GAINESVILLE, FLA. — One question drowned out all the others across the Gator Nation and throughout the college football world Wednesday. Who is Ron Zook?
He is, of course, the new Florida football coach, a good friend of athletics director Jeremy Foley and, quite naturally, a coach who felt like the luckiest guy on Earth.
"Obviously, this is a very exciting time for me," Zook said at the news conference where he was introduced as the replacement for Steve Spurrier.
The 47-year-old Zook is NOT Steve Spurrier he reminded reporters of that 11 times during his sometimes-hyper, often-engaging, 30-minute getting-to-know-you session.
Zook IS a career assistant whose emphasis has been not on offense the side of the ball Spurrier revolutionized in his 12 seasons but on defense, where he spent the last two seasons as defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints.
Zook was an assistant at Kansas University in 1983 under Mike Gottfried. He spent three seasons as special teams coach with the Steelers and one year as defensive backs coach with the Kansas City Chiefs before joining Jim Haslett in New Orleans.
"We're going to be an attacking offense," he said. "We're going to throw the ball around the ballpark, as coach Spurrier once said. We're going to score points. That's my personality. That's my style."
Zook said he has hired Ed Zaunbrecher, the offensive coordinator at Marshall the last two seasons, to fill the same position at Florida. He'll announce the rest of his staff later.
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