| Ron Zook | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Title | Head Coach | |
| College | Illinois | |
| Sport | Football | |
| Team record | 13-23 | |
| Born | April 28, 1954 | |
| Place of birth |  Loudonville, OH |
|
| Career highlights | ||
| Overall | 35-37 | |
| Coaching stats | ||
| College Football DataWarehouse | ||
| Playing career | ||
| 1973-75 | Miami (Ohio) | |
| Position | DB | |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | ||
| 2002-04 2005-Present |
Florida Illinois |
|
Ron Zook (born April 28, 1954 in Loudonville, Ohio) is an American football coach and the current head coach at the University of Illinois. For the coaching strategy game see NFL Head Coach. A head coach is a professional who is responsible for the overall actions of This is a list of American institutions of Higher education in the United States and abroad sorted by region This article is about the flagship campus For other uses and locations of University of Illinois, see University of Illinois (disambiguation The University of American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with Events 1192 - Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) "Loudonville" redirects here For the hamlet in New York, see Loudonville New York. Miami University (colloquially and incorrectly referred to as Miami of Ohio for clarification purposes is a Coeducational Public university founded in 1809 In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage they For the coaching strategy game see NFL Head Coach. A head coach is a professional who is responsible for the overall actions of The University of Florida ( Florida or UF) is a public land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant major Research Events 1192 - Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) "Loudonville" redirects here For the hamlet in New York, see Loudonville New York. American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with For the coaching strategy game see NFL Head Coach. A head coach is a professional who is responsible for the overall actions of This article is about the flagship campus For other uses and locations of University of Illinois, see University of Illinois (disambiguation The University of
Contents |
Early career
Ron Zook played college football as a defensive back for Miami University, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1976. College football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, Colleges and military academies In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage they Miami University (colloquially and incorrectly referred to as Miami of Ohio for clarification purposes is a Coeducational Public university founded in 1809 A bachelor's degree is usually an Undergraduate Academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts for three four or in some cases and Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Zook immediately began coaching football, beginning at Orrville High School in Orrville, Ohio in 1976. Orrville High School is a public High school in Orrville Ohio. Orrville is a city in Wayne County, Ohio, United States. The population was 8551 at the 2000 census. In 1978, Zook moved to coaching college football, beginning at Murray State University. Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) Murray State University, located in the town of Murray, Kentucky, is an approximately 10000-student four-year public university Through the 1980s, Zook held coaching positions at a number of schools, including Cincinnati, Kansas, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, and Ohio State University. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. The University of Cincinnati is a Coeducational public Research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. The University of Kansas (often referred to as KU or just Kansas) is a public research university with campuses located in Lawrence, Kansas City The University of Tennessee (also known as UT) sometimes called the University of Tennessee Knoxville ( UT Knoxville, or UTK) is the flagship Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, better known as Virginia Tech, is a public land grant polytechnic University in The Ohio State University ( OSU) is a Coeducational public Research university in the state of Ohio.
Beginning in 1991, Zook served as defensive coordinator for three seasons at the University of Florida under head coach Steve Spurrier. The 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with a split champion for the second consecutive season A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on an American football team who is in charge of the defense. The University of Florida ( Florida or UF) is a public land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant major Research Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945 in Miami Beach Florida) is a former American football player and currently the head coach After the 1993 season, Spurrier reassigned Zook to be the special teams coordinator, a move considered by many to be a demotion. The 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season saw Florida State crowned National Champions but not without controversy In American football, each team has 11 players on the field at one time Nonetheless, in 1995, Spurrier added the title of associate head coach to Zook's position. The 1995 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first year of the Bowl Alliance and was a relatively calm year compared to the
In 1996, Spurrier promoted Zook back to defensive coordinator following the departure of Bobby Pruett, but Zook left Florida to coach in the NFL. Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) The National Football League ( NFL) is the largest professional American football league. Zook served three seasons as special teams coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and was the defensive backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1999. In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage they The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City Missouri. The 1999 NFL season was the 80th regular season of the National Football League. In the 2000 and 2001 seasons, Zook was the defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints. The 2000 NFL season was the 81st regular season of the National Football League. The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League. The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans Louisiana.
