Florida fans: Stop whining about Meyer going to Ohio State
Before Florida fans complain, they should remember Urban Meyer won this thing for them -- twice. (AP photo)
(Updated: 10:35 a.m.)
Urban Meyer just went from savior to Satan in Gainesville. Sorry, but did Florida fans really expect he was going to spend the rest of his life sitting in a climate-controlled studio and planting pansies?
Welcome to reality, Gator fans. You’re apparently the last one to figure out that Meyer is no less disingenuous than any other college coach, and he might be worse.
The former Florida coach reportedly has taken the head coaching job at Ohio State, confirming the worst kept secret in sports. Kudos to the blog sites ElevenWarriors and SportsByBrooks, which were way ahead of this story on Nov. 18.
(For what it’s worth: Meyer’s agent denied to cbssports.com’s Dennis Dodd that Meyer has accepted the job. But at this point, we’re probably talking semantics.)
Gator fans are upset. They believe Meyer betrayed them, and, well, maybe he did just a little. They believe he was dishonest, and, well, maybe he was just a little.
But Meyer won two BCS and two SEC championships. He went 65-15 in six seasons, resuscitating a program that had slipped under Ron Zook following Steve Spurrier’s departure. Urban Meyer owes Florida fans nothing.
My pal, George Diaz, of the Orlando Sentinel had an excellent column on this and he was right on point when he wrote: “In Columbus and other Ohio outposts, Urban is a saint. In Gainesville and neighboring communities, he is a sinner. Labels are funny. If Meyer had quit on Ohio State and was returning to coach at Florida, the sentiments would be flip-flopped.”
Now, about Meyer: My belief is that the health scare he suffered nearly two years ago was legit. It probably freaked out his family more than him but that’s the way most coaches are wired. He resigned one day and un-resigned the next, saying he would take only a leave of absence.
The 2010 season was a mess. Meyer couldn’t be as driven (psychotic?) as he wanted to be. The fact Florida slipped (4-4 in the SEC after going 32-9 in the previous nine years) didn’t help. He was worn down. He wasn’t having fun. He needed a break. So he quit. That’s what I believe.
One popular conspiracy theory: Meyer left because he realized he had made some recruiting mistakes and the Gators would be mediocre this season. That could’ve played a role. But if Florida had been better in 2010, maybe he wouldn’t have seemed as worn down, either.
Regardless, the “I just want to spend more time with my family” excuse never washed with anybody. That’s not to say Meyer doesn’t love his wife and children but that never seemed the No. 1 motivating factor in him quitting.
If he really felt that, he wouldn’t be back now. What, after 12 months, he got all of the hugs out of his system?
Meyer just needed a break. Now he returns to Ohio State, where he was a grad assistant for two years. He is a Ohio native. This is as close to a dream job as he will get. (My guess is “dream job” will be mentioned at his introductory news conference.)
None of this means he is making the right decision. If he starts suffering from chest pains again, you will have your answer.
As far as how this affects his family, that’s between them. But nobody should be stunned that Meyer is going to be back on a sideline next season. And if any Florida fans have hard feelings about it, maybe they should take a walk past the trophy case.
By Jeff Schultz
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401 comments Add your comment
GatorG
November 28th, 2011
11:05 am
Alabama lost to the #1 team AT HOME. You’ve had your chance, now let someone else try.
dawg
November 28th, 2011
11:06 am
i did look it up, other didn’t believe!!!
dawg
November 28th, 2011
11:07 am
@ GatorG,
Who is worthy? Who should go?
Herschel Talker
November 28th, 2011
11:07 am
Schultzie:
This couldn’t happen to a bigger bunch of jerks. Let those Gator fans suffer. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
HT
matches malone
November 28th, 2011
11:09 am
FLA fans, dont sweat it, Meyer was gonna be gone after Tebow for the simple fact that he couldnt win without him. Muschamp is a good coach and recruiter but he needs to do 2 things to be successful. 1. Muschamp needs to take over the defense, its a waste of his talents if he doesnt do what he does best. 2. FIRE WEIS !!! Ole fat in the hat is without a doubt the most over-rated coordinator of all time pro or college. Keep your head up Gator fans, it could be worse at least you still got most of that number 1 recruiting class Meyer got ya before he hit the road.
ole yeller
November 28th, 2011
11:09 am
Fla head man “WM” he want be crying all the way to the bank cashing those checks. By the time he get fired he will be like Jessie Palmer, millions in the bank and working for ESPN. Who care what happens to “UF” they have had their day. ….Times change, get use to Gators.
