Board Recommendation of Suspension Likely Coming for Meyer - report from Columbus Dispatch
Siegel and Sullivan provided the latest update, and I found this excerpt to be quite compelling:
"Two sources connected to the investigation said the likely recommendation to university President Michael V. Drake is a suspension for Meyer. Drake and the board could also opt for a “time served” punishment since Meyer has been removed from football activities for more than two weeks."
I personally consider it unsurprising that the board is reportedly recommending a slap on the wrist. Perhaps the president will take matters into his own hands. Time will tell...
August 20th, 2018 at 9:29 PM ^
You're starting facts? Well, let us know when you finally get to one.
August 20th, 2018 at 9:34 PM ^
Stating my bad.
August 20th, 2018 at 11:47 PM ^
You owe us at least four of these.
August 20th, 2018 at 9:13 PM ^
Wonder why they left ohio?
August 21st, 2018 at 9:42 AM ^
Because Ed Martin paid them to go up North.
August 20th, 2018 at 9:47 PM ^
So cute..scUM. You Meyer ballwashers really are witty.
I hate being 2-15, but know I (or many of my brethren here at Mgoblog) wouldn't sell our souls, or do your mental gymnastics necessary to rationalize Meyers behavior.
Karma is a real bitch. I'm confident your beloved program will see that soon.
Upon Urban's reinstatement with his obligatory wrist slap, a slew of reporters will descend on OSU digging for every skeleton.
Pass the popcorn...This is going to get even more interesting.
August 21st, 2018 at 9:40 AM ^
Don't tell me you guys weren't cocky when we had Coop and his 2 - 10 and 1 record. We got rid of 1 coach, you guys got rid of 3 coaches, working on the 4th. Lloyd started out good, but didn't end well.
August 20th, 2018 at 6:38 PM ^
I hope no one on this board expects OSU to take a moral high ground approach on this, because it's not in their DNA. What IS in their DNA is ultra-extreme protectionism of their winning football dynasty at ALL costs. Nothing else matters to them and we will see that when their puppet B.O.T. renders (good choice of words) their decision.
August 20th, 2018 at 6:51 PM ^
Nobody expects OSU to take the moral high ground. In theory though, they could give Meyer the boot simply because:
1) That's the "least painful" path to maintaining their football dynasty long-term. Then they'll bathe themselves with a moral halo for handling it so firmly. If they feel like a ton of skeletons will come falling out of the closet due to federal or NCAA investigations, or due to toxic discovery-laden lawsuits, I could see them being willing to cut a big check to Meyer just to avoid that.
OR
2) The President overrides the BoT knowing that it will likely be the end of his tenure at OSU. The dude is an academic from the West Coast IIRC. He isn't an OSU lifer, so being a pariah in Ohio might not mean much to him. And if he's an academic that gets booted from OSU because he took the moral high ground & killed their sacred cow, I don't see how that would harm his employment prospects at hard core academic institutions like the Ivy League, Stanford, Cal Berkeley, etc. Heck, it might even STRENGTHEN his own professional reputation as a "courageous reformer" type.
Although admittedly those are two unlikely scenarios. Most likely of course, is that they decide to levy the smallest possible sanction against themselves/Meyer that they think they can get away with and still avoid major investigations or insanely costly lawsuits w/ discovery. They'll just bunker down & be willing to weather the public relations sh*t storm until it abates in a month or two.
August 20th, 2018 at 7:55 PM ^
I keep seeing this, but Tressel didn’t survive his scandal...
August 20th, 2018 at 8:21 PM ^
Tressel was given a 5 year show-cause by the NCAA effectively forcing their hands. Let's not pretend that was OSU's decision. They wanted to suspend him 2, count them, 2 full games.
August 20th, 2018 at 9:52 PM ^
Well Tressel lied directly to the NCAA. He was slapped with a show cause penalty. So OSU literally had no choice but to fire him. They’re not in the same predicament here.
