Urban Meyer takes the Ohio State job; do Gators feel jobbed?
"Let's see: Where can I land after I retire for the third time?" (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
The second retirement of Urban Meyer lasted 51 weeks. (Up from the first retirement of Urban Meyer, which lasted half a day.) And how, if you’re a Florida fan, do you feel today?
Your team is coming off a 6-6 season and the coach who retired to spend more time with his family is uprooting that family and taking it to Columbus. Yes, the Urbanator won two national championships — one more than all other Gator coaches combined — while in Gainesville, but now he’s back coaching another school after a retirement that was really a nice long nap interspersed with appearances on ESPN, and there’s some reason to believe his successor, Will Muschamp, is in over his head.
Oh, and guess who Florida figures to meet in the Gator Bowl? Ohio State.
When last a Florida coach left of his own accord, Steve Spurrier hopped to the NFL and gave it the ol’ college try for three seasons. Meyer is back doing what we all figured he’d be back doing after 51 weeks. And Florida is in as bad a shape as Florida ever gets. (At least Ron Zook left a reservoir of talent for his successor, who happened to Meyer.)
Urban Meyer is a great coach: On this we can agree. I’m not sure, however, that Gator fans regard him as quite a great a Gator as they once did.
(For the record, here’s what Muschamp said about Meyer last week, courtesy of David Jones of Florida Today: “He’s a first-class guy. But with his deteriorating health and his family, as important as that is to him, I wouldn’t think he would [take the Ohio State job].”‘)
By Mark Bradley
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253 comments Add your comment
Ted M
November 28th, 2011
11:13 am
Sounds like Meyer just wanted a year off and got it. I don’t think he could have asked that of FL directly. Nothing really wrong with that but I could see how their fans would be pissed. Particularly with there team sucking.
Buckeye
November 28th, 2011
11:13 am
Funny,
The SEC SEC has become just like the old school Big 10. There’s two at the top then the rest.
BAMA/LSU make the SEC Least look like JV. Did I not read the the Vanderbilt win was the turning point for the dogs?
BobDawg
November 28th, 2011
11:13 am
The more I learn about this it seems Buckeye is now a “winner ” and Gators will be suffering a long hangover from this. Every time Meyer lands his plane in Fla. The media will go nuts and MusChomp will be looking over his shoulder
Atlanta Gator
November 28th, 2011
11:16 am
“GATOR BOWL??? How on Earth can a 6-6 team go to a Jan. 1st bowl??”
Has someone confirmed that Florida is even bowl eligible? One of the Gators’ six wins was against Furman, and FCS (Division I-AA) team.
Buckeye
November 28th, 2011
11:16 am
Hell, the dogs were looking over their shoulder when James Franklin landed his copter at two Atlanta high school games!
Gator Man
November 28th, 2011
11:16 am
Meyer has won 2 NAT in 7 years, the ball coach won 1 nat in 5 years so why should we dissed these two champions.
Mark Saint Richt 11 years at UGA no title Georgia fans are the one that has been dissed.
BulldogBen
3 Nat in 10 years and we played LSU and Ala during the season, we did not play 500 or below teams and won 8 straight””’
gator
November 28th, 2011
11:19 am
Bradley stop blocking my comments, dont wont the truth to be told
BobDawg
November 28th, 2011
11:20 am
Buckeye, I love ya like a brother, but CPJ talked big about the SEC and it looks like Clemson, Weak Forest and Tech all lost their rivalry games.. along with our annual beat down of Tech… You can talk crow now with your hiring of Meyer but let’s see how your cheating sanctions pan out with loss of schollies etc, etc, etc… How is your boy Tressell feeling these days along with your Paterno and his “boys”????
gator
November 28th, 2011
11:22 am
Meyers won 2 nat in 7 years in Florida, old ball coach won 1 nat in 5 years,
Richt 11 years and no championship, so it looks like UGA is getting dissed.
keniboy
November 28th, 2011
11:22 am
in my humble opinion, he did what vince dooley did many years ago. saw declining teams on the horizon and quit
murfdawg
November 28th, 2011
11:22 am
OSU is a great job for Meyer. All he has to do is beat Mich and maybe Wisc and he can stay for life. He will play enough MAC schools to become bowl eligible and once every four years will have a really good team. He just needs to learn how to handle losing once in a while and not have a psychotic meltdown when he loses a game. Good luck to the Buckeye nation. I hope you got what you wished for.
lanier
November 28th, 2011
11:22 am
man am I glad Muschamp is at Fla
Gorilla Biscuit
November 28th, 2011
11:23 am
Urban said he left Florida for health reasons and to spend more time with family.
