Complaints on this guy from Florida fans, I hate to admit it, he does sound like Muschamp's kind of OC
Run up the middle with the speed back, run option with a drop back QB, mis use WRs, try to fit personal into his system, stubborn
1) Does not use players to their strengths.
John Brantley can throw the football. Yet all Addazio did with him was run the option- which is more like a non-option, because everybody knows Brantley can't carry the ball, and throw little bubble (more like baby, because a newborn baby can crawl further than the play gains) screen pass.
Jeff Demps, an Olympic track runner who weighs about the same as a beach ball (he is surprisingly muscular for his frame, and is a decent blocker... but he's still tiny!!!). During the Miami Ohio and South Florida games, Addazio ran him up the middle so much that he got bruised (and later injured, during the Tennessee game). With the fans booing their lungs out in each game, Addazio called a sweep to Demps probably thinking that the fans would shut up once they saw that King Steve was right, and all his little subjects were wrong. Lo and behold, Demps goes 73 yards for a TD against Miami Ohio, and 62 yards for another TD against USF. The fans who weren't silent with shock cheered, causing Addazio to grumble to himself, lucky break.
2) Inability to Adjust
See this year's Miami Ohio, Alabama, and Mississippi State games, along with last year's SEC Championship game. Dives, screens, and quick outs littered the field in pretty much every game this year. 26 yards of total offense throughout the Miami game was the most disgraceful so I'll start there. Forget the bad snaps for now (Addazio's fault as well, I'll cover that later). Dive after dive after dive, then a punt. Next drive: dive, screen pass, dive (punt). Next drive: bad snap, dive, bad snap. It pretty much went on like this all game, yet Addazio only took one deep shot THE ENTIRE GAME (a drop by Thompson. No doubt Addazio stuck out his chin and said "Ha! Told you so, fans!!! That's why I don't do that!!!"). The Alabama game was even worse. The Tide went up early, and stayed there as they slowly added to their lead, while Addazio countered their TD drives with the lethal dive play and its equally dangerous complement, the screen pass. He refused to take a shot downfield all game, even down 31-6. Alabama could have won the game if they took knees the rest of the game. And that's essentially what they did.
3) Too Conservative/Overuse of Staying on Schedule
I've touched on this previously, but it needs mention all by itself because it is such a glaring issue. Here is Addazio's philosophy for play-calling.
1st and 10. Goal: Get 3-4 yards.
2nd and 6/7 Goal: Get 3-4 yards.
3rd and 2/3/4 Goal: Get the first down.
The only issue with this is that every play is supposed to get 2-4 yards. And since Addazio is too stubborn or downright stupid to adjust... well, that's a prescription for disaster, because once the other team realizes that Florida is just trying to gain 4 yards maximum on every play, that's what they defend. Then those 4 yard plays turn into one yard plays, if it doesn't lose yardage, because the defense will stack the box on every play, daring Florida to beat them any other way. Dan Mullen used to punish defenses by throwing the home run ball, and even if it fell incomplete, he sent a message to the defense that Florida can beat you with the long ball, so back off or it will hurt you. But alas, he is gone. And we have an idiot as a playcaller instead of a real man.