August 20th, 2018 at 6:40 PM ^
I wonder if this is an intentional leak to gauge public opinion.
August 20th, 2018 at 7:05 PM ^
This
August 20th, 2018 at 8:12 PM ^
If so, I hope they're looking at the mgoboard.
August 20th, 2018 at 8:41 PM ^
Or listening to the national sports media...really, anywhere that's not their own echo chamber.
August 20th, 2018 at 6:47 PM ^
Nothing surprising in this story.
August 20th, 2018 at 6:50 PM ^
Sad to say but this will all be old news soon ... just like at Moo U. Nothing happened and you know where their priorities lie. It all gets covered up or just goes away. There was more focus on extra stretching than these recent stories.
August 20th, 2018 at 6:51 PM ^
It goes mostly away, and then after urban's spectacularly poor end to the season, suddenly more information is revealed and he is canned off-season.
August 20th, 2018 at 6:53 PM ^
I always hated "Urban Liar" because it just seemed like a sour grapes name for a coach we couldn't bring down on the field. But now, it's actually an accurate description of the man.
August 20th, 2018 at 10:09 PM ^
I want to go all in on that with you but it's not as if coaches don't lie to the media damn near every time they speak to them... Just look at what Harbaugh has been telling them with a straight face about the QB situation. I find it hard to believe that he didn't 100% know that Patterson was the starter but he told them otherwise because it was really none of their business. If we start hammering coaches for lying to the clown show media then there will be nobody left to actually coach the teams.
August 20th, 2018 at 10:23 PM ^
Can't track with you equating smokescreen answers on starting QBs vs. outright lying about knowledge of spousal abuse by one of your direct reports.
August 20th, 2018 at 11:57 PM ^
Wow spilledmilk, you are really reaching here. Coaching gamesmanship and harboring an abuser have essentially nothing in common. This isn't one of those times where you have to acknowledge that there's a little bad in everyone and we shouldn't pass judgement. This is a case, another case, in which Meyer has proven he is a piece of shit human being.
August 21st, 2018 at 12:14 AM ^
So you're comparing Harbaugh hedging on revealing the starting quarterback to Meyer lying on Big Ten Media Day about knowing about Zach Smith? Apples, meet oranges.
August 20th, 2018 at 6:56 PM ^
So, let me get this straight: there is a school that employed Meyer, Wilson, Schiano, and Smith all at the same time. Talk about a whose who of scumbags.
August 20th, 2018 at 7:07 PM ^
I know that the Urban Meyer saga has this board gripped today but Harbaugh naming Patterson as the starting QB is even more important news for Michigan on this Monday. It doesn't really matter what they do to Urban as he has permanently stained the program if they choose to keep him. He is no longer the media darling that often has gotten him playoff points in the past. Also, if he is fired it doesn't matter. Tressel was an excellent coach who elevated the program to its national status which paved the way for a constant recruitment machine. Meyer just stepped into a perfect situation and kept it going just like the person will that is hired to replace him. Ohio State has and always will be a great football program. Personally, I want Michigan to beat OSU with Meyer at the helm. Patterson being named as the clear starter two weeks prior to the ND game is awesome. Harbaugh has not been able to do this since taking over in Ann Arbor. Its good for the offense and they now can begin gelling with their clear leader. Also, the fact that Harbaugh had to go out of the program to get a starting QB speaks volumes about Peters and McCaffrey. Their freshman status is NOT an excuse. There are plenty of Freshman QB's who play big time college football (Like Georgia's and Alabama's QB). Peters was clearly a recruiting mistake and I would not be surprised to see him transfer to a MAC school where he should be. Patterson has two years if he is not drafted after this season and Milton who played against top level competition in Florida will be the next QB after Shea leaves. Great job Coach Harbaugh naming your leader!!! Go Blue!!!!
August 20th, 2018 at 7:39 PM ^
Actually Urban is a much better recruiter than Jim. Urban can recruit coast to coast. Jim had really good players on the 1st team, where Urban has 4 stars on the 2nd team that can't get off the sideline.