That is the consensus opinion and the reason he gave for resigning, so that’s totally believable right?
Here is a reason I was told by an Ohio State fan. I cannot verify the veracity, but here goes.
Urban was caught dipping his pen in the company ink (with a student no less). Mrs. Urban found out about it and for his “health” she insisted he spend more time with his “family” and away from temptation.
Then there is the Tebow thing (a different love affair).
Steveo
November 28th, 2011
11:24 am
He won’t have the talent pool up there that he did at Florida, but the competition will be easier…..he will do ok….don’t forsee any National Championships there though…
Atlanta Gator
November 28th, 2011
11:24 am
“Muschamp will not recruit the state of Fla. as well as Meyer.”
Muschamp currently has the FOURTH-ranked 2012 recruiting class in the country according to Rivals.com, ahead of every other SEC football program.
Muschamp currently has the FIFTH-ranked 2012 recruiting class in the country according to Scout.com, ahead of every other SEC football program except Alabama.
Care to try again?
Ted M
November 28th, 2011
11:25 am
Meyer will not win a NC in 3 years. Sorry, Mark but your futility in prognostication will continue on with that prediction.
BobDawg
November 28th, 2011
11:26 am
ATLANTA GATOR… Do you really want to play more football with this team???? Haven’t you all suffered enough this year??? A bowl game, really???
Buckeye
November 28th, 2011
11:27 am
Bobdog,
I will not joke about the Penn State story. Simply revolting. All Tressel did was lie about tattoos because he was worried his players were caught up with the wrong guy – who happens to now be a convicted felon. No arrests, no failed drug tests, in our mess.
KJ
November 28th, 2011
11:27 am
“BAMA/LSU make the SEC Least look like JV. ”
If the rest of the SEC is JV, that would make the Suckeyes Pop Warner, given their abysmal record vs the entire conference. But you’ve conveniently forgotten that, just like the rest of the delusional Suckeyes fans.
Kerryb
November 28th, 2011
11:28 am
I wonder if UF can go after him and OSU if he was under a long term contract with UF when he left.
Jay
November 28th, 2011
11:29 am
Jobbed? The guy won 2 championships for them. Are you kidding?
KJ
November 28th, 2011
11:29 am
“He’s a first-class guy.”
I assume by this he meant that Urbie would throw a passenger off the plane to get from coach to first-class… there’s really no other way to interpret that comment.
Falcfan
November 28th, 2011
11:29 am
Everyone can we please get past the uga/fl record of 4-18. It is now uga 2 wins to uf 3 wins in last five games.
Dawgdad (The Original)
November 28th, 2011
11:30 am
His recruiting ability is an Urban legend. Look at the losers he left Muschamp to work with. He “retired” because he had to depend on his own recruits.
Buckeye
November 28th, 2011
11:31 am
Thanks dogs,
I appreciate the early Christmas present. Ah, the attenetion: Urban and the Buckeyes dominate the blogosphere and helps keeps the spotlight of the drubbing you are about to recieve courtesy of The Hat.
Corch Meyers
November 28th, 2011
11:31 am
I’ve read this column. It will forever be in my mind. I won’t forget and it’s GOING TO BE A BIG DEAL.
gator
November 28th, 2011
11:32 am
Its amazing Bradley did the same thing to the old ball coach when he took the job at SC, we can help it if florida won 3 nat in 15 years and UGA plays for SEC champions and braggs on being east champions.
witness
November 28th, 2011
11:34 am
$6M? Thats a lot of reasons to coach again. Believe he now is the highest paid college coach? Also believe he has a huge ego that had something to do w/his declining health knowing the man child was leaving Gainsville for denver. I don’t think he takes losing well especially after being national champs at FL twice. Thats hard to follow but at FL its expected. That probably led to his anxiety attacks and a way out at FL. So now he’s back in his home state making $6 mil a year but he’ll keep his beach home in FL. Not bad for the Urban Crier.
