

7. Kevin Sumlin- Houston's offense is wide open and I think this guy is an up and comer who could be a great recruiter at UF.

8. Mike Leach- Fun offense, even better press conferences.

9. Charlie Strong- A Gator through and through but I don't see us hiring someone who has never been a head coach. Let him cut his teeth at Louisville, then we'll see in a few years.

10. Dan Mullen- He'd be able to keep offensive continuity but I just don't buy into him as a leader.

I'm glad this list doesn't look like it will be necessary. I plan on tuning into the 4:30 press conference and seeing what Urban has to say. More tomorrow...

BS