5150 UOAD
November 28th, 2011
11:09 am
UGA Unrewarded………….Common Sense? Common Sense is to not have polls until the 5th game of the season. You know after the Coastal Carolina scrimmages are over and teams play a conference game or 2. What happens this year has little to do with how good teams will be next year.
UGA Unrewarded
November 28th, 2011
11:11 am
Pat Forde speaks the truth about Urban Meyer.
Link : http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=pf-forde_meyer_credibility_urban_myth_112711
Ok. dawg, you right. Oregon’s other loss was to LSU. They beat Stanford.
jjgator
November 28th, 2011
11:11 am
Hi, my name is Nick Satan and I am not leaving LSU to go to the Miami Dolphins. Hi, my name is Nick Satan and I am not leaving the Dolphins to go to Bama. Hi, my name is Urban Lyer and I am leaving UF for health reasons and to spend more time with my family. Hi, my name is Urban Lyer and I am not going to OU.
GatorG
November 28th, 2011
11:11 am
Who should go? Whoever is next on the BCS list after the team that already lost to LSU.
This is as close to a playoff as we can get, and you people want to replay a round? Again, Alabama had their chance.
Plus, if we let Alabama play LSU, we’re just going to hear it for the next year that the SEC was too scared to play someone outside the conference.
Alabama had their chance. At home. And they lost. Now step aside. It can’t get more simple than that.
GaBuckeye
November 28th, 2011
11:12 am
Folks can say whatever they want about Ohio State or the Big Ten, but the fact is, there are 4-5 premier college programs in the nation, and Ohio State is one of them, along with Southern Cal, Texas, Notre Dame, and Michigan. Sorry dawg fans, UGA is not in the same class.
The
November 28th, 2011
11:12 am
BCS NC game should have the two best teams in the Nation playing in it and right now that seems to be LSU and ALA, no matter how much the dog fans whine about it.
UGA Unrewarded
November 28th, 2011
11:14 am
Urban’s own daughter tweeted that Meyer wasn’t going to coach at Ohio State. Meyer has again put money and prestige over his family & so-called health issues…
UGA Unrewarded
November 28th, 2011
11:15 am
How would LSU be one of the best 2 teams “right now” if they just lost to UGA ? Theorectically saying…
dawg
November 28th, 2011
11:15 am
Let’s see, Ok ST who got beat by Iowa St, Stanford who got ROLLED by Oregon, Virginia Tech???? Give me a break, Bama is a legit #2 so just get over it, the SEC West has the 2 best teams in the country, period.
matches malone
November 28th, 2011
11:16 am
Buckeye, when exactly was the last time one of those “4-5 premier college programs” wont a NC or much less beat an SEC school… *crickets*
krazydawg
November 28th, 2011
11:18 am
How did Georgia move down on the polls?Somebody in the BCS is getting rich.
GatorG
November 28th, 2011
11:19 am
dawg, I’m not saying Alabama isn’t the second best team in the country. I’m saying they’ve had the chance to show they’re the BEST team in the country, and failed. Now it’s time to give someone else the chance.
UGA Unrewarded
November 28th, 2011
11:19 am
Bee Gees former member Marky Mark Bradley still got me blocked. Schultz for President !
ole yeller
November 28th, 2011
11:20 am
Ohio State can’t buy a champinship with “UM” they stil have to play the game. We will see how this plays out. I don’t think it is going to be pretty in OHIO.
Buckeye
November 28th, 2011
11:20 am
In case you’ve been missing me, I’m posting on Bradley’s blog.
robodawg
November 28th, 2011
11:21 am
Interesting turn of events.
Recruiting mistakes at Florida? Wasn’t his last class “the greatest recruiting class ever”?