Atlanta Gator
November 28th, 2011
11:34 am
“Meyers won 2 nat in 7 years in Florida, old ball coach won 1 nat in 5 years.”
Are you a real Gators fan? The man’s name is Meyer, not “Meyers,” and he won two BCS championships in six seasons not seven.
The Old Ball Coach (capitalized, please) won six SEC championships, finished first in the SEC once when ineligible for the championship, played in another two SEC games, won one national championship and played for another, all in twelve seasons. Show some respect for the Evil Genius, and give credit where credit is due; he did this for a football program that had never officially won a conference championship, let alone played for a national title.
The fact that Spurrier has built a contender in Columbia speaks volumes. That he is doing it with half the talent he had in Gainesville and without a top-10 quarterback says even more.
Buckeye
November 28th, 2011
11:34 am
Hmmmmm,
I wonder of Urban will bring his TIME OUT TIME OUT TIME OUT techniques to the ‘Shoe?
Atlanta Gator
November 28th, 2011
11:37 am
“ATLANTA GATOR… Do you really want to play more football with this team???? Haven’t you all suffered enough this year??? A bowl game, really???”
Honestly? No.
The offense is broken. If the Gators lose some second-tier bowl to another also-ran, they will have their first losing season since 1979. Losing a bowl game will do nothing to build this team for 2012 and the future.
Mad Dog One
November 28th, 2011
11:38 am
I wonder if tebo prayed for him and he was healed? Just asking. As always GO DOGS & GATA
Heisenberg
November 28th, 2011
11:39 am
I just hope he does not hire Mr. Kirk (who lives on Herbstreet) as an assistant. He is too good on Gameday. Sorry UGA fans, David Pollack is not ready for that seat.
tell me again
November 28th, 2011
11:40 am
We all knew he was a low rent scum ball. Why the surprise?
Ball Glaze
November 28th, 2011
11:44 am
florida will be down for years with muschamp and weis. Weis is there just for an easy paycheck until his son graduates and has little interest in doing much to help florida. Georgia will rule the SEC east for a long time!!!
Atlanta Gator
November 28th, 2011
11:46 am
“His recruiting ability is an Urban legend. Look at the losers he left Muschamp to work with. He ‘retired’ because he had to depend on his own recruits.”
Urban Meyer was hired as Florida’s head coach for the 2005 season. The Gators’ 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 recruiting classes were entirely his. In 2009, the Gators were ranked No. 1 for the first twelve games, played for an SEC championship, won a BCS bowl game, and finished 13-1. The 2009 team was composed entirely have his own recruits.
Did I mention that the Gators’ 2008 BCS national championship team was composed of 80% of Urban Meyer’s recruits including Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin and Brandon Spikes—-three consensus All-Americans?
Please do your homework before you speak and embarrass yourself again.
Buckeye
November 28th, 2011
11:47 am
Herbstreit will not be the QB coach.
I’m curious what will happen to Vrabel.
KJ
November 28th, 2011
11:47 am
“He is too good on Gameday.”
If by “good” you mean “horribly whiny and inconsistent”, yeah, you’re right, Pollack isn’t ready to compromise himself in that fashion.
danny
November 28th, 2011
11:48 am
Who cares?
Atlanta Gator
November 28th, 2011
11:54 am
“I wonder if tebo prayed for him and he was healed? Just asking.”
Personally, I don’t believe in burdening God with trivial things like the outcome of an NFL game; He’s got bigger problems like original sin and free will, peace in the Middle East, and Jerry Sandusky. But you know what? There seems to be an awful lot of good kharma rolling off of Tim Tebow’s sideline “meditations” and onto the Denver Broncos these last six games. Let’s just call it the “Power of Positive Thinking.”
Sincerity goes a long a way in this world. And, yes, I would put a fiver on the fact that Tim said more than one prayer for Urban.
