I know....his performance as a coach was BAD. The Gators couldn't stomach his poor record (especially coming as it did after their success under Steve Spurrier).
However, Zook is probably one of the best college recruiters alive.
And he is proving that again -- he has a top 10 recruiting at ILLINOIS this year! I don't think Illinois has had a top 10 anything in years.
There's no question that Zook can recruit. Problem is, he can't do anything with his guys once they report to practice. And he has no clue about how to instill or enforce discipline - that was the biggest thing that turned Florida fans and boosters against him.
There's a golden rule in football: never replace a legend. Perkins couldn't replace Bear Bryant, in fact nobody has except for Gene Stallings. It took almost 30 years for Ohio State to find a replacement for Woody Hayes. Ron Zook never had a chance at Florida trying to fill Darth Visor's shoes. He could have won the SEC every year he was the their, and he still wouldn't have been good enough.
Les Miles wasn't considered good enough to replace Nick Saban at LSU until that bastard stabbed us and Miami in the back by signing with Alabama. Now, Les is the most popular guy in town...