Ron Zook
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ron Zook (born born April 28, 1954 in Loudonville, Ohio) is the head football coach of the University of Illinois Fighting Illini in the NCAA college football tournament. Zook has gathered enormous experience as an assistant for several collegiate and professional football teams before landing head coaching jobs first at Florida, then at Illinois. Apart from being regarded as one of the top recruiting coaches in the nation, Zook also gets credit for the Illini's huge turnaround in 2007 with a nine-game improvement for its first winning season since 2001 and its first postseason appearance since 2002.
Contents |
Personal Life
Ron is married to Denise Baugh-Zook and has two daughters with her, namely Jacquelyn (an actress in Chicago) and Casey (a University of Illinois student). The family name "Zook" is actually a shortened version of the original Russian surname which was said to be 26-letters long, but was cut down to 4 by immigration officials when his grandfather arrived in the American soil. Most people have praised Ron for his work ethic and dedication, traits which he has carried since he was a kid who aspired to become a football player someday. During those days, Ron, with the help of his brother Bob, underwent a drill where he would meet head on with a rolling tire down a hill (with shoulder pads and helmet on) then push the tire back up and prepare for another shot, and so on and so forth. This kind of determination has been adapted even during his coaching days as he would take advantage of all the time he had to spend it on his job, at times even sacrificing hours of sleep and meals to draw plays or strategize. But the man, who admits to be afraid of retiring, has also found ways to unwind and relax when he is outside the realms of football, usually through water skiing. He has also flewn planes since 13, but did not fly solo since he was 16. On an interesting side note, the media has referred to Ron's teams as the "Zookers".
Playing Career
Miami (Ohio)
Zook did not receive any scholarship offers to play collegiate football in high school. He became a walk-on at Miami University of Ohio after a local dentist named Dave Mallory introduced him to his brother Bill Mallory, who turned out to be the head coach of Miami. Since then, Zook became a three-year letterwinner from 1973 through '75 after spearheading the team to three consecutive Mid-American Conference titles to go along with three straight Tangerine Bowl victories. The captain of the 1975 team ended his college career with a 32-1-1 record, before graduating in 1976 with a degree in Bachelor of Science in comprehensive science.
Assistant Coaching Career
After his stint with Miami, Zook became a journeyman of a coach as he had tour of duties with several teams from the 1980's through the 1990's. He jumpstarted his career at Orrville High School in Orrville, Ohio where he coached from 1976-77 before moving on to the collegiate ranks a year later, landing a gig as defensive backs coach for the Murray State University. After three seasons, he left to take defensive coordinator jobs at Cincinnati (1981-82) and Kansas (1983), before resuming his old duties as defensive backs coach at the University of Tennessee (1984-86) where he won his first major title (SEC championship) as a coach. Zook capped the 1980's with a couple more stops at Virginia Tech in 1987 and at Ohio State from 1988-90 before "settling down" in Gainesville in 1991. His first three years with Florida was spent as the team's defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach under Steve Spurrier and then got "demoted" to special teams duties in 1994 before receiving the associate head coach title in 1995.
Zook apparently made an impression not only to Spurrier, who had promoted him back to defensive coordinator in lieu of Bobby Pruett, but also to NFL teams particularly Pittsburgh, who offered him a job as special teams coach for three seasons (1996-98). After his stint with the Steelers, he moved over to Kansas City as defensive backs coach for the Chiefs in 1999 before arriving in New Orleans to become defensive coordinator for the Saints. In his two seasons with New Orleans, he has made signifant efforts in molding the Saints to become quite a defensive unit as the team ranked third in the NFC in total defense in 2000 and then led the NFL in quarterback sacks over the 2000-2001 period with 119.
Coaching Career
Florida
After 12 seasons, 6 Southeastern Conference championships, and 1 national title, Spurrier left Florida to coach for the Washington Redskins in the NFL, opening the door for Zook who eventually assumed the head coaching position in 2002 with very big shoes to fill. Zook's hiring wasn't actually a very popular decision among Gator fans, as evident by the Fire Ron Zook website and the weekly campaigns for his firing.
In his own campaign to prove the skeptics wrong, Zook posted a win on his first try as Gator coach with a lopsided 51-3 victory at home against UAB, but the celebration was quite short-lived as the team lost to Miami (Fla.) also at home the following week. In the course of his debut season, Zook posted wins over fourth-ranked Tennessee and fifth-ranked Georgia to compile a spotless record in the SEC Eastern Division and an 8-4 regular season finish despite tackling the sixth toughest schedule in the nation. The Gators also appeared in their 10th consecutive bowl game, losing to Michigan in the Outback Bowl, 30-38 to cap the year ranked 24th in the final ESPN/USA Today Poll. Despite the postseason defeat, UF still managed to achieve some milestones during the year, leading the league in total offense and passing while establishing school records for most offensive plays, passing attempts and completions. Defensively, the Gators also made an impact as it had the seventh-best pass defense in the nation.
For the following season, Zook managed to sway over six Parade All-American recruits to Florida enroute to putting up a class that was ranked among the top three in the nation. The team however still had a rocky start as it struggled in its first six outings posting only a 3-3 record (with losses to Miami, Tennessee, and Mississippi). But thanks to five consecutive wins, the Gators managed to win a share of the Southeastern Conference East Division championship after wins over a couple of top 12 teams, the SEC championship game protagonists, and the eventual national champion LSU. The team managed to finish with the same record as the previous season (8-4) despite playing with 14 true freshmen and 45 first-year players, and facing a schedule that was ranked second toughest in the nation with a school-record tying seven ranked opponents. But for the second straight season, the Gators were humbled in the Outback Bowl with a 17-37 defeat at the hands of Iowa before going out as the 24th ranked team in the Associated Press poll (25th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll).