August 20th, 2018 at 7:53 PM ^
Win and recruits recruit themselves. Urban came into OSU with a stacked roster and won. Jim came into a demoralized and depleted program and righted the ship. He has recruited pretty well and as he wins more will recruit at an even higher level.
August 20th, 2018 at 9:19 PM ^
The year before Urban came in they were 6-6. Does that sound like a stacked roster to you? The 2012 team that went undefeated, they weren't that good, the B1G sucked that year.
August 20th, 2018 at 9:22 PM ^
Please. The team went 6-6 because Luke Fickell is a downgrade from Brady Hoke.
August 20th, 2018 at 9:29 PM ^
I would agree with that statement, but that 2012 Ohio St. team wasn't stacked by any means.
August 20th, 2018 at 9:56 PM ^
Give me a fucking break. That team was still loaded with players that had won the Big Ten and been to multiple BCS bowl games, and had a QB tailor-made for Meyer’s offense already on the roster before he even showed up. He came into a team that had a ton of players who knew how to win.
Meyer is a great coach and I give the man his props. But let’s not pretend that he walked into a bare cupboard. He still inherited far and away the most talented team in the conference.
August 20th, 2018 at 10:02 PM ^
Thank you. Saved me the time of saying just that. I also think Meyer wouldn't have gotten back into coaching if such a tailor-made situation wasn't starring him in the face. No way he would have signed on for a rebuild. He took a good team and made it better, but don't act like he took a bad or even mediocre team and made them good.
August 20th, 2018 at 9:17 PM ^
SEC North. The OSU bag men network is said to rival Saban's.
There's a reason Meyer and Saban can never coach in the pros. All players get paid in the pros.
August 20th, 2018 at 10:15 PM ^
Thats alot of stone throwing considering that Michigan won the Patterson from ole Miss sweepstakes... Are you assuming that his recruitment to ole Miss and his subsequent transfer to Michigan was all squeaky clean? The highly rated guys who committed to hugh freeze knew what was going on and they signed there anyway. I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion but it's logical.
August 20th, 2018 at 11:29 PM ^
So MIchigan's got to be not just clean, but squeaky clean? Wow, why not try to apply that standard to everyone then.
Yes, I'm pretty well satisfied that Patterson's transfer here was/is clean. There were a couple of other Ole MIss players we would have gotten however the transcripts did not clear. Think about that for a second. Not a HC decision. The transcripts didn't clear.
Would that ever be a problem for OSU where they don't worry about skool?
August 20th, 2018 at 7:08 PM ^
Urban Liar isn't going anywhere! Those of you who feel otherwise are just setting yourself up for major disappointment. It's O-Lie-O state forgodsakes. Very pathetic that they will keep him, but we all know these buffoons do not see it that way. It is the W's that matter! IMO there is a new satan to replace Saban. The SEC bagmen cheating pales in comparison to Urban turning the other cheek on DV.That is all.
August 20th, 2018 at 10:19 PM ^
Weird that the police couldn't find enough evidence to ever charge Smith, yet here we are assuming that he was a chronic wife beater and urban was standing right behind him giving him pointers... Zach is obviously an individual with alot of personal demons but it's hard to say with a straight face that Meyer knew about all of it and covered for him anyway. Had Smith ever been charged with domestic violence, he would have been shit canned immediately. Blame the police for not charging him. I don't like that "guilty just because he's there" attitude. Hell, Michigan has a coach on staff that was at PSU during part of the rapey years... Should we also assume that he helped cover for a serial child abuser just because he was there? I mean, everyone HAD to know about it right??
August 20th, 2018 at 10:45 PM ^
So why was he fired after his behavior went public?
August 20th, 2018 at 11:40 PM ^
Nice try but Meyer is covered with dirt. I suspect that what is already known from his days in Florida is the proverbial tip of the iceberg.
