Daily Urban Meyer Thread - The Courting Continues

Submitted by Two Hearted Ale on

 

ESPN Article

"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.

 

Tater

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.

MattisonMan

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.  

Wendyk5

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. 

BucksfanXC

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.

STW P. Brabbs

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.

BucksfanXC

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.

BucksfanXC

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.

yoopergoblue

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.  

Darker Blue

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. 

BucksfanXC

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.

Indiana Blue

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!

_DG7_goblue

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 :)

Smash Lampjaw

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.

TorontoBlue

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!

MGoPietrowski

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...

BIGWEENIE

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.

Six Zero

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.

Picktown GoBlue

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.

Prof_Umich

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.

SC Wolverine

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.