The program continued on its "rebuilding stage" in 2004 as Zook was on his third year at the helm. The young Gator squad, which featured only eight returning starters (5th lowest in Bowl Subdivision), and the youngest defense in the league (eight freshmen or sophomore starters) struggled once more with losses to perennial SEC powerhouses Tennessee and LSU, and then to a lowly Mississippi State squad (which sported a 1-5 record prior to its encounter with the Gators) via a last minute touchdown. Although the loss to the Bulldogs virtually led to Zook's firing, he continued to coach UF until the regular season's end, capping his Florida journey with three straight victories against Vanderbilt, South Carolina, and Florida State (first win in Tallahassee since 1986 on the newly renamed "Bobby Bowden Field") to lead the Gators to its 17th straight winning season.
Though Zook managed to win only 23 of 37 games in his three year career at Florida, he has had several minor and major accomplishments in his tenure such as preventing two undefeated seasons of champion teams Georgia (the 2002 SEC champs whose lone loss on its 13-1 card was a 20-13 defeat to UF) and LSU (2003 SEC & national champs whose 13-1 record featured a loss in Baton Rouge against the Gators); and bringing over 22 of the 24 starters in the 2007 Florida national champion team. He has also compiled a 12-3 record against SEC East teams, had 6 wins against ranked teams on the road, and became the third coach in the 70-year history of the SEC to lead his teams to January bowl games in his first two years.
Illinois
Even before the 2004 season ended, Zook had already secured the head coaching job at Illinois. He assumed the post of namesake Ron Turner who has managed to lead the team to only two winning seasons in eight years, the last of which being in 2001 (10-2 record). Like what he did at Florida, Zook had to start from scratch at Champaign and managed to win only his first two games in 2005 (against Rutgers in a 20-point come from behind win and San Jose State, both at home) before losing nine straight for a 0-8 standing in the Big Ten.
The following year, Zook and his crew managed to recruit one of the top 30 recruiting class of 2006, which include Chicago Vocational High School product Isiah "Juice" Williams. The team however still turned out another dismal year with only two wins to show (Eastern Illinois and Michigan State) and a 1-7 standing in the league. But the team's improvement was evident as they have showcased their ability to hang with the finest teams in the nation after nearly upsetting top-ranked Ohio State and playing well against Iowa, Wisconsin, and Penn State. Stats also showed the Illini's development as it rose at the top of the league in rushing with an average of 188.8 yards per game and has likewise improved on the defensive end after limiting opponents to less than 100 yards rushing average than the previous year. That season, Zook also ushered in some more talents to the Illinois fold with the recruitment of top wide receiver prospect Arrelious Benn, Simeon High School standout Martez Wilson, and Florida prospect D'Angelo McCray to the 2007 class which was rated within the top 25 in the nation.
In his third year in Illinois, the team started to reap the fruits of their recruitment after bouncing back from a 34-40 loss to the rejuvinated Missouri squad in the season opener with five consecutive victories against Western Illinois (shut-out), Syracuse (41-20), Indiana (27-14), Penn State (27-20), and Wisconsin (31-26) leading to its first appearance in the Associated Press poll since 2001 (No.18). A pair of setbacks to Iowa and Michigan would derail the Illini's hopes temporarily, but thanks to convincing wins against Ball State and Minnesota, Illinois was back on the hunt for another postseason appearance. A week later, Illinois went to Columbus and recorded an upset win over top-ranked Ohio State, 28-21 to end the 28-game home winning streak of the Buckeyes and slightly assuring themsleves of landing a BCS bowl game. The team ended the regular season with a win at Northwestern but the youthful squad could not get the job done in the postseason, falling prey to a very experienced USC Trojan team at the Rose Bowl. Nevertheless, Zook's 2007 Illinois team had a 7-game turnaround from the previous season which was tops in the FBS. His success also earned him a contract extension worth approximately $1.5 million through 2013 in October 2007 and the Big Ten coach of the year crown the following month. In addition, he was awarded with the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year trophy following the 2007 season.
Highlights
| Finalist Ron Zook's Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year video profile. |
Year-by-Year
| Year | School | Record | Conference | Standing | Bowl | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Gators (Southeastern Conference) (2002 — 2004) | ||||||
| 2002 | Florida | 8-5 | 6-2 | 2nd (East) | L - Outback Bowl | #24 Coaches Poll |
| 2003 | Florida | 8-5 | 6-2 | 1st - T (East) | L - Outback Bowl | #25 Coaches Poll; #24 AP Poll |
| 2004 | Florida | 7-4 | 4-4 | 3rd (East) | did not coach | #25 Coaches Poll |
| Florida | 23-14 | 16-8 | ||||
| Illinois Fighting Illini (Big Ten Conference) (2005 — present) | ||||||
| 2005 | Illinois | 2-9 | 0-8 | 11th | ||
| 2006 | Illinois | 2-10 | 1-7 | 10th | ||
| 2007 | Illinois | 9-4 | 6-2 | 2nd | L - Rose Bowl | #18 Coaches; #20 AP Poll |
| Illinois | 13-23 | 7-17 | ||||
| Total | 35-37 | |||||
References
External Links
Categories: Illinois head coaches | NCAA head football coaches | Big Ten Conference head football coaches
