Daily Urban Meyer Thread - The Courting Continues
"I've found that it is possible to have balance between your job and your family, that there are coaches out there who are doing it," he said, according to the Sun.
"I love football," he added, according to the Sun. "It's what I am. I miss it."
Ex-girlfriend Florida press is mad
It'll bring into legitimate question Meyer's sincerity about the reasons he cited for quitting his Florida gig after last season. He mentioned concerns about his health and a desire to spend more time with his wife and children, remember? But if he lands with the Buckeyes only a year later - even though he'd be an Ashtabula-born boy going home to fulfill a career dream - Meyer still will come off as more manipulative than honest regarding how he ended things with the Gators.
In my opinion, Meyer goes to Ohio. A 47 year old coach who says he "love(s) football" doesn't turn down his dream job no matter what the circumstances.
Buckeye fans think Fickle should be the coach-in-waiting but I think Meyer will bring in his own people. I suppose it's possible Meyer is interested in Fickle but I doubt it. In my opinion, Gene Smith will likely 'retire' after the NCAA sanctions are announced. If that's the case a clean slate is probalby the best thing for Meyer. New coaches are certainly part of that.
November 22nd, 2011 at 8:37 AM ^
seem really staged or at least trying to justify an announcement that hasn't been made yet? It also calls into questions what his real reason was for leaving Florida.
November 22nd, 2011 at 9:19 AM ^
Count me in among those who think it was pressure from alums led by the Brantley family. Uncle Scot is a "Gator Great" and did color for the Gator network for seven years. Father John III was a QB for the Gators. The story that makes the most sense is that the Brantleys and their friends lobbied heavily for Meyer to change the offense that has made him so successful and build the offense around John IV.
In general, even though the spread has been winning a lot of BCS title games lately, the old school alums at most schools still seem to see it as a "gimmick." Really, Michigan is the only team I know of that has gotten rid of the spread without sucking the next year or two, with honorable mention for BYU. USF, Texas Tech, and Florida have had terrible results.
It might have been better for everyone if Brantley had stuck with his committment to Texas. Meyer would still be happy in Florida, and Ohio would be looking elsewhere. My "best-case scenario" is that I am totally wrong and that Meyer tries to coach at Ohio while not putting in those 100-hour weeks, finds out he can't get the job done, and bails on them after a year or two, putting them into utter chaos.
November 22nd, 2011 at 9:58 AM ^
You're the same guy that believes that OSU runs a real mafia, correct?
November 22nd, 2011 at 8:38 AM ^
Michigan is 1-0 against Urban. I like our odds.
November 22nd, 2011 at 8:48 AM ^
Michigan is 3-0 against Urban.
November 22nd, 2011 at 12:00 PM ^
I'm pretty sure we've only faced him once. We beat Utah and Florida in 2002, but he was not coaching either of those schools at the time.
November 22nd, 2011 at 8:52 AM ^
How do you like our odds for our season opener in 2014?
November 22nd, 2011 at 8:58 AM ^
I'm so sick of this program and this fanbase getting everything so easily.
Because they don't deserve it.
They deserve a long, drawn out PROCESS whereby alums turn their backs and they have take actual doses of humility as the search spirals down to MAC coordinators and fired bottom-dwellers.
Because their fans are irrational, thuggish meatheads who hurl pee at fans as often as they hurl nonsensical insults at everything we represent.
They deserve ACTUAL punishment because when you let/encourage players to get PAID, you're cheating the game. And child molesters in Pennsylvania shouldn't completely obfuscate that. It's just like every year during their reign of cheating-induced terror. Without fail, some lowly team would come so close to beating them, and voila; pass interference, boom fade to whichever receiver is fast this year. They always seem to get away with it.
I despise it all and it's about f-ing time for the chickens to come home to roost. Because some people just want to watch the world burn. All I'm asking for is that this fanbase get what's coming.
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:19 AM ^
on this one. One mediocre year on the gridiron and a minor wrist slap from the NCAA isn't enough.
November 22nd, 2011 at 8:40 AM ^
The big question remains: not whether it's possible to have balance in your life (of course it is), but whether Urban Meyer knows how to have balance. Being a TV commentator is very different from being a coach, so sure he's achieved balance this past year. Will he be able to do the same thing once he's back coaching? My sense is no. If you're an insane super-competitive workaholic, you can't leave at 5 even if you wanted to.
November 22nd, 2011 at 8:56 AM ^
You won't hear Hoke et al. talk about "balance." Probably won't hear them talk about anything besides winning. And if Meyer doesn't win, Ohio fans will immediately question "balance."
November 22nd, 2011 at 9:14 AM ^
you have 2 superstar coordinators (e.g. guys who could be head coaches at a smaller school), then your job as a coach is made slightly easier.
