Gators switching to pro style offense?

Urban Meyer has made a career on running the spread-option offense - he lit up scoreboards for two years at Bowling Green, which landed him the gig at Utah, which landed him the Florida job, which landed him two BCS championship trophies, which landed him a lot of zeroes on his paycheck. But are the days of the option pitch, jet sweep and jump pass coming to an end in Gainesville? Already we know that Tim Tebow and John Brantley spent countless hours this spring working on hand-offs and drop-backs from under center during spring practice. And that the coaches spent most of the spring identifying players who could play fullback as Gators tinkered with an “I-formation” offense. … Apparently Florida’s coaching staff (i.e. quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler) is downplaying the whole spread-option thing, and telling recruits that a more pro-style offense is being installed. – Palm Beach Post

Wisconsin football coach forced to take furlough?

University of Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema is scheduled to receive a $100,000 pay increase for the 2009 season. But will he get all of it? In the wake of the elimination of the 2% raise most state employees were scheduled to receive beginning June 1 and the 16 furlough days Gov. Jim Doyle mandated for all state employees over the next two years, the UW athletic department is trying to get a handle on what the cost-cutting measures mean to its employees. “Coaches are all covered under individual contracts and they actually state what they’ll be paid, so it remains to be seen if they are essentially guaranteed this money in a contract or are we able to withhold that from them,” said John Jentz, the athletic department’s associate director of business operations. “I don’t know.” No answers came from the UW System Board of Regents meeting Thursday, only a reiteration that there would be no exceptions to the furlough. The furlough, which will amount to about a 3% pay cut for the next two years, takes effect July 1. – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel