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
DawgRR
November 28th, 2011
10:21 pm
florida’s down for a long time—muschamp can’t coach a lick. The Dawgs will own the SEC east for years!!! Richt’s got the dawgs back!!!
Atlanta Gator
November 28th, 2011
10:35 pm
@Mobile Dawg, I expect significant progress next year . . . not in the sense of “I demand significant progress,” either. Given the opportunity, Muschamp will right the ship. Will he win an SEC or BCS championship in the next five years? I have no idea. The SEC is far more competitive than it’s ever been at the top. When Spurrier’s Gators dominated the conference for seven of twelve years, the Gators were the cream of the crop with only one or two other contenders. Now, there’s Alabama, and LSU in the first tier, Arkansas, Georgia and South Carolina in the second tier, and Auburn not far behind the second group. As of November 2011, the Gators aren’t even in the top half of the conference, and it’s going to get even more competitive as Tennessee rebuilds, and Spurrier finally gets a quarterback to go with his Heisman-caliber tailback.
The SEC East will produce a contender or two again by 2013; hopefully, one of them will be the Gators. We will see.
oleballfan
November 28th, 2011
10:37 pm
I don’t know why all you cfb fans are responding to this IDIOT Schultz. Real Gator fans could give a ratsazz where Meyer coaches. Schultz is the WORSE sports journalist in all the land. Why AJC continues to hire him is beyond common sense. Not only that, he is a closet racist, if you read between the lines of the tripe he writes
hind tit
November 28th, 2011
10:38 pm
Meyer said he wanted to get back to his roots. Yeah root of all evil. To the tune of about 30 million for six years.
Mobile Dawg
November 28th, 2011
10:54 pm
As much as I don’t like the Gators, primarily due to the record over the last couple of decades, a strong Florida team is good for the conference.
oleballfan, you missed the boat on Schultz, I think he’s a tree hugging liberal. A far cry from a racist.
Ckgator
November 28th, 2011
11:08 pm
As a life-long Gator and Florida grad, I see zero controversy or drama here. Meyer won us 2 titles in 6 years, and is entitled to self-direct his career. He owes us nothing.
We have a solid coach in Muschamp who will lead us back to greatness. Time to move on.
get ur facts straight
November 28th, 2011
11:36 pm
UGA has two mythical NCs not one. And, I would take our coaches and third highest number of SEC titles, soon to be #2, in the SEC over a short termer. Finally, Richt will win NCs.
Let's see...
November 29th, 2011
12:27 am
this guy gets the Fla. job where the cupboards were stocked with talent. Leake got him one championship, then he gets another, all the while with Zook’s players. His staff starts leaving and the recruiting stops bringing in talent. He takes a look around and all of a sudden he says he has health issues and he wants to spend time with family. He then jumps in a plane straight to Bristol, Ct to work for the evil empire where he sits and waits for a plum job to open up. He interviews well before the final game of the Buckeyes with UM rendering the interim coach a lame duck. He then denies ever being offered or even meeting with Buckeyes about a job and then wham, Monday morning he’s ready to go with a 7 year $40 million deal. This man is fraud. He’ll be exposed from the rip. He has never “built” a program. Heck, Alex Smith is just now learning to chew gum and walk at the same time in the NFL. There is a kid walking around the state of Fla that can actually play QB but Brantley got the scholarship. Who’s going to get on his staff? What talent has he recruited, coached and sent to the pros? If he can’t get talent to Gainesville, then how will he get them to Columbus? OSU had a chance to hire a man of integrity and bring some respect back to their program but they just dropped the ball.
preferredduck
November 29th, 2011
12:29 am
IIf anyone noticed urban was doing the announcing for ALL ESPN games at tOSU salad. I started to notice that and realized hey they need a coach. He may have a couple of years to get better since the future may be unclear to tOSU. Go dawgs Saturday!!!
Waldiggitydog
November 29th, 2011
2:48 am
This fart of a column is whinier than any Gator fans. Do you expect them to be excited about this?
TheAntiMe
November 29th, 2011
4:41 am
Meyer did what any coach would ideally like to do. He left UF after putting that program on top, which, had he stayed left him nowhere to go but down. Now Meyer is taking over an OSU program that is in as much disarray as that program has been in years leaving Meyer nowhere to go but up. It just makes sense.
