FOOTBALL AND THE INTERNET More and more coaches facing high-tech detractors

Unhappy fans create websites devoted to lampooning embattled coaches.
By RON HIGGINS
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
Florida football fans exiting Ben Hill Griffin Stadium after last week's 20-17 loss by the Gators to Ole Miss got a reminder of how to voice their disappointment.
A banner hanging across the front of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house read, "fireronzook.com".
While that Web site concerning Florida's embattled football coach got so many visitors after the loss that it couldn't be accessed, web traffic dropped drastically on firedavidcutcliffe.com.
Welcome to the high-tech fan discontent of the new millennium.
Groundswell
It seems that if there is a groundswell of fans not happy with their coach these days, the easiest way to vent is on a Web site, whether it's the one for Zook, Cutcliffe or Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill (firejackiesherrill.com).
"I believe everyone in America has a right to say what they want to," Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone said. "But where it crosses the borderline is when it either gets personal, profane or there's misinformation."
What Boone and State athletic director Larry Templeton dislike most is that fans can post anonymous messages on the Web sites.
No decision
"Nobody signing their name bothers me, there's no accountability," said Templeton, who added he didn't know about the Web site devoted to firing Sherrill, and has said repeatedly that no decision will be made about Sherrill's future until the end of the season. Sherrill is 74-69-2 in 13 seasons at State, but is 7-21 in the last three seasons.
"We always evaluate after the season," Templeton said.
Early-season losses to Memphis and Texas Tech brought out the wolves baying about Cutcliffe, but there's no denying a 2-0 record in the SEC's Western Division after the win at Florida should cool things off. At least for a couple of weeks. In his fifth season, Cutcliffe is 33-21 overall and 17-17 in the SEC.
"I think coaches understand that you can go from a goat to a hero in one week," Boone said. "One week, we can fly into Tupelo as a team after a loss and the road to Oxford is desolate with nothing but coyotes and roadkill.
"But when you win a road game and you get on those buses to go from Tupelo to Oxford, people are honking their horns and cheering."
Heat on Zook
At Florida, the heat on Zook has been there from almost day one when he -- not Oklahoma's Bob Stoops or Mike Shanahan of the Denver Broncos -- was the choice to succeed Steve Spurrier.
Spurrier's Florida teams won six SEC championships and a national title in 12 years.
The fact Zook is 11-8 and has lost four home games since succeeding Spurrier has fanned the flames of discontent and short-circuited the Web site.
"I'm sure it's heated up good," Zook said. "But I can't waste energy dealing with things I have no control over."