Florida AD Scott Stricklin shares how hiring a new coach is like buying fruit
Florida's Scott Stricklin has made a number of key decisions since coming on board as the Gators athletic director in 2016.
From a football perspective, he oversaw the departure of Jim McElwain in his first year on the job followed by the hire of Dan Mullen, who lasted four seasons on the job before being let go with a 34-15 overall mark in Gainesville. With his latest football hire, Stricklin was able to land one of the most sought after coaches in the last few coaching cycles by hiring away Billy Napier from Louisiana.
A few weeks ago the Gators lost head men's basketball coach Mike White, who opted for a fresh start and a bit of a career reset in taking the head coaching job at SEC foe Georgia.
That put Stricklin back on the hunt to fill a high profile job for the Gators, who won back-to-back titles on the hardwood under Billy Donovan during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.
Today, Stricklin announced new head men's basketball coach Todd Golden. A former director of basketball operations at Auburn for a few seasons under Bruce Pearl, Golden put together a few impressive seasons at San Francisco, where they won 22 games his first season, and made the NCAA tournament, finishing with a mark of 24-10.
Many criticized the hire as a bit out of left field, as Golden is young at just 36 years old and has just three years of head coaching experience and very limited experience in the SEC footprint.
In his remarks on the new leader of Gator basketball, Stricklin provided an interesting note to those critical of his hire by sharing how hiring a new head coach at a place like Florida is a lot like shopping for produce.
"Sometimes people think that because you're Florida you can't hire a guy from San Francisco."
"But it's like we're buying fruit in the produce section. You don't want something that's ripe today, you want something that's going to be ripe for a long time."
If Stricklin thinks this way, it's safe to say other ADs have the same thought process. As coaches, you want to be the fruit that's going to be ripe for a long time, not just the best looking fruit on the stand for that day.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