PerroGrande
November 28th, 2011
11:57 am
I’m glad he is coaching again because the Dawgs still owe Meyer a lot. His concocted outrage over a touchdown celebration, for which the Dawgs were penalized, was another of his mind games. He then called time-outs in the last couple of minutes when he was way ahead, trying to run up the score, acted like an arrogant jerk in the press conference, had his team do things that were as bad or worse–even his wife was reportedly smack talking UGA. So he is outraged by an excessive celebration, and then does things that are ten times worse, which makes a lot of sense. He even wrote that he would never get over it! Hey, you aren’t the only one with a memory, Pal. We owe that guy a *whole bunch* and I’m glad he is coaching again…Go Dawgs.
Vince Butts
November 28th, 2011
11:59 am
Gators should have offered Spurrier the job.. Money talks. After all Fla. hires a ex Ga. player..u think he is going to make Fla. a winning team ?. I smell sabatoge
Hunker down
Joey
November 28th, 2011
12:01 pm
I can’t believe college football fans, of any team, are dissing Urban Myer.
Dam if I wouldn’t take a coach that can deliver results like he did, no matter if he left after 6 years, no matter how he left, and no matter who he left us for.
31-17
November 28th, 2011
12:02 pm
Makes you wonder what it was about Florida that Meyer didn’t like. Obviously he was sick last year, but now it is not so obvious what it was that made him “sick.” Maybe it was the SEC pressure?? The “Big Ten” (or 12, or whatever) has its own kind of pressure, but maybe he perceives it as qualitatively less. It’ll be fun to watch. He’s a great coach, so I woud just warn Michigan that they better get it strapped on.
PerroGrande
November 28th, 2011
12:07 pm
Florida is almost always going to have great recruits. It is a great football incubator that feeds the nation with talent. UF has a great network there. Bozo the clown could field a pretty good team with the Gators. The last two years are an anomaly, just as 07-09 was an anomaly. The same guy recruited most of the players, and the class from two years ago that Meyer recruited was considered almost unbelievably good. You just never can tell.
Whiskey Breath
November 28th, 2011
12:09 pm
Good read Mark. I do think he has some health problems and coaching football is not the answer.
Couldn’t walk a way from the money. Really this is the second time Florida has been screwed.
Spurrier should have gone back.
GatorGr8t
November 28th, 2011
12:10 pm
how does a “true” gator fan feel? how would you feel if your girlfriend ditched you and concocted a bunch of lies to try and justify it, when all along you knew she was a “sick” person and needed help, as does Urban. That’s how I feel and most Gator fans feel about Urban. He’s not right mentally to have done what he did, and now jump out after 10 months and take a coaching job after leaving UF’s program in shambles. One thing that stings him deep down, is that Tebow and Zook really are the reason he won two(2) national titles. We could have won those titles without him! Without either of those things in place, Urban would have been ratted out alot earlier. Not sure if any lawsuits will follow, esp since part of the problem lies in the president of UF being on the take with Urban’s myth, but certainly the bull gators must feel jolted on how they were duped. We could have had Spurrier back in place if not for this duplicity, but whoever said life was fair. UF’s president told Spurrier to send in his resume. What a joke!! Urban may have gotten the last laugh for now, but what goes around comes around.
BETRAYED GATOR
PerroGrande
November 28th, 2011
12:12 pm
31-17, maybe he was aware of how good LSU, Bama, UGA, and SC would be this year? The SEC is a has been a tough town to play in, just ask GT, Clemson, and Wake. LSU and Bama athletes look like pro teams this year. Admittedly, they have had easy schedules and haven’t been tested yet because they haven’t played Georgia (kidding).
Shug
November 28th, 2011
12:18 pm
I’m afraid we can’t all agree that Meyer is a great coach. He was pretty good when he had NFL first-pick-in-the-draft Alex Smith as his quarterback at Utah and he was close to great when he had Tim Tebow, but otherwise his record’s pretty mediocre. His first year at Florida (pre-Tebow), he wasn’t a big improvement over Zook, and his last year at Florida (post-Tebow), he wasn’t that different from Muschamp.
If I were a Buckeye, I wouldn’t get all that excited. When the heat comes, Meyer will re-discover that he still has “health problems” and needs to spend more time with his family.
meh
November 28th, 2011
12:20 pm
I think Meyer saw Florida was stacked with talent so he came in and got his championships and when the talent left he left.