PurpleNGold
November 29th, 2011
5:29 am
I haven’t heard any Florida fans whining about anything. The only whiners are Georgie fans complaining about how unfair the BCS is and why they aren’t ranked number 2 in the nation. Come on Jeff, write some stories with a little less bias that exemplies your sad devotion to the SEC’s worst best team.
Jeff
November 29th, 2011
5:43 am
Several factors contributed to Meyer being at Ohio State instead of Florida. I do not believe the claims of medical but rather he was no longer dominating the recruiting not only in-state but nationally. I’m not saying he was doing bad but when Nick Saban arrived in Florida, Meyer saw the writing on the wall. Now there would be intense competition for all recruits plus Florida State was on the rise again with a new coach. Meyer’s offense now had to deal physical football, true southeastern football versus small speedy players running the option. The expectations went through the roof with one national championship followed shortly thereafter with a second. Meyer just like Spurrer saw his days of running up the score on teams coming to close except when they play all their non-conference games in the state of Florida against FCS teams like they schedule every year. What goes around comes around and now Florida reaps what they sow. Now your new coach a deep UGA mole that will continue to set the Florida into a period of dispair will now be fighting off Meyer for some of the top recruits in the state and he will get a lot of talent at Florida to go to Ohio State. Meyer is a perfect fit up at Ohio State because you could see from his time at Florida that winning was at all cost with the number of player arrests as him as head coach and apparently Ohio State is teflon and will get away with a whole lot of violations that would land most SEC teams minus Auburn with serious sanctions. These events could not happen to a more deserving bunch.
TampaGator
November 29th, 2011
6:43 am
Let’s See……
I am not personally happy with how Meyer handled things, but man, you are way off base with Meyer’s coaching and recruiting skills……
He recruited Harvin and he is in a starter in the pros.
He recruited the Pouncey twins and they are starters in the pros
He recruited Gilbert and he is a starter in the pros
He recruited Tebow and he is a starter in the pros
He recruited Spikes and he is a starter in the pros
He recruited Haden and he is a starter int he pros
He recruited Murphy and he is a starter in the pros
…..and those are only the ones I can think off of the top of my hears. My beef is not with Meyer as a coach or a recruiter (and he also made Zook’s players better after he arrived)…..but with his seemingly “me first” to approach through this whole process. But Muschamp wil do better in the long run, I believe. So good luck to Meyer and I hope Florida beats the crap out of Ohio State again in a NC game very soon.
Paddy
November 29th, 2011
6:57 am
Lest we all forget…….the worst coach in my lifetime is still Bobby Petrino. Hope he never has any influence on Georgia HS players. Just stay out of this State Bobby. You are no longer welcome!
Man Crush on Meyer.
November 29th, 2011
7:32 am
If you thought Kirt Herbstreet had a man crush on Tebow and Meyer when they were at Fl. Next years college game day 1st hour will be dedicated to Meyer & the next hour will be Notre Dame.
JoMamma
November 29th, 2011
7:44 am
Great move. Notice all the hero coaches survey the landscape and come in when the other poor smuck was one year away (Rodriguez, Terry Bowden,etc) Bottom line is Ohio State is loaded and similar to an SEC team. That also means maniac fans there have a short tolerance chain for “rebuilding”. OS is deep, deep at RB and always has a defense that is stout. The HS football is arguably top six or so. One huge mistake here: rather than learn from a better coach – Tressel, Urban’s arrogance will be his undoing. If he tries to run the spread (without Tebow), the Big 10 defensese will hospitalize his QB and hand him his lunch somewhere along the way to his title. OS has very poor receivers currently stocked so I am not sure how is going to use 4 or 5 of them, this ain’t Florida. Good move to slide right in to OSU with a young, talented team but my guess is Urban’s infatuation with himself will be his undoing. Three seasons from now I can hear them calling Jim Tressel to come back and get them out of the mess they created. RichRod II has begun.
Whiskey Breath
November 29th, 2011
8:14 am
Jeff, why don’t you just stick your tongue at the Gators? What damn business is it yours? Aren’t you too busy telling the locals what they want to hear?
Whiskey Breath
November 29th, 2011
8:18 am
Gators I have been watching football too long. Get rid of Will. Too much talent to be that bad.
Truvy
November 29th, 2011
8:23 am
It’s really sad that UGA alumni and fans have only their football team to take pride in. It’s even sadder that this pride depends on the performance of illiterate dummies who don’t even come close to meeting minimum academic requirements. 75% of UGA football players are what UGA calls “special admits,” which is just a euphemism for admitting bozos who can barely read.
