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CBS Sports' Bruce Feldman and Jacksonville radio reporter Frank Frangie are each chiming in on Florida's firings of offensive coordinator Brent Pease and offensive line coach Tim Davis by reporting that friction between the two coaches hampered the Gators' offense in 2013.
A big issue for #UF this year I'm told was friction between OC & OL coach. Muschamp fired both today: http://t.co/T3rTNFa36N
— Bruce Feldman (@BFeldmanCBS) December 1, 2013
CBS Sports' Chip Patterson also passes this along from Feldman:
One of the big issues UF had this season was friction between Pease and Davis, who according a source told Feldman were almost never on the same page.
Frangie confirmed and added some specificity to Feldman's comments:
@BFeldmanCBS just reported there was friction between Pease & Davis. I was told OC called things OL coach didn't think they could block.
— Frank Frangie (@Frank_Frangie) December 1, 2013
Source close to Davis told me Pease would call things, develop plans, etc. that Davis just didn't think made much sense. Head scratchers.
— Frank Frangie (@Frank_Frangie) December 1, 2013
Whether this is fully true or accurate is up for debate, but it checks out on its face in some respects: Pease was fond of slow-developing runs, most notably counters that often required a hop-step from Florida's quarterbacks, combined sweep/read concepts that forced Florida's line to hold blocks and then pull, and misdirection plays featuring reverse and end-around actions.
But Pease also typically ran fairly standard passing routes, some slow-developing, and both Pease and Davis worked harmoniously enough in 2012 with healthier personnel to give Florida's defense the cushions necessary to lock down opposing offenses and preserve win after win.