Ohio would just have to pay a ton of money.
November 22nd, 2011 at 8:40 AM ^
November 22nd, 2011 at 8:51 AM ^
pffft yea thats why....
If ESPN operated like that Spielman would never do a Michigan game.
November 22nd, 2011 at 8:57 AM ^
This really intrigues me. Do you guys really think Spiels is biased against UofM? I understand the guy is a die-hard Buckeye, but I always thought his Detroit days made him soft on Michigan. I myself, hate with respect, and thought Spiels was about the same. That he had an appreciation for your team, because certainly Detroit was very accepting of him as a Lion.
November 22nd, 2011 at 9:04 AM ^
Like many OSU alumni in the media, Spielman sounded pretty objective the past few years when Michigan was something to be pitied. This year, as OSU has struggled, the facade of neutrality has shown some major cracks. Which is annoying when I'm trying to watch a UM game he's calling, but I'm glad to know that the Buckeyes are finally starting to sweat (and hate) again.
November 22nd, 2011 at 9:14 AM ^
Interesting. Thanks.
And yes, I am sweating this year for the first time in about 5yrs. But to be honest, I'm not sweating as much as I thought I would back in Week 1. I knew we were in a "down year" and that you guys were on the rise. But so far, for all his faults, Fickell gets the Bucks ready for big games. It should be a good game. It usually is.
November 22nd, 2011 at 12:44 PM ^
And by good, I hope it means I see a good dozen Buckeye fans crying on Saturday.
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:21 AM ^
Couldnt have said this better myself; lately I detest when he announces a UM game to the point where I am at Pam Ward levels of make-it-stop.
November 22nd, 2011 at 9:13 AM ^
is a class act. It is said you are defined by your 'enemies' ( I use that term here with respect not venom) and he provides great definition.
He can't help but be biased for The Game.
Too bad he didn't take the road less traveled back in 84.
November 22nd, 2011 at 9:19 AM ^
This is what I thought the sentiment was around the UofM fanbase
November 22nd, 2011 at 10:43 AM ^
I don't have huge issues with Spielman. His bias usually translates as good natured jabs.
How do you, as a Buckeye, feel about Desmond Howard?
November 22nd, 2011 at 10:54 AM ^
Ya know, Desmond doesn't call games. He just comes in for short scripted, or at least pre-meditated, comments in the pre/post-game situations. I think the best word to describe him is diplomatic. He avoids saying nice things about OSU if he can, and avoids saying negative things about Michigan if he can. But not to an extent that he's biased. He does better than Herbie, because Herbie seems to go out of his way to seem un-biased, to a point that it's obvious and people see through it.
November 22nd, 2011 at 9:41 AM ^
I was OK with Spielman until this year's MSU/UofM game. He was terrible and blatantly biased in that game, questioning everything that went UM's way and ignoring everything that went MSU's way. After that game, I lowered my expectations for him.
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:10 AM ^
I think Spielman up until this year was pretty good regarding being unbiased when commentating Michigan games. Last week I think he really went overboard when he repeatedly mentioned how long it has been since Michigan has beaten Ohio. This definitely has to do with the Ohio program being a steaming shithole this year. He is butthurt.
November 22nd, 2011 at 8:47 AM ^
Will there have been more threads about Rich Rod or Urban Meyer?
November 22nd, 2011 at 8:50 AM ^
I bet any of you anything you want, that IF Fickell beats Michigan on Saturday he'll be the coach next year. So it'll be Urban Meyer but I'm just sayin...
November 22nd, 2011 at 8:54 AM ^
November 22nd, 2011 at 9:09 AM ^
Nobody in Ohio could have expected to have a good year after everything that went down in Columbus. But IF he beats Michigan and finishes 7-5 he's done his job. We're rolling right now, we're supposed to destroy the bucknuts. He beats us ( and he wont ) Ohio would be foolish to let him go.
November 22nd, 2011 at 9:16 AM ^
You are not judged on how you get the team ready to play against Nebraska, Wisconsin, PSU and Michigan, of which he lost 2 so far, btw. If you have problems getting them ready for Indiana, Purdue and Akron/Toledo, you can't keep your job. Luke will be a great Head Coach one day. Just not yet.
November 22nd, 2011 at 9:39 AM ^
I'm pretty sure that Jim Tressel got beat by Purdue.
November 22nd, 2011 at 8:54 AM ^
would really want to follow tressel. There's no way he will be able to have the success that tressel did (albeit cheating the entire time) and this will cause the ohio truckers to flame his house, family and dogs. The times have changed .... tsio had a decade, but in football the times are always changing. Michigan is back faster than anyone would have predicted and with msu, Wisconsin, PSU and Nebraska ... the B1G is much more balanced now than it was 5 - 10 years ago.
