The reason Urban will be fired that no one is talking about
Surprisingly, no one is talking about the man making the decision in the UM case when debating whether or not OSU will fire him. Dr. Michael Drake, OSU president, is a Stanford alum who received his MD from UCSF and was previously the president of UC Irvine. He has no ties to Ohio State and is far more academic focused than his predecessor Gordon Gee. In 2014 he fired the band director, Jon Waters, and then spent a million dollars defending the university in litigation fees. If he spent a million to fire the band director, what is 38 mil to fire Meyer? Also, looking at interviews/body language he particularly receptive to Archie Griffins "welcome to Ohio State you better support athletics" sit down. Link. (9 minute mark is most notable)
Also, a guy like him, Stanford UG/UCSF MD could have higher career goals beyond being president of OSU. Look at ex-Dartmouth president Jim Kim who has a similar profile: Jim Kim has an Md/PhD from Harvard and went on to be president of the world bank. If Drake keeps Meyer those opportunities are gone--zero chance institutions like the NIH/WHO would consider him as a head.
To date he has placed Meyer on administrative leave and Gene Smith on vacation. All of the typical OSU insiders are completely in the dark because the athletic department has been locked out of the investigation. His youtube appearances deal almost exclusively with academics and rarely athletics. Here at 2:40 he talks about integrity, "you have to mean what you say and say what you mean so that people will trust you."
If OSU retains Meyer it would set the university's reputation back 20 years. That is the last thing Michael Drake would want on his watch.
August 13th, 2018 at 2:14 PM ^
I see why it's redundant, but I don't understand why they cancel. A double negative cancels because you have the negation of a negation, which leads to an un-negated meaning. But I don't see why two words that place something in the past places it in the present. I'm not sure what it does, exactly--maybe it puts it in a more distant past?
As a separate matter, how would you view 'was before?'
August 13th, 2018 at 10:26 AM ^
Holy. Fucking. Shit. You're being serious.
August 13th, 2018 at 1:16 PM ^
How about "previously was", is that the same double negative also???
August 13th, 2018 at 4:23 PM ^
That is still wrong/redundant.
August 13th, 2018 at 8:14 AM ^
You should stop exclusively eating cherrios that have been pissed in already.
August 13th, 2018 at 8:02 AM ^
Michael Drake seems like a good guy, but he is swimming against the current if he wants Urban gone. Is he willing to rock the boat with mutinous cooler poopers outnumbering him?
August 13th, 2018 at 10:45 AM ^
I'm sure he is aware that a majority of that angry, cooler pooping mob has no ties to the university other than rooting for the football team. I have no idea what is going through Drake's mind, but as focused as he is on academics and alumni relations, I hope the feelings of Cleetus from rural Ohio don't factor in to his decision.
August 13th, 2018 at 8:07 AM ^
Come on... There are people behind the scene (boosters) that are making the call on this one. I have a hard time believing that with all the success OSU is having under Meyer, that they will get rid of him. I do believe they fire the AD though. The fan base is behind Meyer and the University. Until you upset the fans and Boosters, he will get a free pass. They will take a page out of the MSU handbook and claim disrespect and an "Us against the world" mentality.
August 13th, 2018 at 8:08 AM ^
Wednesday morning. Adios, Urban.
August 13th, 2018 at 8:13 AM ^
Why Wednesday? Will that be the two week mark?
August 13th, 2018 at 10:04 AM ^
The decision has been made. They're just waiting for Smith to return from vacation.
August 13th, 2018 at 11:09 AM ^
Good source or speculation?
August 13th, 2018 at 12:14 PM ^
A bit of both. There will be a buy-out in the $6-7M range.
August 13th, 2018 at 12:32 PM ^
That's a bold move Cotton, lets see if it pays off.
August 13th, 2018 at 12:43 PM ^
Who are you really Mineral "Shea is eligible" King???
/jk
August 13th, 2018 at 1:04 PM ^
Lets hope you are correct. I don't normally get excited in the possibility of someone else's misfortune. This is not one of those times. You can only go so long before karma catches up with you.
August 13th, 2018 at 8:31 AM ^
I see the points you're trying to make, and you do have some valid points. But come on, man. There is a HUGE difference between 1 million and 38 million.
Unless McMurphy has some new dirt on Meyer that is yet to be released, I don't think there is enough evidence out there right now to suggest that Meyer can be fired for cause. Which means OSU is on the hook for 38 million if they fire him. I don't care what your annual revenue stream is. That is a big blow to your budget and what your athletic department is going to be able to accomplish, or pay for, every year until the amount is paid.
Not to mention whatever legal fees ensue from whenever Meyer would decide to take the matter to court and sue the school for wrongful termination. So that's the big question OSU is going to have to ask itself should it get to the end of the investigation and find nothing suggesting Meyer can be fired for cause. Are they willing to deal with the PR fallout and not hamstring their athletic department, financially, for the next several years? Or do they bite the bullet and set the example?
