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 5:54 AM ^
People have talked about it. Don’t know if that is going to be enough.
August 13th, 2018 at 6:30 AM ^
It’s not. No way he’s getting fired. Would have happened already.
August 13th, 2018 at 7:12 AM ^
Yep. It’s certainly not enough. I’m sure the president realizes how much money OSU football brings. He doesn’t want to lose the second best coach. That corrupt school will do anything to win football games.
August 13th, 2018 at 8:39 AM ^
OSU football will always bring in money regardless of who's coaching this fall. As we tend to joke about here, they'll find a way to luck into another top tier coach.
August 13th, 2018 at 9:43 AM ^
Agree. A year after the new coach is in place, the team will carry Urban on their shoulders parading him around the field. Same as the last coach, minus the sweater vest.
August 13th, 2018 at 9:03 AM ^
Jim Tressel disagrees with you.
August 13th, 2018 at 9:47 AM ^
@Sydney I think football revenue at tOSU is about $80 mil but overall they bring in 7.1 billion
It is true Drake has bigger fish to fry. Despite all of our enjoyment of revenue sports they are a drop in the bucket vs. Health/Research inputs.
August 13th, 2018 at 12:13 PM ^
And football is by far the higher visibility program. He would have no problem cutting urban loose to maintain the integrity of the school.
August 13th, 2018 at 9:01 AM ^
Not unless they're trying to assess whether they can fire him for cause. $38M gives them lots of reason to take their time and figure things out. And with Meyer's general popularity with the fan base they don't want it to look like a knee-jerk reaction.
August 13th, 2018 at 12:08 PM ^
This is my line of thinking as well.
Even if they end up not firing for cause, they will still likely want to build a case to persuade Meyer and his lawyers to settle for a buyout smaller than that $38M figure.
August 13th, 2018 at 12:08 PM ^
This is my line of thinking as well.
Even if they end up not firing for cause, they will still likely want to build a case to persuade Meyer and his lawyers to settle for a buyout smaller than that $38M figure.
August 13th, 2018 at 6:05 AM ^
The problem is that there is still a level above the president and the board of trustees can still muck everything up
August 13th, 2018 at 8:33 AM ^
The illuminati?
/s
August 13th, 2018 at 9:28 AM ^
Back when Tressel got fired, I heard their were only 2 votes that mattered. Both names began with a "W". Wexner and Wolfe. Wexner has donated 100+ million to OSU and Wolfe family ran the Dispatch. This may still be true.
August 13th, 2018 at 12:36 PM ^
What about the other big W in columbus - WENDY'S!!!
August 13th, 2018 at 12:32 PM ^
Deep Ohio State
August 13th, 2018 at 6:11 AM ^
You make some interesting points here that I wasn't familiar with. It seems that OSU has a guy who is more focused on academics and integrity than his predecessors.
But 37 million is a very serious difference between Meyer and the band director. Perhaps the athletics piece won't sway him, and perhaps ideals like 'honesty' and 'integrity' mean something to him, but the money is a real consideration. He's also responsible for the school's financial well being and interests, and that might mean Meyer stays if OSU's lawyers can't find a for-cause firing mechanism.
August 13th, 2018 at 8:14 AM ^
Exactly I was all with the OP until he tried to make it seem that there is no difference between $1 Mil and $37 Mil.
August 13th, 2018 at 9:04 AM ^
There is. It’s $36 million. You’re welcome.
August 13th, 2018 at 9:42 AM ^
The Michigan Difference.
August 13th, 2018 at 9:46 AM ^
"Math is hard; let's go shopping!"
~ Barbie
August 13th, 2018 at 8:26 AM ^
The $37 M could be dwarfed by the impact to donations. The real question from a purely financial standpoint is not whether OSU would have to pay the $37 M, the real question is what impact will firing him/keeping him have on donations.
August 13th, 2018 at 9:59 AM ^
Short term impact maybe but the tOSU football brand has been "activated". Nothing would suggest that they wouldn't win 9 games a year and go to a major bowl with Matt Campbell. Non-alumni, Internet posters and fanboys with a platform like Ramzy would be upset but it would dissipate as soon as the games start.
Meyer is a great coach but people donate fir many reasons othe than football.
August 13th, 2018 at 2:09 PM ^
Yeah, they donate because the English and History departments had great years, even though Psychology didn't make a bowl game this past year.
I wonder if they have bag man to recruit profs???
August 13th, 2018 at 12:21 PM ^
You guys already got the buyout reduced by a million (from 38 to 37) just by talking on this here board, I bet the lawyers can get it down a few more mils
August 13th, 2018 at 7:04 AM ^
I agree. These are valid points. But in academics, there are only a fewer higher jobs that president of a university. You mention one, but it might not be his ambition. I could see maybe president at another higher tier university, maybe.
