First, a little history on Steve Rissler.
Rissler started 24 games and appeared in 42 games at Florida from 2003-2006. Mostly played guard and tackle, but moved to center during the 2006 National Championship season after the departure of Mike Degory. Made first-team All-SEC for his senior season in 2006.
So, without further ado, here it is:
Joey: First, I’d like to say thanks for agreeing to do this interview, Steve. It means a lot.
Rissler: No problem. My pleasure.
Joey: As a former player at UF, what were your first thoughts after seeing a University of Florida Gator football team go 4-8 this past year?
Rissler: Wow. Just wow. Shocking. It was the perfect storm- in a bad way. Injuries piling up. Bad offensive play calls. Losing your starting QB was tough even though I don’t think Driskel is very good. No excuse for losing to an FCS team at home. Absolutely no excuse for any of it. It was hard to watch this entire season as a former player.
Joey: Do you think Muschamp has what it takes to be a head coach at a big time SEC program like Florida?
Rissler: Honestly, I do not. I will say, like him as a person. He is a fiery guy and seems to be a really nice guy, but he needs to go develop at a small school and then can come back to coach at a bigger school. No reason at the University of Florida to hire a longtime coordinator instead of proven head coach.
Joey: We know Muschamp and his staff can recruit really well, so what is he not doing to develop the talent he gets?
Rissler: To me, it’s lack of discipline. 100% coaches fault with lack of discipline. Actually, Coach Meyer, contrary to what the media tells you, was a disciplinarian. Meyer was an intimidating coach. It was hard to have a normal conversation with him (Meyer). Muschamp seems to be more of a players coach like Ron Zook. Muschamp doesn’t demand the respect that a Nick Saban does or Coach Meyer did with us. We all loved Zook, but it was a detriment to our team to have a “players coach”.
Joey: Being a former BCS National Champion at Florida, don’t you feel a sense of pride and duty to expect to see your teams legacy carried on at UF and see future teams excel just as yours did under Coach Urban Meyer?
Rissler: Absolutely. One thing about College Football is that its very hard to win. It all starts with recruiting and developing talent. You do commit to a coach as much as the school. You always expect excellence but you do understand that you won’t win the SEC every year. Having said that, there’s absolutely no excuse at UF for going 4-8. Regardless of circumstances.
Joey: Being the offensive minded guy that you are, haven’t you been completely disgusted with what has happened to the offense at Florida the last 3 seasons?
Rissler: It’s been absolutely horrible. Scale of 1-10 it is a 10 on the disgust level. Driskel has no ability to throw the ball downfield. He can’t throw a good ball 30 yards. Run bubble screens and quick slants. Get his confidence up. He is a spread QB. Nothing special from Brent Pease the last 2 seasons. I cringed when I watched his play calling.
Joey: What results will Coach Muschamp have to produce next year in order to get a 5th season as Florida’s head coach?
Rissler: Hard to say. Foley really likes him. Only way he saves job is with 9-10 wins. Complete turnaround. Anything around 6 wins, and he will be gone. UF should find another head coach with head coaching experience and not a coordinator.
Joey: Thanks for your time Steve.
Rissler: Anytime man. Take care.