This sorry practice not only cheapens all UGA degrees, but embarrasses the State of Georgia and its citizens.
So enjoy your victories, and be kind to your former players when you see them working menial jobs in custodial or sanitation services. Or pushing a shopping cart around, looking for a warm place to sleep at night. That’s your UGA reality.
zbulldawg
November 29th, 2011
8:29 am
Anyone need a good Job !! Check out Illini ! You might get lucky like Urban did at FLA. Step into a boat load of talent !! Now he can see himself as a savior once more !! OU now Maybe the Dame next ? His girls must be playing 1 year of volley ball !! It’s got to be hard on his son to go to school in FLA. BUT remember Meyer you still have to come through the SEC to get the BIG prize !! Maybe the bottom will not fall out at OU !! YOU know the way Urban was talking during the Press conf. about NCAA investigations He’s though with that and all !!! I’m Just saying WHAT is really behind DOOR No. 2 or 3 !! SICK EM
CommonSense
November 29th, 2011
8:32 am
Jeff,
Why won’t you and the rest in the media just call it for what it is? The outright LIES Meyer said, using his family as a copout and his questionable health issues were just that, copouts.
Meyer is just the world’s worst loser. He cannot handle losing as his wacky behavior illustrated following the blowout butt kicking he suffered from Bama in Atlanta. His “health issues” were just his lack of being able to cope with not winning every single game.
Meyer saw the writing on the wall and knew Saban and Miles were not going to be pushovers and he couldn’t deal with the challenge, but he knows the crappy Big 10 will be a cakewalk. Case closed.
Misty From Macon
November 29th, 2011
8:33 am
As usual Schultz you wrote a stupid article. Telling Florida Fans to “Just get over it” and “look at your trophy case” is like telling a soon to be ex-wife who caught her husband cheating with her best friend to “Look at all the stuff in your house that he helped to buy” and “Your friend is a natural blonde”.
Any bets how that soon to be ex-wife is going to take that nonsense? Can you say “Lynn Turner”? (Lady who fed her two exes antifreeze).
Andy
November 29th, 2011
8:50 am
But Meyer won two BCS and two SEC championships. He went 65-15 in six seasons,
==============
This is kind of record is a wet dream to the Puppy’s fan base.
At least UGA was able to get into the big SEC game because no other team in the East was worth a flip in 2011.
bvd57
November 29th, 2011
8:51 am
well gator fans you have a great coach give him time
it will not happen over night,miami has the same hurt
but what you do not have is the quiter,thank god the yankeeis home,
really zook built the championship teams sorry
Iknow thats going to tick you quiters fan by yankee myers go canes!!
Fat Loud Know-It-All American
November 29th, 2011
8:54 am
Yeah! That’s telling them Schultz! Gain a few pounds and you’ll be OK.
North FLA Falcon
November 29th, 2011
9:06 am
Urban will fit right in at OSU since Florida is the OSU of the south. Pad their schedule with easy teams, never leave the state, and hope you can win your big rivalry games. UF is irrelevant.
tribucks
November 29th, 2011
9:15 am
Eleven Warriors & SbB…are you kidding me??????? Urban Meyer to OSU is months old and would have been difficult to miss if you paid only the least attention possible.
gspot
November 29th, 2011
9:16 am
I could care less about Meyer – he was never a true gator. Hopefully Will is the answer. Enjoy your azz whipping this Sat. puppies.
ken farrar
November 29th, 2011
9:47 am
he quit seeing the undecent teams on the immediate horizon at florida. vince dooley quit for the same reason, in my opinion but at the twilight of a career
Buckhead Bulldog
November 29th, 2011
9:51 am
The Weasel strikes AGAIN!
Sourgrapes
November 29th, 2011
9:58 am
So in a column about UF and OSU, the Dawg fans come in here to… trash GT? You won the SEC East thanks to UF and UT being down. Just enjoy that.
Bud
November 29th, 2011
10:07 am
Florida ought to think about joining the ACC. I don’t think they’re ready for the SEC.
Earl
November 29th, 2011
10:10 am
There’s a rumor that Uban Meyer and Tebow were taking showers together and that’s really why he had to leave Fla.
Delbert D.