Reality - Meyer quit Florida because he couldn't compete. He whined at Utah and whined at Florida ... and he'll whine at the next stop too.
Go Blue!
November 22nd, 2011 at 8:54 AM ^
Will he be bringing the 23 year old coed?
November 22nd, 2011 at 9:36 AM ^
I had never heard this rumor until it was brought up lately on Mgoblog with the Urban Meyer to OSU threads. Is there any sort of link? I know I'm not the only one who's never heard of this.
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:27 AM ^
" 'urban meyer' affair" finds 68,000 links. I doubt any of them are credible (I'm not going to click on them all) but how could you expect to find a credible source for something like this?
November 22nd, 2011 at 8:55 AM ^
A good OSU team, make the rivalry intense again, and much more meaningful. Future top ten Michigan vs top ten OSU games will be fun. It will also make it ever so sweat to crush them. Not to mention it'll get us into better bowls, and re strengthen the big ten. Although they can suck for the next 2 years and allow us to strip the top Ohio talent. I really don't mind that :)
November 22nd, 2011 at 9:03 AM ^
I thought Meyer was more biased last week than he was during the Iowa broadcast, and that Speilman was less biased than Urban. Perhaps an early clue that his decision was already made.
November 22nd, 2011 at 9:05 AM ^
November 22nd, 2011 at 10:33 AM ^
Les Miles turned down Michigan because the coaches wives are hotter at LSU.
November 22nd, 2011 at 9:33 AM ^
They were both very complimentary to UM on the Nebraska broadcast, IMO. Spielman loves Kovacs you can tell. And both bent over backwards to point out how much better M played in this game than their last broadcast (IA). My only worry about Meyer is that he's done several of our games this season so he's got some insider information on us from briefings for the broadcasts that he can use against us. Glad ESPN pulled him for Saturday. GO BLUE!
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:10 AM ^
I think whatever "scouting" Urban does to call games for ESPN is about 1/100 of the scouting he would do if he were actually coaching against us. I wouldn't worry too much about it.
November 22nd, 2011 at 9:52 AM ^
a distraction down in Ohio...good.
November 22nd, 2011 at 9:59 AM ^
The last time I checked, this was a discussion board. I think a worthy topic of discussion is who th next head coach of our rival, in the greatest rivalry in all of sports, is going to be. I know half of you will give me a resounding AMEN! And half of you will go ahead and neg bang me, but honestly, I think it's shitty to keep negging and responding like jerks to people who are open to and taking the initiative to talk about Meyer and OSU. Hyperbole is half the fun.
I get the whole, "we don't really care" side of it. If it isn't a conversation you want to be on, just pass over it on the MGoBoard, like many of us do on many topics everyday. Don't drop a line in the comments section or downvote without reading the actual content just to make the original poster feel like shit.
Dude's just trying to provide some info...
November 22nd, 2011 at 10:08 AM ^
Urban brought in a lot of guys with lets say some issues. Does OSU really think that is a great way to show the NCAA that they want a clean upstanding program? I would hope that the NCAA would say clean it up but know that wont happen.
November 22nd, 2011 at 10:38 AM ^
I wouldn't agree to a goldarn thing until I knew what the NCAA was going to hand down. It's like agreeing to take a job before knowing any of the benefits or conditions of the hire.
I'm not saying he would balk, even if they hand down something significant... but he's got absolutely little to gain by taking that job now, other than time to recruit.
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:38 AM ^
will factor in to the length of contract, the amount of dollars, the size of the buyout, how much money for coordinators, how many years he gets until he gets a serious review. All of that stuff could be done after announcing the hire, but then the coach loses the leverage in the negotiations. I know the folks around here would like to trot out the new coach for halftime of the Duke game a week from today (too bad Duke will finally have a Maui loss on its record by then - Go Blue!), but I'd be surprised anyone would say yes before the NCAA sanctions come down.
November 22nd, 2011 at 10:47 AM ^
and then come back? I believe it is difficult to get the same competitive edge back once you have been out of it for a while.
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:11 AM ^
Yes Urban won a NC but not in the big 10. He also had our amazing defensive coach, and a guy named Tim Tebow. He wont be recruiting the pro style guys we want.
Bringing a spread offense to the big ten? We all know far to well how that works.
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:18 AM ^
People who automatically question Meyer's sincerity in leaving Florida fail to realize that a year is a pretty long period of time. Particularly when one is clouded by stress and fatigue, a year can allow a person to regroup, rethink things, tweek priorities, and give it another go. I think we should give Meyer the benefit of the doubt on this. I also want tsio to fire on something like all cylinders in the long haul so that we can really appreciate it when Brady Hoke beats them down regularly.