Never let the moment overcome the plan. Seems simple enough.
Until the moment is Michigan, and the world is caving one late November afternoon when another loss delivers another reason for change.
“You’ve got to be grounded in your process,” Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork said. “You can’t be shaken.”
Even when you’ve spent nine months preparing for and evangelizing about what will be, and the next thing you know, Florida loses by 24 at home in the season opener — and bitter rival Miami is strutting out of The Swamp, mocking that unshakeable plan.
“I believe in what we’re doing and how we’re building it organically,” said Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin. “You can’t be timid in this job.”
Now here we are, Ohio State and Florida on opposite ends of the success spectrum in 2024, but strolling arm-in-arm in a fight that had to happen to regain a semblance of control in the dysfunctional world of hiring and firing coaches.
You either believe in your coach and the plan, or you don’t. If you do, fight with all you’ve got ― against all comers, no matter the criticism.
The Buckeyes will play Monday in the College Football Playoff national championship game. The Gators finished a strong close to the season with a wining record (and real momentum) for the first time since 2020.
But Bjork and Stricklin — friends for years as rival athletic directors at Ole Miss and Mississippi State, respectively — are in this stand together. Throwing tens of millions of walkaway cash at a coach who doesn’t work is one untenable thing.
But swaying with the masses, moving who and what you believe to go with the flow instead of fighting upstream, that’s a completely different animal. That’s giving in.
The days of universities paying Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M) $76 million to not coach, or Gus Malzahn (Auburn) $21.5 million or Willie Taggart (Florida State) $18 million, or Ed Orgeron (LSU) $16.8 million or Scott Frost (Nebraska) $15 million, isn’t sustainable.
So when Michigan beat Ohio State for the fourth consecutive season under coach Ryan Day, when Florida was embarrassed by Miami and had its worst September in decades under embattled coach Billy Napier, Bjork and Stricklin doubled down.
It took Bjork less than 24 hours to publicly declare that Day wasn’t going anywhere. He then told USA TODAY Sports in December that, “No matter what happens (in the CFP), Ryan is our coach. Period.”
After the ugly September rolled into an uneasy October, Stricklin began November by publicly giving Napier a vote of confidence. It was a brilliant tactical move, making the statement before a game at SEC heavyweight Texas, where Florida would play with a third-string, walkon quarterback in place of injured starter DJ Lagway.
In other words, he saw what was coming and knew the cacophony of “Fire Napier” would grow louder. So he cut it off immediately.
When asked that week by USA TODAY Sports if he had a response to boosters who said they had procured the money to pay Napier’s $28 million buyout, Stricklin said matter of factly, “Tell them they can give that money to Florida Victorious.”
Florida Victorious is the university’s collective, and it should come as no surprise that after a strong showing in November – including wins over LSU and Mississippi – the money started pouring into Florida Victorious.
At one point in late November and early December before signing day, Florida had flipped nine players from previous verbal commitments with other schools, and climbed from outside the top 50 to the top 10 of the 247Sports recruiting ranking composite.
Make no mistake, these are’t two fan bases that easily back down. There are some at Ohio State who still believe Day should be fired for losing four consecutive games to Michigan — even if the Buckeyes beat Notre Dame and win the national title.
There are some at Florida who believe that no matter the players, no matter the talent, the problem is Napier and a dysfunctional operation on game day.
But you can bow to the vocal minority, to deep-pocket boosters, to criticism from all outside of your bubble. Or you can take a stand — in some instances, a significant chance — and make a statement.
When Day stood in the middle of Ohio Stadium, a dazed look on his face while his players fought Michigan players at midfield after another excruciating loss, that was an inflection point.
After Florida played its worst game of the season in a 13-point home loss to Texas A&M, after boos rained down on Napier as he exited the field – he later admitted, “I probably would’ve done the same thing, truth be known” – that was an inflection point.
Those are defining moments where you buckle — or buckle down. Ohio State and Florida were but two instances in 2024. There will be more down the road.
Mike Norvell at Florida State, Lincoln Riley at Southern California, Brent Venables at Oklahoma.
If you think Alabama boosters are going to suffer through another four-loss season with coach Kalen DeBoer, you’re not reading the room.
The question is, as an athletic director, can you control it?
“I know Billy. I know who he is, what he stands for,” Stricklin said. “There’s a process and it works, and you can’t stray from it. You’ve got to be strong enough in your convictions.”
Or pay millions in walkaway money.
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.
