UF was a winnable game at the time, they're just getting better. Dan is a good coach and you'd expect them to play better as the season goes along.
We just have to face the facts that we could probably be competitive with Vandy, Ole Miss and Arkansas.
We may or may not be the worst team in the SEC but we're certainly in the mix.
The good news IMO is that outside Bama and UGA, I don't think the conference is all that. Coach O, Gus, Muschamp, etc are all a bunch of average to slightly above average coaches. After the hiring debacle, JP will be given a long leash and should have every opportunity to build a solid program. Can he do it? I have no idea and neither do any of you. He was 0-0 as a HC when we hired him. That's not a knock, it's a fact.
Has he made some rookie HC mistakes? Absolutely. I'm not concerned about them. Certainly I'll gripe about them, but I'm not ready to fire him. I'm eager to see if he learns from them. That's what's more important.
It's easier said than done, but the simple analysis is he need to: #1 recruit somewhere between the #5 and #15 class every year, #2 surround himself with good coaches and #3 (mostly) stay out if their way. Demand excellence, but let them do their thing.
Butch would probably still be here if he'd done #3. Phil would still be here if he'd done #2. Dooley wasn't really capable of anything.