August 13th, 2018 at 9:47 AM ^
If they pay the buyout, Meyer cannot sue for wrongful termination.
There isn't be any evidence to suggest that Meyer can not be fired for cause. If he filed the Title IX report with the Title IX coordinator, as required, we almost certainly would know it by know. The only reason to take two weeks is to make sure that there's nothing else that would impact the decision. I still think he is gone because of failing to file a Title IX report.
August 13th, 2018 at 11:23 AM ^
OSU can fire him for cause. His contract mentions that he can't put OSU in a bad light, be unethical, or dishonest. Urban could challenge it of course.
August 13th, 2018 at 8:31 AM ^
He’ll be reinstated on Wednesday. I’m firmly, though reluctantly, in the “he’ll be back” camp.
August 13th, 2018 at 8:39 AM ^
I was in the camp that thought he would be suspended but I don't even think that is going to happen now. There are going to be a lot of questions for him to answer when he gets back but if he indeed did file the proper reporting, he should be able to be back to coach his team. OSU will be crucified though when he is reinstated.
August 13th, 2018 at 9:30 AM ^
for how long 6 months? after the season starts it will die down
August 13th, 2018 at 12:15 PM ^
It's already died down with the Maryland situation (which is justified, given that involves the death of a student-athlete). Urban Meyer and OSU are already old news.
If he does come back, and come back immediately, Meyer will face some intense questioning from the media about what else he could've/should've done, will undoubtedly be the subject of some hilarious college gameday signs, and will probably receive some snarky comments from Paul Finebaum and Mark May. But within a month or two, everyone will stop caring. You can bet that before this year's rendition of The Game, ESPN will do a 5-10 minute segment about how much adversity the OSU football team fought through before the season, how the entire fanbase and the entire state rallied behind it's embattled coach, claiming that the media is out to get him. And you'll then watch them rejoice when he was acquitted of such egregious accusations and allowed back on the sideline for week 1.
Just a reminder of how much leeway you're afforded in this world when you win. If this had happened to John Cooper, he would've already been fired.
August 13th, 2018 at 4:16 PM ^
I could not agree more with your thoughts above. Well said!
August 13th, 2018 at 8:43 AM ^
That's one heckuva good clickbait title. You should consider doing it for a living.
August 13th, 2018 at 8:44 AM ^
UM case? I think you mean CUM case.
August 13th, 2018 at 8:47 AM ^
Don’t ever count out a #SeriousDude
August 13th, 2018 at 8:50 AM ^
I’m still not convinced.
August 13th, 2018 at 8:50 AM ^
"If he spent a million to fire the band director, what is 38 mil to fire Meyer?"
I'd say it's about 38 times more difficult.
Gene Smith and DJ Durkin will be fired before Meyer is.
August 13th, 2018 at 9:06 AM ^
I think you're right, and given Meyer's 'statement' casting the blame on the AD, then that's likely the one to take the fall.
But... another consideration is what goods McMurphy has on Meyer/OSU. If they retain Meyer and more skeletons are pulled out of the closet, that's a really bad look. They need to get it right, even if it means shelling out a pile of money.
August 13th, 2018 at 11:15 AM ^
I totally agree with your statement. 38 million is still 37 million more reasons its harder to part with.
There is more of a case against the other two Knuckleheads (Smith and Durkin). If Meyers claim checks out, only Smith gets the axe.
August 13th, 2018 at 8:51 AM ^
Craig Ross is talking about it.
August 13th, 2018 at 8:57 AM ^
Can’t wait for Jeffrey Ross to roast urban Meyer
August 13th, 2018 at 8:55 AM ^
Interesting take but as stated, 1mil and 38 mil are not even in the same league. Men's FB and BB bring in a shit ton of money to a university and as much as I dislike the bucknuts UM is a good coach as evidence by his record. He may lack character when it comes to things like this but his record on the field speaks for itself. If this happened to JH you know damn well people would make excuses to keep him if we had a record like that.
Just sayin.
August 13th, 2018 at 9:02 AM ^
Not happening. Despite the Stanford credentials, he made a deal with the devil and is now President over a shit hole. He's very quickly finding out the moral fiber of the 'community' he presides over.
August 13th, 2018 at 9:04 AM ^
I hope Courtney sues them and gets a huge settlement for her kids. I also hope she buys some badass Rottweiler guard dogs that bite Zach Smith's cock off if he ever sets foot on her property.
I also can't wait for November when Harbaugh runs up the score, Brown gets a shutout and we all get to behold a toilet bowl full of sad Ohioans. That will be a good consolation prize.
