04/19/24
November 23, 2011
Report: Urban Meyer to Coach Ohio State: Former Florida coach Urban Meyer will sign a seven-year, $40 million deal to coach Ohio State, unnamed sources told Orlando TV station WKMG. A day earlier the Gainesville Sun quoted Meyer as saying he had not been interviewed, but his comments sounded receptive to the possibility: "I've found that it is possible to have balance between your job and your family, that there are coaches out there who are doing it. ... I'm in a good place right now mentally and physically. So if something happens with Ohio State, I'll have a decision to make."
The impressions from the talking heads around town is that the framework is in place but that everyone needs to knock it off with the "it's done" tal because it's not done until there is a signature, which there is not. Hopefully the reports are accurate (I particularly like the possibility that Fickell stays) and that Meyer is doing the honorable thing and not stepping on Fickell's final moments.
posted by littleLebowski at 09:49 AM on November 23, 2011
I think this is going to happen. But I have serious doubts that Meyer can manage the stress and workload of Ohio State better than he did at Florida.
posted by rcade at 10:49 AM on November 23, 2011
Do you really think that was the issue in Florida? There wasn't anything else? I don't know, so I'm genuinely curious.
posted by NoMich at 11:20 AM on November 23, 2011
Put me in that same camp, recade. After I got over my initial bitter pill as a Buckeye, I think Meyer is otherwise a perfect fit for OSU. But after admittedly doubting his excuses after his first "retirement", I now think his reasons are genuine, so there's cause for pause there. But that's part of why I'm hoping the rumors about Fickell are true. It otherwise seems like a very odd scenario ... except that the almost universal feeling around here has always been that Fickell is very highly thought of. This experiment has actually only strengthened that sentiment, although it was accompanied by the realization he simply wasn't ready for the head gig. Had he the benefit of a few more years under Tressel, we could've easily seen an heir-apparent situation. Now, with this last year's experience, it feels like he could take some of the daily pressure off Meyer and they might have more of a duo-approach that we would've expected with a coach of Meyer's standing. ... /fully admit I may very well be in la-dee-la land
posted by littleLebowski at 11:22 AM on November 23, 2011
Do you really think that was the issue in Florida?
Yep. The Jacksonville sports radio gabbers are well-connected at UF. His arachnoid cyst and other health issues are serious if not well-managed.
If I was hiring Meyer for a big-time program, I'd want him to have a powerful second-in-command who was a workhorse and had his full confidence.
posted by rcade at 11:28 AM on November 23, 2011
I'd want him to have a powerful second-in-command
And a squad of MP's to help maintain some semblance of law and order.
After what Columbus has been through with the Tressel regime, they don't need a replacement sporting a lengthy football roster law enforcement file, which is what Meyer is toting north from Gainesville.
posted by beaverboard at 12:10 PM on November 23, 2011
Meyer's denial: Urban Meyer: No Buckeyes deal