Pouncey pumped about Addazio getting Temple job
Wednesday, December 29, 2010 | Football, Softball, Scott Carter
Gators senior center Mike Pouncey was thrilled at the news last Thursday night when Florida offensive coordinator Steve Addazio dialed up.
Addazio called one of his favorite players during his six years at Florida to tell Pouncey that he was going to be introduced as the new head coach at Temple the next day.
“I was excited for him,'' Pouncey said. “That's my boy. They always say faithfulness and loyalty will always pay off, and it paid off for him.''
It's no secret that the 2010 season was a tough one for Addazio, who took much of the criticism from fans and media for UF's offensive woes. Addazio plowed on through the naysayers without tossing anyone under the bus.
“He took the blame for a lot of people [this season],'' Pouncey said. “He's a great coach. He's not one of the guys who is going to point the finger. If everybody thinks it's him, he's going to take it on his shoulders. He is one of those kinds of coaches.''
Addazio was also the one who stepped in last winter to lead the program when head coach Urban Meyer took a break from the day-to-day offseason grind. After 25 years in coaching – Addazio's only job as head coach came at Cheshire (Conn.) High from 1988-94 – Pouncey is thankful his position coach finally gets a shot to run his own program.
Addazio is coaching his final game with the Gators in Saturday's Outback Bowl vs. Penn State.
“No matter all the hard stuff he went through, he went to work with a smile on his face and he coached as hard as he could,'' Pouncey said. “Everybody can say something about the play-calling, but if 11 people do their job on one play, we're going to score a touchdown every time.''
