OSU President Michael Drake: Investigation will be finished when it's finished

Submitted by Bambi on

Link to 11Warriors post about it.

The article itself has some more quotes and has more details about the investigation but it sounds like OSU is giving itself the potential to drag this out longer. 

Lets hope Michael Drake is a #seriousdude.

Warm Cockles

August 16th, 2018 at 11:03 PM ^

Maybe he is a serious dude. The longer it drags out the longer Meyer is away from the team. If they were just going to reinstate him, they would have done it by now (or tomorrow at 4:30).

HelloHeisman91

August 17th, 2018 at 12:20 AM ^

This is OSU turning over every stone to make sure the story has been told.  The last thing they want is to say that although morally they fell short, they followed every procedure, reinstate Meyer and then have McMurphy lob another bomb at them making them all look stupid. 

KC Wolve

August 17th, 2018 at 8:56 AM ^

I agree with this. They have to be terrified that BM is still sitting on something. If they reinstate him and he drops another bomb, they will look ridiculous. This is best case scenario for non OSU fans. Report comes out that he followed protocol and is reinstated, then BM tweets out something else the same day causing them to scramble and end up firing him. 

JFW

August 17th, 2018 at 11:47 AM ^

The thing is, and I think Baumgardner touched on this, OSU will be fine if they fire him. Urban is a great football mind, no question of that. But OSU is a school with lots of resources, a cult like following, and talent up the Wazoo. 

I don't think they could get Stoops, but whomever they get will be high caliber. 

It makes the most sense to fire him for cause if they can and just move on. Even at the most crass level of just viewing this from a publicity angle they would look good, firm on their moral foundations, and still get a good coach. 

PhillipFulmersPants

August 17th, 2018 at 12:25 PM ^

It's a top job for sure.  But don't agree with this "they'll be fine" commentary, which I've heard here and there from media.  How many times have we seen a legendary coach leave and the next one in not keep it going.  Michigan felt it.  Alabama struggled post Bear Bryant, had some success with Gene Stallings, but clearly did not return to Bryant level Alabama until Saban arrived.  USC hasn't figured it out since Pete Caroll left..  ND has never been able to replicate from the Holtz era.  Arguably all of those schools have the resources, rabid fan bases (save USC ... a bit of bandwagon group there) and traditions of OSU, and all can get talent up the wazoo.  

Should he leave (unlikely, IMO) they probably will be fine. Meyer is a unique coaching talent, though, and the odds of anyone replicating his record is very low, I think. I do agree it's most likely they would continue to be pretty dang good. But USC/ND/Michigan territory is a possible outcome too.   

 

evenyoubrutus

August 17th, 2018 at 12:45 PM ^

You're correct. We heard that when Lloyd was getting older. Every major program has been through a pretty rough period at some point over the last 50 years (I'm talking a decade or more of bad football). We know they're a national championship caliber team with Urban, so being indifferent to the idea of losing him assuming they'll find a coach who's just as good is inane.

the Glove

August 16th, 2018 at 11:06 PM ^

I'm okay with it taking a long time. The longer this investigation goes the longer Urban Meyer's is suspended. You have to think that this will be the only time he's away from his team during all of this so the longer the better.

stephenrjking

August 16th, 2018 at 11:07 PM ^

My hope is that they are legitimately trying to cover every base here. Given that at least one person should probably be fired, depending upon where the buck stops, they have to do a good job.

They're not dragging this out to kill time. The longer this goes on the tougher it is on the university and on the football program. But I respect them if they're willing to take the time to get more information. 

DelhiWolverine

August 17th, 2018 at 8:26 AM ^

My sense is that this is the correct take. The fact that they are not holding to the original 14 day timeframe signals that there is a real investigation into what actually happened and that OSU (the university) is going into this without a predetermined agenda of doing an “investigation” just for show in order to present a case for reinstating Meyer. 

I honestly am not sure how it all will end but I think it’s far likelier that he is fired than retained. The committee (thus far) has kept all evidence and any conclusions under tight wraps - no leaks to the press. This also signals that they are doing a very professional job. The law firm heading up the discovery has a very impressive reputation and they were not hired to prove Meyer’s innocence or protect the football team (as much as some skeptics on the board may fear) - they were essentially hired to protect the University’s reputation and that means they are most certainly not a more well-spoken version of the kool-aid-drinking Buckeyes that inhabit 11W and most of Ohio.

