Steve Spurrier responds to claims he and Florida AD Scott Stricklin disagree on next Gators' coach
Florida is looking for a new coach after parting ways with Jim McElwain, and the top-two candidates seem to be former NFL coach Chip Kelly and current UCF coach Scott Frost.
Legendary Florida coach Steve Spurrier is a big player in Gainesville these days, so it would be wise for the Gators to at least consider his opinion when making a new hire.
However, on Wednesday, Florida insider Darren Heitner tweeted that AD Scott Stricklin wants Kelly, while Spurrier wants Frost for the job:
Florida update:
Stricklin wants to move quick.
Chip won’t last long on the market.
Stricklin is good with Chip.
Chip is good with UF.
Spurrier wants Frost.
Frost not looking at opps til Dec.Big moment for Stricklin here.
— Darren Heitner (@DarrenHeitner) November 15, 2017
Shortly thereafter, though, Spurrier took to Twitter himself to respond to the claims by Heitner, saying he trusts Stricklin and that he’s not recommending anyone for the job at this time:
I am not recommending anyone for the job. We all have complete confidence that Scott Stricklin will make the best choice for our school – and we will support his decision 100 percent. https://t.co/GREyvfIfFW
— Coach Steve Spurrier (@SteveSpurrierUF) November 15, 2017
Rumors about the Gators hiring Kelly are heating up lately, so it’ll be interesting to see how that situation plays out.
Frost has also been connected to a potential opening at Nebraska, his alma mater, so perhaps the Gators don’t want to wait if there’s a chance they could miss out on the UCF coach.