Somewhere there is an Illinois fan with a shrine to Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley.

Foley fired football coach Ron Zook Monday. Foley was also kind enough to let Zook coach the Gators’ final four games.

Talk about an uncomfortable situation.

Foley tried to fix a problem but very well may have created another one – a players’ revolt that could affect the players’ on-the-field improvement.

Illinois fans, stop hoping athletic director Ron Guenther will fire football coach Ron Turner right now.

The same thing going on at Florida could easily happen here if Turner was to be fired today – and Illinois’ future would be ruined.

Florida is a young, talented team. The players are very close to Zook.

Florida could be a top-15 team next year. Scrap that if the team pouts over its coach’s future.

“It just felt like (Foley) was saying, ‘Forget the rest of this season. I don’t care what you guys think,'” said senior linebacker Trevor Harris to the Associated Press.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to adversity and sports.

Teams rally together. Or they fold quicker than Dan Harrington with a 7-2 off-suit.

Foley could have kept his football team from facing this decision by waiting until the season ended to fire Zook. Potentially hiring Steve Spurrier is not more important than ruining this football program for the next few years.

Think Florida will rally together, listen to senior safety Jarvis Herring talk to the AP:

“(Foley) basically just ripped the heart out of the team,” Herring said. “He kept saying it was all about the team, all about the team. No, it’s not about the team. It’s really about the damn boosters and the fans or whatever. That’s all it’s about. It’s nothing about us. We’re just in the middle. We’re just trapped.”

Illinois has a team with young talent too.

Illinois has a team that is loyal to its coach too.

So loyal, players may seriously consider boycotting the final games.

“We all believe in coach Turner,” said Illinois senior wide receiver Mark Kornfeld. “The guys love playing for him. If you go and talk to any of the players’ parents or any of the players, guys like coach Turner.”

Illinois has been here before.

Illinois fired Lou Tepper before the end of the 1996 season, but he coached for the rest of the season. Tepper’s team had no future when he was fired.

Turner’s guys do.

The last two recruiting classes have been stellar – both in the top 30 according to ESPN recruiting analyst Tom Lemming.

This Illinois team is tight-knit. The worst thing that could happen to the Illini is that the team could become fractured – and firing Turner could do just that.

Some players would play for Turner. Some players would play for themselves. Some players would try to do everything – in order to impress the next coach.

Tight-knit teams have chemistry – one of the most underrated aspects of sports. Coaches can’t teach it. Teams develop it.

Illinois wouldn’t lose the ability to be a top-15 if Turner were to be fired today. The Illini would lose chemistry.

Chemistry though, can lead to a top-15 team, especially with the right coaching.

Bobby La Gesse is a senior in communications. He can be reached at [email protected].