Head coaching career
University of Florida
In 2002, Spurrier resigned his position with Florida to become the head coach of the Washington Redskins of the NFL, and Florida hired Zook as his replacement. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team based in the Washington D Spurrier had coached twelve seasons at Florida, and had taken the school to unprecedented success on the football field, including 6 SEC titles and a National Championship. Expectations at Florida were high, and Zook's hiring was not considered a popular one by followers of Florida football--Florida fans wanted the success of Spurrier, without the time required for building. In fact, one fan started a website, fireronzook.com, within a day of Zook's hiring, and the web site gained national media attention. Many fraternity houses even hung banners from week to week either praising Zook or calling for Zook's firing. He was well known for his quirky expressions ("If you sleep five hours really fast it feels like eight"), hard, honest work, and the various sayings which evolved from his name ("Zook 'em" or "The Zooker").
Zook was the head coach at Florida for three seasons. In those three seasons, the Gators compiled records of 8-5 (2002), 8-5 (2003) and 7-4 (2004). The 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season bucked the trend of boring national title games providing a game that lived up to the hype The 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with an abundance of controversy The 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with several undefeated teams vying for a spot in the national title game While achieving some significant success, Zook's record fell well short of the expectations at Florida. In his three years, the Gators lost more games in their home stadium (Ben Hill Griffin Stadium) than in the 12 seasons under Spurrier. Florida Gators football Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field (aka The Swamp) is the American football Stadium for the University of Florida Many of his losses were fourth quarter comebacks, causing many fans to question the prevent defense which was employed, which helped result in Zook being unable to beat a ranked opponent at home during his tenure at UF. Zook ultimately took the blame for the record, and was fired before the end of the 2004 season after a loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs, who had a 1-5 record prior to the game, including a loss to Division I-AA Maine. Mississippi State University is a Land-grant university located in north east-central Mississippi, United States, in the town of Starkville and Division I (or D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States The University of Maine, established in 1865 is the Flagship University of the University of Maine System. The game was lost on a 37 yard touchdown run by Jerious Norwood in the final minute of the game. Zook finished the regular season, but declined to coach the Gators in their bowl game, having already accepted the Illinois position. In the United States, a bowl game is traditionally a post-season College football game however the term "bowl" has become synonymous with a major American After the 2004 season, Zook was replaced as Florida's head coach by Urban Meyer. Urban Meyer (born July 10, 1964 in Ashtabula Ohio) is currently the head football coach at the University of Florida.
Though not highly regarded by a vocal minority of Gator fans, Zook did have some achievements over his 3 seasons at Florida. He is the only coach to have beaten 13-win teams in back-to-back seasons (Georgia in 2002 and LSU in 2003). He beat three top 11 teams in succession, all on the road (LSU, Arkansas and Georgia) in 2003. He bested the Florida State Seminoles in Tallahassee on their newly-christened "Bobby Bowden Field" in his final game as head coach, something Steve Spurrier could never do. Florida State Seminoles are the men's and women's sports teams of Florida State University in Tallahassee Florida. Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium is the football Stadium on the Campus of the Florida State University in Tallahassee Florida This has led Gator fans to refer to Bobby Bowden Field as Ron Zook Field. Also, he had winning records against many SEC foes such as Georgia (2-1) and Auburn (1-0). The Southeastern Conference (SEC is a College Athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which operates in the southeastern The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams of The University of Georgia. Auburn Tigers is the name given to Auburn University athletic teams In addition, Zook would be responsible for the prevention of two undefeated seasons, with victories over the 2002 SEC Champion Georgia (which finished 13-1, but lost to Florida, 20-13) and the 2003 SEC and National Champions LSU (who finished 13-1, but lost to Florida 19-7 in Baton Rouge). See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. LSU (Louisiana State University is a member of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Southeastern Conference. Baton Rouge (French Bâton-Rouge ˌbætən ˈruːdʒ in English, and in French) is the capital city of Louisiana. Zook was also a tireless recruiter, who brought a great deal of talent to Florida during his tenure as head coach. Following the Gators victory over Ohio State in the 2006 BCS Championship game, Urban Meyer gave credit to Zook for recruiting the large class of seniors who played the game. Urban Meyer (born July 10, 1964 in Ashtabula Ohio) is currently the head football coach at the University of Florida. Twenty two of twenty four starters were Zook's recruits, including National Title Game MVP, Chris Leak.