November 29th, 2011
10:25 am
“There is no rule that says you have to win your conference to play for a NC. In fact, the rules allow for the fact that two teams that didn’t win their conference could in face each other for the NC. See BCS rules 1 and 2. ”
That’s because the BCS is not an NCAA-sanctioned championship system. Death to the corrupt BCS and let’s have a real playoff system.
produce wiz
November 29th, 2011
10:45 am
Nothing but appreciation for Urban and what he did.But, even he admits Gator program broken,yet Ohio State isn’t?Ohio born and bred.Why wouldn’t it be his dream job?Yet, if he really had some mental problems,they will re surface under the pressure at Ohio State.And the 1st thing he will do is cut down on appearances to O.S. U. functions so he can spend more time with his family.Really hope to see him nominated for 2012 Oscar.Guy is really good.
produce wiz
November 29th, 2011
10:53 am
Hope he wants Charlie W. as his offensive cordinator.
62-39-5
November 29th, 2011
11:57 am
The Benedict Muschump experiment is a failure.
Glad the Dawgs dodged that pathetic bullet.
What a loser.
Zook is available again, and a much better coach than Willy.
The only thing accomplished at UF this year was a pants size increase each game by the blimp OC.
I love watching all the orange teams fail – miserably.
62-39-5
November 29th, 2011
12:01 pm
And I also love watching the “perfect option” humiliated to perfection.
What a joke.(Like Your Stadium)
Bigdawg
November 29th, 2011
12:54 pm
As one who was born in University Hospital, not 150 yards from “The Shoe” AND a UGA grad, I love it when the Gators are pissed off!!
How’s that Will Muscahmp workin’ for ya!?! Bwahahahahaha!!!
gomdawg
November 29th, 2011
1:46 pm
Meyer , knew what he was leaving that’s why he is not there. He knew that it was going take two to three years to get Fla. back to power house he could not handle it.
TampaGator
November 29th, 2011
2:29 pm
When Meyer resigned from Florida the second time, he said that his only fear was that he would want to get back into coaching after one year and he could not go back and coach the best football program in American, the U of F…..and that he would not be able to get back into coaching because he could only coach the Gators…..his “dream job”
Now….he says….he just couldn’t turn down his “dream job” at Ohio State.
—next, his dream job will be going back to Bowling Green because Michian crushing him for the next 5 years and they run him our of Columbus…..or I hope so.
Swamp Thing
November 29th, 2011
3:00 pm
We Gators are not whining about Urban to OSU . He did great things at UF and left, just as CMR who has not done great things at UGA will also leave. Write about something else, like what were the SEC’s team records (not overall) that UGA beat to win the East. Just post that.
With articles like this you only show how the Gators own the Dogs and are in their heads..
Does he bring T-bag Tebow
November 29th, 2011
4:13 pm
Start crying now urban, you don’t have T-Bag anymore….and the thug man Prior is gone. you can get another Scam, but you know he’ll wind up stealing something like a computer or have some other dummy trade off crap for stupid a$$ tattoos.
Your well is empty….say hello to probation
Suburban Meyer
November 29th, 2011
4:16 pm
Stop attacking my dad. The last thing he would run from is a dawg. Check the record.
Does he bring T-bag Tebow
November 29th, 2011
4:20 pm
The streak is over……UGA is about to turn a streak on FL bigger than the Dooley years, and they know it…it’s cyclical and UGA still has the overall wins by a large margin….About to widen much more to uncatchable…..bye bye lizards…
Does he bring T-bag Tebow
November 29th, 2011
4:22 pm
Need Orson Charles to toss anymore crystal?
Gator Man
November 29th, 2011
4:44 pm
At least Myers is holding up a championship in Florida, something UGA will never see again
War Dang Dawg
November 29th, 2011
4:54 pm
“At least Myers is holding up a championship in Florida, something UGA will never see again”
Yeah, right. Georgia is going for its 13th championship on Saturday. Florida has 8. You Gators haven’t changed a bit from your pre-championship, pre-1990s days: you talk trash even when your team sucks.
TampaGator
November 29th, 2011
9:53 pm
“I made this clear to Jeremy Foley (Florida Athletic Director), if I am able to go coach, I want to coach at one place, the University of Florida. It would be a travesty, it would be ridiculous to all of a sudden come back and get the feeling back, get the health back, feel good again and then all of a sudden go throw some other colors on my shirt and go coach? I don’t want to do that. I have too much love for this University and these players and for what we’ve built.” — Urban Meyer