GaBuckeye
November 28th, 2011
11:21 am
LSU and Alabama right now are the 2 best teams in college football. I don’t like either team, and really don’t care who wins it, I just want the 2 best teams playing for the championship, and this year it just happens that both play in the SEC West.
dawg
November 28th, 2011
11:22 am
And all I’m saying is nobody behind them is worthy enough either. Besides, isn’t the 2 BEST teams supposed to play at the end of the year? If LSU is #1 and you admitted BAma is the second best then where’s the problem?
UGA Unrewarded
November 28th, 2011
11:22 am
BCS : “Hey LSU you just lost to UGA but we are going to reward you by putting you in the National Championship game against Alabama (the 3rd best SEC team). But we hate playoffs. We are gonna then put UGA (the team that just beat supposedly the best team we got) in the Potato Bowl…
Buckeye
November 28th, 2011
11:22 am
Viningdog,
You must make your fellow dog fans really proud – your mother too.
ATLien
November 28th, 2011
11:24 am
I’m going to say what noone else is saying. Should the Dawgs win next week in Atlanta…THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA SHOULD PLAY FOR THE NC.
Don’t tell me we can’t go because we didn’t win our conference, as they did in 2007. Because we would have won that. Don’t tell me we can’t go because we have two losses. See 2007. Don’t tell me we can’t go because our schedule was weak. While everyone else opened up with patsies, the Dawgs opened with Boise and SC. Two top 10-15 teams. Since then it’s 10 straight, and if we get the 11th, that will mean 11 straight victories with the last one coming against the clear #1 in the country. In a season of chaos, should the Dawgs beat the Tigers, I’m asking why not UGA? Does anyone really think Stanford or Oklahoma State is better than UGA? Ok, the haters probably do, but reality is UGA is a stacked and loaded young team that IS just as good as any other top team in the country (SEC).
GatorG
November 28th, 2011
11:24 am
Ok, let’s say Alabama plays LSU. And loses again. Should they play third time to give Bama one more chance. And a fourth? Fifth? Just how many chances should they get?!
krazydawg
November 28th, 2011
11:24 am
Yeah i heard Ohio State is good at water polo.
Give me a break
November 28th, 2011
11:25 am
Does anyone on here think that if UGA was ranked #2 and their only loss was a 3 point loss to #1 LSU and ANYBODY suggested that a lower ranked team should jump over them to play for the NC that the dog nation would be howling like a scalded dog
UGA Unrewarded
November 28th, 2011
11:26 am
I agree. If LSU is supposedly the best team in college football and UGA beats them then why can’t UGA play for the NC ?
UGA Unrewarded
November 28th, 2011
11:28 am
I think Urban Meyer’s health problems started during the time that picture was taken. He pulled a valve in his heart hoisting that 2 lb. crystal football…
RxDawg
November 28th, 2011
11:28 am
Just more proof that everyone wants a way out of the swamp.
alex
November 28th, 2011
11:28 am
let’s see, ohio state students will pay 3.5-7.0% more this year(can’t figure out the actual increase from their website)BUT ohio will pay it’s FOOTBALL coach 6 million…hmmm,priorities?! Just like uga, a bunch of morons and tailgaiting idiots for alumni…
dawg
November 28th, 2011
11:29 am
I am a UGA fan and do not have a problem with LSU and Bama playing. They proved themselves this year, the Dawgs didn’t. Beat LSU and play for a NC? That’s the ignorant Dawg fans we have on here.
GatorG
November 28th, 2011
11:29 am
If Bama’s 3 point loss was at LSU, I could see an argument for replaying the game on a neutral field. But it was AT BAMA.
They tried. They failed. Step aside.
Give me a break
November 28th, 2011
11:30 am
LSU opened with the #3 team in the nation and beat them, and all this will be moot when LSU ends the season 14-0 and is the unanimous #1 ranked team in the nation.
Sorry doggies but come Saturday you will just be the 13th victim of the #1 team in the nation.
UGA Unrewarded
November 28th, 2011
11:32 am
Ok. If LSU beats UGA then they deserve to play for the NC. But if they lose then they don’t. Alabama certainly doesn’t not winning the SEC.
ROLLTIDE
November 28th, 2011
11:33 am
The Dawg fans are killin me!!! Ya’ll have fun in the SEC Championship I have to go get my National Championship tix!!