University of Illinois
In 2005, the University of Illinois hired Zook to replace Ron Turner as the head coach of the Illinois Fighting Illini football team. Ron Turner (born December 5, 1953 in Martinez California) has had two separate stints as the Offensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears The Illinois Fighting Illini are a major College football program Zook inherited a program which had become a disaster since winning the Big Ten championship in 2001, finishing 1-11 in 2003 and 3-8 in 2004, including Big Ten records of 0-8 and 1-7, respectively. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. In Zook's inaugural season of 2005, Illinois finished with an overall record of 2-9, and a record of 0-8 in Big Ten games.
Despite his team's past struggles, Zook has improved the ability of Illinois to recruit top football talent. According to one source, the 2006 recruiting class was one of the 30 best in college football [1]. Despite this, they finished the 2006 season 1-7 in the conference and 2-10 overall. While the record did not improve, the play on the field did as the Illini nearly upset top ranked Ohio State in Champaign before losing 17-10. Additionally, the Illini played well against Iowa, Wisconsin, and Penn State (they lost 63-10 the year before; Penn State led 56-3 at halftime) but ended up losing close games (they were down 15-12 at Penn State until Penn State broke open the close game to make it 26-12).
The 2006 recruiting class included Isiah "Juice" Williams of Chicago Vocational High School, considered to be one of the top quarterback recruits in the country. Isiah John "Juice" Williams (born November 19, 1987 in Chicago Illinois) is an American football Quarterback for the [1] In late 2006, Zook signed Arrelious Benn, one of the top wide receiver prospects in the 2007 class. [2][3] More recently, Zook has also won over Simeon High School standout Martez Wilson[4][5] along with Florida prospect D'Angelo McCray. Neal F Simeon Career Academy (formerly known as Neal F Simeon Vocational High School is a 4-year public High school located in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the [6] This class is one of Illinois' best in recent memory, being rated within the top 25 nationally by some experts. [7]
Zook's recruiting success finally began to pay dividends during the 2007 season. After losing a close game on neutral turf to a Missouri squad which would go on to be ranked as high as #1, the Illini ran off five straight wins, including back-to-back home wins over Penn State and Wisconsin. Illinois' 5-1 start gave them a #18 ranking in the AP poll. This was Illinois' first ranking in the AP poll since the end of the 2001 season. However, the ranking would prove to be short lived after consecutive losses to Iowa and Michigan. A homecoming win over Ball State gave the Illini bowl eligibility and a blowout win at Minnesota all but assured Zook's first bowl appearance as coach of the Illini. On November 10th, the then-unranked Illini defeated #1-ranked Ohio State in Columbus, ending the Buckeyes' 28 game home winning streak. The Illini finished the 2007 regular season by defeating Northwestern to finish 9-3 overall, 6-2 in the Big 10. Because Big Ten champion Ohio State played in the BCS National Championship game, Illinois received a bid to play in the Rose Bowl as the second ranked team in the Big Ten. Their improvement of 7 wins over the 2006 season was the largest such increase of any Division I team. His success earned him a contract extension in October 2007, which pays him approximately $1. 5 million through the 2013 season. [8] Zook's success on recruiting trail has continued as well, with Illinois currently having the #17 recruiting class in 2008 according to rivals. com. [9]
On November 20, 2007, Ron Zook was selected as the Big Ten Coach of the Year. Events 284 - Diocletian was chosen as Roman Emperor. 762 - Bögü Khan of the Uyghurs, [10] Zook also was awarded the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award following the 2007 season. [11]
Zook's enthusiasm on and off the field has spread to the long dormant Illinois football fanbase, evidenced by four sellouts in the 2007 season. Zook's Illini team runs a "Veer Option" offense. Additionally, on extra points, they employ a "swinging gate" play, in order to try to confuse the defense.
