The 2025 season brought another disappointing year for the University of Florida, culminating in yet another coaching change. Florida found itself searching for its fifth head coach since Urban Meyer, and from the outside, the process appeared misaligned at times, frustrating Gator Nation. These repeated setbacks raise serious questions about the leadership guiding the athletic program. Fan and former player Corey Hobbs reached out to me with thoughts he wanted to share about Florida’s leadership situation—thoughts rooted in his experience as a player who learned that winning requires strategic vision, decisive action, and a refusal to accept mediocrity.
Some Do. Some Don’t.
Truly successful companies are masters of perception, long-term strategy, and identifying the ultimate goals of the organization. They then utilize internal resources (read: money) to prioritize those goals, create a plan of action to implement the strategy, align that plan of action with the aforementioned resources, and execute that plan to achieve those goals. Perhaps most importantly, they also have an awareness of their efforts as they relate to their buyers, and how those efforts and that product will be perceived by said buyers.
I say that to ask the following: what long term goals does the University of Florida athletic association have, what resources do they have to execute the plan of action to achieve that goal, and what plan have they put in place to achieve that goal? Finally, and perhaps most importantly, how have those strategies and actions been perceived by those that follow that administration in their efforts to achieve those goals?
Four years ago, my two partners and I started an insurance agency. We identified a void in the marketplace and exploited that void as an advantage to launch our agency. Admittedly, most would say we’re still in the early days of a new business, but I can say with confidence that if we are to succeed long-term, it will be because of that foresight and strategy that we will be able to sustain long-term success. I take immense pride in the fact that our efforts to date have also been perceived in a very positive manner, and that perception long term is at the forefront of everything we do. In my current role, I lead our sales team in their efforts to “win”. Almost always in my conversations with those men, I tell them that perception of the buyer is the only reality. It’s incumbent upon them to craft the message they’re delivering with a focus upon the reality of how that message will be perceived. The facts behind the scenes are somewhat irrelevant, since if the buyer doesn’t buy your product, those facts truly are irrelevant. They must figure out how to accurately portray those facts in a manner that still aligns with closing the deal but also tracks from a professional, moral, and ethical standpoint. At its core, that statement stems from lessons I learned during my four years playing for the University of Florida, from 2006-2010.
I’m not necessarily saying I took those lessons directly from experiences at UF, but more in the vein that during my time, our teams were hyper focused on identifying our edge (dynamic offense and stifling defense), utilizing internal resources (best in class personnel), and implementing a plan of action to achieve the ultimate goal (SEC and national championships).
PODCAST: JON SUMRALL FLORIDA GATORS OPENING PRESS CONFERENCE: “I was made for this job.”
One stark memory from my time at UF is a perceived misalignment between our coaching staff and the athletic association. I recall many times a distinct “stink” in the room when Foley and Co. were present. I don’t pretend to think the coaching staff was without fault during those times, and enough has come out since my playing days about that staff and Urban Meyer specifically that I’m sure that “stink” in the room was as much the fault of the football staff as the UAA staff, but one thing I was always confident in was the fact that our teams were going to win, no matter the headwinds we encountered, both externally and internally, due to our edge, plan implementation, and ultimate execution of the plan.
Fast forwarding 15 years, I focus on what I can perceive as an outsider, and I hold no illusions that I’m anything but an outsider at this point. I think it’s safe to say that the perception of the Florida football program and the Florida athletics department as a whole, both in the state and at a national level, is overwhelmingly negative. 15 years of sub-par football, no Director’s Cup Top 5 finishes, continued failed coaching hires across multiple sports, slow to react to facility improvement, slow to react to the needs of roster management, slow to react to the realities of NIL, slow to react to former player support and outreach (regardless of sport), little to no emphasis on an “F Club” experience that is beyond what would be considered the bare minimum, slow to react to the overwhelming perception of their support base, and finally slow to react to a realization that football at the University of Florida is the straw that stirs the drink. As of this writing, the UF faithful have sold out 18 straight home games, all while watching the worst on field product in decades. If that’s not best in class fan support, I don’t know what is. Credit where it’s due, things have been done recently to improve some of what I’ve mentioned, but I continue to ask myself, why are we playing catch-up? Why are we reacting and not acting? Why is my perception the way it is, and what could’ve been done to change that in the past? I’m certainly biased when it comes to Florida football, and I WANT to perceive the program in a positive light. So if I don’t, with my ties to the program, how easy is it for someone with no emotional attachment to perceive that program in a negative light? There are real things to be fixed, for former athletes and fans both. Our teams are nothing without the fan base, and our fan base wouldn’t exist without the teams. But I ask, why do the fans come to the games? Is it for a stadium that’s been updated? Or is it to watch Gator teams hang half a hundred? The fans used to come in the 90’s and early 2000’s and sit on bleacher’s without chair backs (as a matter of fact, the vast majority still do) just so they could watch a product they can be proud of. They don’t come to games to watch terrible football and an administration that doesn’t care about what they want. They come to the games IN SPITE of what they’re seeing on the field these days. But how long does that last?
If there are one or two facets in the previous paragraph that this reader should key in on, it should be “reaction over action”, and “perception”. If any program or company, at any level, is only reacting they can never identify an edge, exploit that edge, and ultimately win decisively. And if the perception of what an athletics program is doing is overwhelmingly perceived in a negative light, then by the very definition of perception, that program leadership is doing something wrong.