August 13th, 2018 at 9:55 AM ^
Courtney Smith has no case against OSU. She's not a student or staff/faculty member, so OSU's inaction (if that was the case) didn't harm her.
August 13th, 2018 at 10:33 AM ^
grumbler beat me to it; what would be the cause of action for "Courtney Smith v. The Ohio State University"?
Have you determined that Zach Smith's parental rights and visitation should be terminated? Do you know what the standard is for that? Do you, like, have a clue about any evidence for such a motion?
I just don't get it; rival college football fans making judgments about stuff like that.
August 13th, 2018 at 11:00 AM ^
Been thinking about the Courtney lawsuit angle. One, I think she has a case against OSU because OSU representatives (Urb's mentor and I think one other guy) visited with her to urge her to not press charges or she would be without any income for her kids. Two, even bringing a weak but viable lawsuit extends the PR crapfest for the university.
If I'm a big bucknut donor (shudder), maybe I can pay Courtney $5M ($33M less than $38M) to go away and keep quiet, keep my coach who goes through a public "My bad, we'll do better.", the AD institutes new training for all personnel. Win-win-win.
August 13th, 2018 at 9:12 AM ^
One additional comment to consider is that OSU decision making people may view the band director situation as non-comparable simply because that involved a victim who was a student and part of the university and someone they felt the band director was in fact responsible for.
I also believe this boils down to whether or not the findings/legal discussions/recommendations indicate they have a solid argument for a "for cause" firing, and unless they look at some of the other situations in detail, part of which I wrote a diary on, I don't believe they will find a "for cause" reason to end the relationship.
August 13th, 2018 at 10:15 AM ^
And... for all of the overblown charges made against Waters in particular (he became a classic sacrificial lamb for the program in the name of Title IX), Waters did supply an evasive and probably untrue statement to investigators. Not really about any gender-related discrimination, but rather in connection with the fight over the kid who surreptitiously recorded a meeting with Waters.
So sadly, there was a firable offense with Waters if anybody wanted to push it and find an excuse to terminate him. (For Waters' having only partially reversed an OSU band culture that preceded him by years if not decades.)
August 13th, 2018 at 9:20 AM ^
It is inappropriate to use "UM" here... there are better options.
August 13th, 2018 at 9:37 AM ^
Agreed. It’s the only thing worse than “urbs”.
August 13th, 2018 at 2:23 PM ^
You means HERBS, amirite???
August 13th, 2018 at 9:21 AM ^
I wish people would stop referring to Urban Meyer as UM. UM stands for one thing around here.
August 13th, 2018 at 9:29 AM ^
Urban is staying. They put a sham investigation team together.
August 13th, 2018 at 9:37 AM ^
I got a copy of the Glaros Report (re: Waters and the band) and read it pretty carefully.
What you are forgetting is that OSU was at that time under a rather urgent Title IX investigation (so was Michigan, so were about three dozen other schools) that was a direct outflow of the Obama Administration's "Dear Colleague" letter of April, 2011.
Chris Glaros, who is a friend and associate of former Obama appointee to the CPB, Richard Cordray (now running for governor), ran that investigation. It looks to me like the appointment of the special committee will sidestep Glaros. And, with a new Department of Education, all of the old Title IX pressure is largely off.
That is, if Title IX was ever applicable to Zach Smith's non-student, non-faculty wife, for an off-campus matter!
The Jon Waters case was a pure creature of Title IX, and I just don't think that will be the case with Urban Meyer; because if it were, their Office of Compliance would be involved.
August 13th, 2018 at 9:43 AM ^
btw: OSU didn't "spend a million bucks to fire Jon Waters," did they? The Office of Compliance did it, with their usual budget. And it wasn't even much of an investigation.
I think OSU may have spent a lot of money defending the lawsuits filed by Waters after he was fired. And on that, OSU is like the University of Michigan. They are completely unlike most litigants and private companies, who generally care about legal fees. The Universities don't care. Actually, from case reports I have read, OSU is even more stubbornly litigious than Michigan is.
August 13th, 2018 at 9:51 AM ^
"That is, if Title IX was ever applicable to Zach Smith's non-student, non-faculty wife, for an off-campus matter!"
It certainly is applicable to Zach Smith, though not Courtney. Zach Smith, as a university employee, is subject to Title IX requirements. Courtney isn't subject to Title IX protections, as she isn't student, faculty, or staff, but that doesn't keep Zach from being required to follow Title IX requirements.
August 13th, 2018 at 10:02 AM ^
FWIW if they fire him the cost won't be $38 million. That is a sunk cost, they were going to spend that money anyway. The actual cost will be the cost of the new coach, which surely will be less than that. That is extra spending that was not planned.
It probably doesn't matter in the end because it is very likely they keep him. But their cost of letting him go is something less than $38 million. And that is assuming that they have to pay the full remaining amount of his contract.