August 20th, 2018 at 7:20 PM ^
I'm less interested in what happens to Meyer (because I really want to beat him) and more interested in him & OSU answering the following questions:
1. Are the sex toys, sex with other staff members, and dick pics true? If so did Urban know? If not why was the alleged sex partner moved to another position?
2. If Meyer knew about Smith all along why did he only fire him when it became public? And, why did he renew his contract after multiple incidents?
3. Why did he lie at B1G media days about it?
If OSU/ Meyer want to admit on the record, yeah he knew all that shit & employed that scum bag and only fired him when word got out because we wanted to avoid a media uproar which obviously didn't work, and although we aren't happy about it's not enough to fire a very successful coach, then so be it. But, I want those fools admit winning is more important and Meyer knew all the shit all along and isn't the moral/high character righteous dude he portrays.
August 20th, 2018 at 8:25 PM ^
1. Are the sex toys, sex with other staff members, and dick pics true? If so did Urban know? If not why was the alleged sex partner moved to another position?
Even a basic goon like Zach Smith gets bored of all doggy-style all the time.
August 20th, 2018 at 7:43 PM ^
Doesn't really come as a surprise. Shows that the school that calls itself a nut really doesn't have any when it comes to doing the right thing.
August 20th, 2018 at 7:45 PM ^
Throughout the whole investigation there have been leaks from “insiders” and they’ve been all over the place. My question is where this 2 or 4 game suspension rumor started a few weeks ago. My only guess is because TCU and PSU. I don’t think anyone has any concrete information.
August 20th, 2018 at 9:37 PM ^
It was me...I posited on reddit that the “investigation” would take 2 weeks and the decision would be a 4 game suspension. My user id over there is s1105615 too if you want to check it out.
August 20th, 2018 at 8:02 PM ^
He will be back. It’s a near certainty unless McMurphy somehow has another big card to play. And at this point I don’t know what he’d be waiting for. The question at this point is more if Meyer gets suspended for the TCU game, which is possible, but not something I’m counting on.
My guess is a two game suspension, which really means nothing. It’d be a two week vacation for Meyer while OSU can sleepwalk through two nobodies on its schedule, and then a BS public apology that OSU fans slobknob all over, calling it a courageous speech from a “great man of integrity.” Not 24 hours later do several online petitions start that call for OSU and Meyer to sue McMurphy for character defamation.
August 20th, 2018 at 10:30 PM ^
1) I have my doubts that he is suspended more than 1 game - if at all.
2) they will likely steamroll TCU with or without him. The biggest impact Meyer makes is in recruiting and general management.
August 20th, 2018 at 11:57 PM ^
You're a moron.
August 21st, 2018 at 12:31 AM ^
If McMurphy has another big card to play, he’s going to wait until after Drake makes his decision. The bomb creates a far bigger explosion if Drake doesn’t fire him, yet more bad things keep dropping. McMurphy is a calculating guy and has shown a desire to one-up the narrative. If Urban is found “not guilty enough to fire”, then another big bomb is much more disruptive because the story can’t die and the narrative then becomes “whyever did OSU decide to keep this slime ball?” And the media now gets to question/destroy Meyer’s AND OSU’s integrity.
I’m sure that’s why Drake retained the people he did to conduct the investigation. He desperately needs to know ALL the dirt on Meyer before making his call. To make a Euchre analogy, he’s trying to avoid playing the left bower and hoping the right bower is buried and not in McMurphy’s hand.
August 20th, 2018 at 8:27 PM ^
Consider that in May 1995, former UM Head Coach Gary Moeller was fired for getting drunk in a Detroit area restaurant and getting belligerent (and ultimately arrested). For years, OSU fans had a field day with this (and many still do). Moeller had a bad night, drank too much, and he was shown the door.
Meyer will keep his job for far worse. That is, if you believe he lives by and teaches his three tenets on the wall at the Woody Hayes Center ("Honesty" and "Treat Women with Respect" being two of the three).
That's why Michigan is the Leaders and Best. And Ohio State is, well Ohio State.