Regarding the most recent hire of Jon Sumrall, it’s my opinion that success, failure, or a mixture of the two at one level of football does not always equate success or failure at the next level. Because a coach implemented one plan of action at a certain level or at one school (that worked to a certain degree) does not mean that exact same plan will be implemented at another level, or another school. Using my words above, it’s incumbent upon the new staff to identify their Florida specific edge, muster Florida level resources to implement that edge, and capitalize. I truly believe that any coach that succeeds enough to command consideration by a higher-level school can succeed at that school, but what remains to be seen is whether the support structure or system in question is prepared to provide what is needed to succeed at that specific level. On-field coaching results aside, which won’t be known for at least a year, who can expect to win if the playing field isn’t at least level? Ideally, you give your coaching staff every single advantage possible, and most importantly, you give them the advantages no one else has even thought of yet. Nothing is fair in love and war, and especially not on the battlefield that is the SEC. So why aren’t we at least fighting fair? To date, the administration of Florida has only reacted to reality when it’s become obvious that those reactions are years too late. What is the next advantage the administration can identify? It’s not my job to figure that out. It’s Scott Stricklin’s and his team’s job. Will that change now? Stricklin’s tenure to date suggests that it won’t.
I will wholeheartedly support Coach Sumrall in his efforts to lead the Florida Gators onto the football field in 2026, and I will conflate none of the above statements with his efforts to coach that team next year and beyond. I simply ask, where is the strategic leadership above the coaching staff at Florida? Because all I see are “why’s?” and none of the indications of forethought, resources, strategy, implementation, effective communication regarding perception, and a forward-thinking level of support to truly succeed in today’s college football world. This is not a game of keep-up, it’s a game where you win and lose.
So at the end of the day, I find myself asking the following: why is a group that can win or lose, at any level, allowed to continuously react? Why is that program’s leadership allowed, at any level, to accept continuous reaction instead of action? Why does ultimate leadership, whether it be the board of directors at my insurance agency, or the Board of Trustees at the University of Florida, allow the day-to-day leadership of the programs theyoversee to accept continuous, long-term reaction over action? And most importantly, why would they allow an overall negative and continuous perception to go on as long as it has?
I don’t pretend to know the answers to the “why’s” above, and I don’t pretend to know the details about moving parts, extenuating circumstances, or back-room conversations between power brokers and the leaders of $200 million dollar organizations. But what I do know is I spent four years at the University of Florida learning that action trumps reaction. What others perceive of your efforts is the reality. React to a situation, learn from that situation, and grow beyond that situation. Create a plan of action that utilizes the experience that comes through necessary reaction. But to a vital degree, be the one who others react to. Be the forward thinker, the visionary, and the party that isn’t afraid to break the mold. Like our coaches said in our team meetings before both national championship games: “Some do, some don’t”. For 15 years the University of Florida hasn’t.
I’ll finish with a statement posed as questions to the program administration, the high-level boosters that participate in our program leadership and vision, and Scott Stricklin specifically.
During your introductory comments at Coach Sumrall’s press conference, your opening remarks centered around one main theme, that of winning. You said what was so impressive during Coach Sumrall’s interviews were his continuous focus and concentration on winning, every single day. You also referenced alignment with the culture at the University of Florida, a culture where “winning is demanded”. Finally, you referenced a pivot to a new football program structure, one where “structure matters” and where the utilization of a general manager will ensure the ability of the coaching staff to focus on their tasks, while relying on a general manager to focus on the business side of the house.
So I ask, both to Scott Stricklin and the Board of Trustees, are you prepared to say you agree with your statements about the Florida football program, and the athletic program in general? Have results to date, from a holistic perspective about the athletic program as a whole, measured up to those statements? If not, why?
I spent four years sacrificing my body and my mind to our collective efforts, wiping sweat off my brow, spitting blood into the grass, and learning the hard way that when you hit the other guy harder than he hits you, you win. So why have we spent 15 years being the ones who are getting hit first, and when will we again identify our edge, execute that edge, and FINALLY HIT SOMEONE FIRST?
To the group that steers the ship at Florida: “Some do. Some don’t.”
Writer Post-Script:
As an aside, I’d like to provide some context about who I am and why I wrote this statement, specifically to frame how I’ve phrased my communication. I’ve wrestled quite a bit about whether to remain anonymous when sending this out, but ultimately the above is a direct encapsulation of how I was coached and questioned during my time at Florida. Those that provided this sort of feedback to me were brave enough to not remain anonymous, and I don’t feel I would keep in the spirit of that style by remaining anonymous myself.
Nothing in the above was meant to be inappropriate, impolite, or derisive in any way. In fact, it was written in the spirit of the way I was coached directly, by Steve Addazio, and by extension the rest of the position coaches at Florida from 2006-2010. It was meant to ask the questions no one else seems to be asking, at least publicly. It was meant to shed light on the sort of direct, constructive, feedback that shaped me into the man, father, and partner in a business that I am today. I didn’t always agree with the feedback I got, but I always appreciated how to the point and efficient that feedback was. And I firmly believe that I truly benefited from that sort of direct coaching and molding I received. It’s my hope that this letter is received in the same fashion, in order to ultimately improve the athletic program of the University of Florida. Which is one that I love dearly and always will.
It’s Great to be a Florida Gator. – Corey Hobbs