P B Orr
November 28th, 2011
11:34 am
Maybe his family doesn’t want to spend time with him. Stay tuned for “Days of our SEC Lives” followed by “The Edge of Spite” as the never-ending soap opera that is hillbilly football rolls on.
Florida fans must get ready for some real mediocre years
November 28th, 2011
11:35 am
Florida is in BIG trouble right now and for the immediate future. That is at least two and possibly 4 or 5 years out. Here is why:
Muschamp is NOT the answer. His side line rantings have exposed him for what he is. He is simply inexperienced and way too emotional to get the entire team to respond positively to his rants. Time will tell. His urban thug kids will NOT respond to the rants. Compare Meyer and Spurrier …………….both far cooler under game duress, than Will the Pill.
FLorida at best will be a 7-4 squad for the immediate future and YES< UGA IS ON A ROLL. UGA WONS FLORIDA ……………….ALWAYS HAS and ALWAYS WILL. LOOK at the entire record.
Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Dogs.
PS: UT is also down and will be until they hire a legit coaching staff.
GaBuckeye
November 28th, 2011
11:36 am
‘matches malone’ – I left out another premier program, and that would be Alabama. The SEC started this string of national championships back in 2006. Yes, the SEC has dominated the last 6 years, but not 1 team has dominated, it has been the conference. When you look at the history of Ohio State, Southern Cal, Notre Dame, Michigan, Texas, and Alabama, no one else even comes close. I am not knocking anyones team, just stating the facts.
ATLien
November 28th, 2011
11:36 am
It may be killing you, it may even cause a dawg to call his brothers ignorant (good one bud). But I’m sorry, the case can totally be made. And since the teams have yet to play, borrowing from our buddy CPJ, it’s just perception that LSU is that much better than UGA.
And Bama fans, you should just shut up and keep praying the media doesn’t change it’s tune to the song it sang so loud in 07. Which was UGA can’t play for the NC because it didn’t even win it’s conference or division.
Give me a break
November 28th, 2011
11:37 am
if there was a better team than ALA don’t you think they would be ranked #2 right now. I don’t think the powers that be want a rematch any more than some fans on here. If OK State beats OK maybe, but still they loss to Iowa State. Stanford? Really, you think they are better than ALA?
D-Jerry
November 28th, 2011
11:37 am
You can’t expect Florida fans to stop whining; thay have made an art of it.
Let us recall 07??
November 28th, 2011
11:40 am
UGA got hot in 07 BUT did not play for any major titles, because THEY DID NOT win the SEC East.UGA in 08 ended up #2 behind LSU. Fine with me that was. Very fine indeed. Alabama DID NOT win the SEC West………………….so they are done as far as the MNC BUT they are absolutely one of the top 5 teams this year.
End of story. LSU wins over UGA, then they DO PLAY for the MNC vs someone in the Top 4. Period. UGA? They will be the only team ( if they win) in 2011 to have defeated the # 1 team. THAT IS important, but two losses is too much to be much beyond # 4 or # 5.
As a UGA man, I wiould LOVE to end up # 4 or # 6 THIS Year.
Goooooooooooooooooooooo Dogs.
ROLLTIDE
November 28th, 2011
11:40 am
Wow, 07′ is still a sore subject huh? Do you want me to buy you a National Championship t-shirt so you’ll know what one looks like?
ATLien
November 28th, 2011
11:42 am
Whether Bama is better than anyone is completely irrelevant Bama fans. What is relevant is just a mere few years ago the refrain was a team that doesn’t win it’s conference can’t go to the NC. And the real best team in the country at the time (UGA) got jobbed out of the shot it deserved because of it. You didn’t win your conference, it matters not how good you think you are.
GaBuckeye
November 28th, 2011
11:45 am
So let me get this straight. IF, and that is a huge IF, UGA beats LSU, they should jump from #14 to #2 in the BCS polls? Yeah, that is going to happen. About as likely as UGA beating LSU.
ROLLTIDE
November 28th, 2011
11:45 am
So do you want a t-shirt or not? I bet that one from 1980 is ragged as hell. Hell GT has a newer shirt than UGA!!!