Also, his relationship to OSU can be that he is now president of the university. He doesn’t need old ties to the school to defend it.
What a messy situation. But I look forward to the results of the investigation this week, at least from an entertainment perspective.
August 13th, 2018 at 7:09 AM ^
So, based on your comment, he is currently the OSU and UC Irvine president. How does he have time to be a president at two schools, especially ones that are in different states?
August 13th, 2018 at 7:12 AM ^
Two schools at the same time, man.....
August 13th, 2018 at 7:16 AM ^
Two chicks at the same time.
August 13th, 2018 at 9:12 AM ^
Chicks dig dudes with money.
Well at least the kind of chicks that would double up on a dude like me. . .dude.
August 13th, 2018 at 7:15 AM ^
Easy, they are 3 hours/time zones apart, you of all people should know that.
August 13th, 2018 at 8:01 AM ^
Dr. Michael Drake, OSU president, is a Stanford alum who received his MD from UCSF and was previously the president of UC Irvine.
What part of "previously" are you not understanding?
August 13th, 2018 at 9:28 AM ^
You highlighted the exact words that make it appear he is working two jobs. "Was previously" means exactly what it says.
August 13th, 2018 at 9:42 AM ^
Please tell me that you do not have a UM degree.
August 13th, 2018 at 12:34 PM ^
He might, University of Melbourne (YTM)
August 13th, 2018 at 9:43 AM ^
Maybe English works differently down there in Australia...
August 13th, 2018 at 2:14 PM ^
Good point, as water does swirl down a toilet the opposite way!
August 13th, 2018 at 9:49 AM ^
pre·vi·ous·ly
ˈprēvēəslē/
adverb
-
at a previous or earlier time; before.
August 13th, 2018 at 10:00 AM ^
"WAS PREVIOUSLY" means no longer previously. The key word is "was."
The guy meant to say "was the president at UC Irvine." I'm sorry for reading and comprehending his comment exactly how it was typed.
August 13th, 2018 at 10:15 AM ^
No. It actually doesn’t mean that. Not even a little bit. Read a linguistics book.
August 13th, 2018 at 10:27 AM ^
Actually, it does mean that. "Previously" is a word that describes the former state of something. "Was" also does that. If you say "was previously," then that's like a double negative, which if you know anything about math, that means a positive.
Anyway, I didn't mean to start this ridiculous debate. I read his comment as it was typed and he made it sound like the guy is working two jobs. Let's move on.
August 13th, 2018 at 10:41 AM ^
1. Natural languages do not use math logic.
2. The fact that everyone else figured it out and you didn't should be a hint that you are wrong. In fact, that pretty much is the definition of being wrong when it comes to language.
August 13th, 2018 at 10:52 AM ^
No. It's just that everyone else cannot grasp this simple complex. Also, as far as the math comment goes, that was an analogy. Do I need to explain that, too?
August 13th, 2018 at 11:07 AM ^
It's not a double negative. It's a redundancy. It's also a common enough phrase that its meaning is understood. You picked a very strange hill to die on.
August 13th, 2018 at 11:15 AM ^
Clearly, we all have a vastly inferior intellect, when compared against the brilliant "UM Fan from Sydney".
You're doing it all wrong. All of it.
August 13th, 2018 at 11:20 AM ^
I know Sydney can be annoying sometimes but this whole exchange is amazingly stupid on his part.
I think Meyer may very well be fired but the arguments from the OP are a bit unconvincing. What reason do I really think this is going to be a black mark on his resume for the World Bank or whatever ? Especially if they can claim no rules were technically broken. Also, others have pointed out firing Meyer is not at all like firing the music director.
Sure MSU has gotten a lot of shit, but that's mainly about Nassar and the handling of that. Their enrollment hasn't missed a beat. Dantonio has gotten away with everything.
Also, the OP mentions all his talk on integrity but Meyer has said all the same shit, so who knows what will happen.
August 13th, 2018 at 11:52 AM ^
Also, as far as the math comment goes, that was an analogy.
Do you mean "was an analogy" or "was previously an analogy"?. Asking for a confused friend.
August 13th, 2018 at 12:40 PM ^
LMFAO. I'm laughing and crying at the same time, fucking comment of the off season!!!
August 13th, 2018 at 12:50 PM ^
No. It was an analogy is exactly what I typed and meant. I'm sorry you are confused.
August 14th, 2018 at 8:48 PM ^
In for the indent squish.
Bummer. Failed.