Meyer Gone, but Florida Won't Be Lost if They Answer 10 Questions Quickly

The top 10 questions to be answered are:

1. Is Meyer's leave permanent or is he taking a year off to settle his medical issues and then possibly return? Not likely, but possible. For all practical purposes, Meyer is gone as the head coach.

2. Is being the last ship to seek a captain going to put Florida behind all the others? Yes, but only a little. They've already lost out on Brian Kelley but there are several who will jump ship to come to Florida.

3. How long will Florida wait to make a decision? Long enough to do it right. After the Ron Zook experiment, they know not to hurry and make a bad decision, but are conscious they must make a quick one for recruiting purposes.

4. How do we deal with the players who are in shock right now? Assure them that you are going to get them the best coach available, that Florida won game before Meyer and will after him too. Make them feel special and put it on their shoulders that it's up to them to lead the next generation of Gators to glory.

5. Will this have an effect of recruits? Yes it always does, but not to a great extent. Florida needs to get out the message that they were winners before Meyer, during Meyer and will be after Meyer.

6. Will the assistant coaches stay? Yes, they are under contract in almost all cases and if the new coach dismisses them, Florida is obligated to pay them. New coaches usually keep very few of them however, except when existing coaches are promoted. Assure the assistants that they paychecks are secure and to stay on the recruiting trail and to earn their paychecks. Assure them that you'll put in a good word for the new coach to keep as many of them as possible.

7. What do the the Gators do with Meyer? He is under contract and they may owe him money depending on his contract if it is in fact health reasons. No new coach wants him looking over his shoulder, so you give him a job on paper at the university, use him for fund raising and speaking engagements and put a statue of him.

8. What can Florida do to minimize the damage? Act quickly, make a good hire, act confident in the hiring decision and don't look back.

9. Will Meyer have a voice in selecting his replacement? Not likely at all, but for public relations purposes they may be wise to say his input is valuable.

10. Does this mean there's a power shift in the SEC now? Yes but it had nothing to do with Meyer leaving, rather than Nick Saban simply reclaiming it. But it does open the door to the other SEC East teams.