 

Mr Miggle

August 17th, 2018 at 9:23 AM ^

"Pending Controlling Board approval, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office has set a budget of $500,000 for the law firm handling Urban Meyer investigation, which Ohio State will pay"

That's from a Columbus Dispatch reporter on Monday. 

It's a reminder that these outside investigations can get expensive. Drake might have only had the authority to spend what a two week investigation would cost. It's not been reported when the budget request was made. It could be that a longer investigation was always Drake's intention. That may give them time to look into issues they uncover beyond Meyer's actions.

 

 

SugarShane

August 16th, 2018 at 11:12 PM ^

Translation: the investigation is finished and you will hear the results tomorrow at news dump o’clock 

MichiganTeacher

August 16th, 2018 at 11:17 PM ^

Hm. I suppose if they do in fact miss their 14-day deadline, that implies that the investigation is something other than the most obvious of rubber stamps. Could still be a non-obvious rubber stamp. Wait and see, wait and see.

s1105615

August 16th, 2018 at 11:50 PM ^

I’ve been firmly “Meyer Suspended” camp...this news makes me think more “Meyer & OSU agree on buyout/resignation” negotiation is happening when paired with the Meyer statement released outside of the AD

Indy Pete - Go Blue

August 17th, 2018 at 11:38 AM ^

‘A little bit’ because their president is not sticking to the arbitrary two week timeline used by some anonymous member for the athletic department to help recruiting and optics. We know their athletic department is pretty low, but a good president can potentially institute change when a problem is discovered. He actually wants to collect the appropriate information - which may take longer than 2 weeks. 

MIMark

August 17th, 2018 at 12:01 AM ^

I have to think even if Meyer retains his job and his name is cleared, he will still leave the next time a top tier job calls. I wouldn't want to work for an employer who, to my perception, dragged me through the mud for a while. I would want a refresh.

Blue in St Lou

August 17th, 2018 at 12:12 AM ^

It sounds like Drake hasn't been advised of what the investigators are finding. The article quotes him saying, "I will say that the team is investigating this particular set of circumstances and I don't know all the questions they're asking or how they're going about it," Drake said. "I'm waiting until they come forward with information and we'll try to use that information to make the best decisions we can."

That certainly makes it seem like they are acting in good faith.

Also, since he is not sticking to the original two-week time frame, presumably he was told that the investigation is taking longer than they thought it would.  

Again, that sounds like the investigation is being conducted in good faith.They're going to take as long as they need to.

But as Drake said, stay tuned.  When they announce the results, we'll know whether it really is a good-faith investigation. 

Blue In NC

August 17th, 2018 at 9:43 AM ^

That's not the only logical conclusion.  When the report is issued, we can understand which people were interviewed and involved and often find out what procedures were followed.  For MSU, we learned that it was really an internal CYA procedure, not a true investigation/review.

UESWolverine

August 17th, 2018 at 12:15 AM ^

Is a suspension really an option? Seems like a suspension translates into Meyer being at fault in some capacity. And if that's the case - wouldn't they just let him go?

The more this goes on, the more I think he's coming back. The only caveat would be if the investigation uncovered something else that Meyer may have done that would bring unwanted attention to the University from the NCAA. In that case - they are just negotiating a separation from Meyer. Not that I care either way. Whether he stays or goes, it still adds to a lot of bad publicity that the B1G has been getting lately. It's like we are finally at a place where we are competing with the SEC on the field for the top conference in college football and suddenly the B1G is competing with the SEC off the field for negative reasons as well.  

TBuck97

August 17th, 2018 at 12:36 AM ^

I agree but I also think the longer it goes could mean the opposite. There is definitely risk to the university if they reinstate him when there could potentially be individuals holding onto some other information.  If I’m drake, I am a bit nervous about Urbans past even though it is irrelevant to the current investigation. On the flip side, there is huge risk to Drake if he fires Urban bc of the chemical imbalance that most OSU fans possess.