Just My Type

UM: The pressure for me is to keep focused and do what I like to do. I love coaching players, I love teaching, and I love building teams. I'm not a big fan of dealing with all the nonsense in college sports. If I get involved with someone [in recruiting] who's not doing it the right way, I'm going to walk away. If that means we're not going to get a great player, [O.K.]. I'm going to do what I love to do and what I'm pretty decent at, and then I'm going home at the end of the day.

DP: Is this your last job?

UM: I think so. I've made some comments before that have come back to haunt me, because you just don't know. I hope it is.

DP: Were you surprised by the reaction from Florida fans when you left?

UM: I was. I tried to say I didn't listen, but I heard some. There were fans who were upset—I mean really upset—when we beat Tennessee by only 10 points [in 2009]. So I tried not to let that bother me. But I'd be lying if I said it didn't. I heard things like "dishonest," and that couldn't be further from the truth.

DP: How surprised are you by the success of your former quarterback, Tim Tebow?

UM: I'm not surprised at all. Tim's a magical player. But I tell Tim to chill out now because he has to realize he's just a cog in the machine.

DP: How concerned were you about Tebow's throwing motion when you recruited him?

UM: Big time. There were a lot of people who said he couldn't play quarterback, and I was one of them. He wasn't my top-ranked quarterback. Then I went and watched him play a baseball game, and I walked away saying that was the most competitive human being I've ever seen. He moved to the top of the list real fast.

DP: Were you concerned by Tebow's openness about his religion?