FLORIDA Zook out, coaching search begins

The Gators will consider several candidates, including Steve Spurrier .
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley should have an easier time with this coaching search.
Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan and Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops turned down the job in 2002, neither one wanting the dubious task of replacing Steve Spurrier.
It could be much different now.
Ron Zook was fired Monday after two-plus years and a stack of embarrassments on and off the field, satisfying a growing groundswell for his ouster that began the day he replaced Spurrier.
Zook will finish out the season while Foley and school president Bernie Machen search for another coach.
New old coach
They might start with Spurrier, who resigned from the Washington Redskins after two lackluster seasons.
"We will discuss this job with a number of coaches, and obviously if Coach Spurrier is interested, we will sit down with him," Foley said.
Spurrier, playing in a charity golf event near Orlando, avoided questions about his interest in returning to the Gators.
"I'll talk about that another time," he said. "I don't think there's anything that I can say that is really appropriate at this time."
Foley said he won't discuss the opening with coaches with jobs until after the season.
If Spurrier doesn't return, Stoops and Utah coach Urban Meyer could be possibilities. Stoops was Spurrier's defensive coordinator for three seasons at Florida (1996-98) before leaving for Norman.
"My job is at Oklahoma and I've always felt privileged to coach here," Stoops said. "That's where my full concentration and commitment are."
Louisville coach Bobby Petrino also could be in the mix.
Poor record
The Gators are 20-13 under Zook with four games remaining -- that's just 14 losses fewer than Spurrier had in 12 seasons.
Zook's latest debacle, a 38-31 loss to Mississippi State, sealed his fate.
"When the situation starts going downhill, it's hard sometimes to push it back up," Foley said. "I think the situation got out of control, even for him."
Just weeks before the Mississippi State loss, reports surfaced that Zook had a heated confrontation with fraternity members on campus last month. Zook initially downplayed his role, saying he went there to defuse the situation, but Foley later acknowledged that Zook yelled at students and called the behavior "unacceptable."
Foley said the same thing about the mounting losses -- many of them late collapses.