Trivia
- The television media, notably commentators on ESPN's SportsCenter and College Football GameDay, often refer to Ron Zook's teams as the "Zookers". ESPN, originally an acronym for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, is an American Cable television network dedicated to SportsCenter is a daily Sports news Television show and the flagship program of American Cable network ESPN since the network College GameDay is an ESPN show covering College football. It first aired in 1987 with Tim Brando as host and Lee Corso and He was named the Liberty Mutual National Coach of the year.
- Zook won his final game as Florida's coach at the newly named "Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium". As a result, many Gator fans jokingly refer to the stadium as "Ron Zook Field. "[2]
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Gators (Southeastern Conference) (2002 – 2004) | |||||||||
| 2002 | Florida | 8-5 | 6-2 | 2 - East | L Outback Bowl | 24 | - | ||
| 2003 | Florida | 8-5 | 6-2 | 1 - East (t) | L Outback Bowl | 25 | 24 | ||
| 2004 | Florida | 7-4 (*) | 4-4 | 3 - East | (*) | 25 | - | ||
| Florida: | 23-14 | 16-8 | |||||||
| Illinois Fighting Illini (Big Ten Conference) (2005 — present) | |||||||||
| 2005 | Illinois | 2-9 | 0-8 | 11 | - | - | |||
| 2006 | Illinois | 2-10 | 1-7 | 10 | - | - | |||
| 2007 | Illinois | 9-4 | 6-2 | 2 | L Rose Bowl | 18 | 20 | ||
| Illinois: | 13-23 | 7-17 | |||||||
| Total: | 35-37 | ||||||||
| National Championship Conference Title Conference Division Title | |||||||||
| †Indicates BCS bowl game. The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the Southeastern Conference 's Eastern division The Southeastern Conference (SEC is a College Athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which operates in the southeastern The Outback Bowl is an annual College football Bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Florida. The Outback Bowl is an annual College football Bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Florida. The Illinois Fighting Illini are a major College football program The Rose Bowl Game is an annual American College football Bowl game, usually played on January 1 ( New Year's Day) at the Rose #Rankings from final Coaches Poll of the season. The USA Today Coaches' Poll is the current name for a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I-A College football and Division I °Rankings from final AP Poll of the season. |
|||||||||
(*) The 2004 Florida team finished 7-5 after losing the Peach Bowl to Miami. The Chick-fil-A Bowl, formerly called the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, and before that simply (and perhaps more familiarly called the Peach Bowl, is an annual The University of Miami Hurricanes football team is a collegiate football program that represents the University of Miami. However, Ron Zook had already accepted the Illinois job and declined to coach the bowl game.
| Preceded by Ron Turner |
University of Illinois Football Head Coaches 2005– |
Succeeded by Current |
| Preceded by Steve Spurrier |
University of Florida Head Football Coach 2001–2004 |
Succeeded by Charlie Strong (interim) |
References
- ^ Isiah Williams - Football Recruiting
- ^ Arrelious Benn Profile - Football Recruiting
- ^ Scout.com: Football Recruiting
- ^ High School Confidential
- ^ Martez Wilson Profile - Football Recruiting
- ^ Scout.com: D'Angelo McCray Profile
- ^ http://illinois.rivals.com/teamrank.asp
- ^ Illinois' strong start earns Ron Zook extension, raise - USATODAY.com
- ^ http://rivals100.rivals.com/teamrank.asp?SID=880
- ^ http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/football/cs-illinifoot20nov20,1,4722441.story?coll=cs-college-print
- ^ Coach of the Year
External links
Ron Turner (born December 5, 1953 in Martinez California) has had two separate stints as the Offensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears The Fighting Illini (also known as The Illini) are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945 in Miami Beach Florida) is a former American football player and currently the head coach The University of Florida ( Florida or UF) is a public land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant major Research Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Charlie R Strong (born August 2, 1960 in Batesville Arkansas) is a College football coach currently serving as co- DefensiveDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic