Florida fans call for Muschamp's job

Published Nov. 11, 2013 12:00 a.m. ET

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Sam Gardner

After Saturday’s sparsely attended 34-17 home loss to Vanderbilt — the first home loss to the Commodores since 1945 — the Florida Gators find themselves in need of an upset over South Carolina this Saturday or vs. Florida State on Nov. 30 just to become bowl eligible.

UF’s 4-5 start represents a remarkable plummet from last year’s 11-2 finish and Sugar Bowl berth. While injuries have decimated the Gators on both sides of the ball and are at least somewhat responsible for the disappointing campaign, it’s only natural that the bulk of the blame eventually falls on the coach.

So it probably came as no surprise Sunday night when some frustrated Gators fans took to the Bull Gator statue outside the UF football offices to express their displeasure with Will Muschamp in the form of a sign calling for his job:

The sign also urges administrators to give offensive coordinator Brent Pease the ax — and maybe they have a point; UF ranks 111th in the country in total offense.

But the loudest noise from Gator Nation is calling for Muschamp, whose record in three seasons at UF will likely sit at 23-15 at season’s end — if he makes it there. (By comparison, Ron Zook was 23-14 on the Gators sideline when he was fired in 2004.)

Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley has reportedly given Muschamp a private vote of confidence, but it doesn’t seem to bode well for Muschamp that Foley hasn’t publicly backed the third-year coach.

Given all of Florida’s injury woes, you’ve got to imagine Muschamp will get another season to prove his worth in Gainesville. But since the fans who are still showing up to the Swamp are already pushing to have him fired as is, it would probably serve him well to not get completely embarrassed down the stretch.

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