Florida Gators athletic director Jeremy Foley released a statement Monday regarding Urban Meyer‘s decision to become the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
“We will always be indebted to Urban Meyer and his contributions to the University of Florida. He elevated our program, winning multiple national championships and made a strong impact in this community. Over the past 11 months, he has clearly had an opportunity to determine that now is the right time to return to coaching.
“He is good for college football and we knew he would return to the sidelines to coach again. We wish nothing but the best for him and his family as he embarks on a new chapter in his career.”
Foley and Meyer became close friends during the latter’s tenure as head coach of the Gators. Foley said upon Meyer’s resignation that he expected him to return to college football at some point and would not have any hard feelings should he choose to do so.
Just 10 months after coaching his final game with the Florida Gators, Urban Meyer has agreed to don a whistle once again after deciding to become the next head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes beginning in 2012, sources confirmed to ESPN Monday.
Meyer, who has spent the 2011 college football season as an analyst for ESPN, has also been traveling around the country making appearances at events, viewing his daughters’ volleyball games and spending time at home in Gainesville, FL with his wife and son.
A two-time national champion at Florida, Meyer was named Coach of the Decade by Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News in 2009. He led the Gators to a 65-15 record with three 13-1 seasons while at the helm, was 36-13 in Southeastern Conference play and won five of the six bowl games Florida played in during his tenure.
Prior to signing with UF, Meyer won Coach of the Year after leading Utah to a BCS bowl in 2004 and going 22-2 in two seasons. He also went 17-6 from 2001-02 at Bowling Green.
Meyer initially resigned from his post with the Gators on Dec. 26, 2009 due to a health scare but changed his mind – choosing to take a leave of absence instead – and returned to the team on March 17, 2010 for the following season.
Florida went 8-5 during his final year at the helm, and Meyer resigned once again on Dec. 8, 2010 citing his health and decision to spend more time with his family. His final game with the Gators was a 37-24 victory over Penn State in the 2011 Outback Bowl.
An offensive coach at Ohio State from 1986-97, Meyer is a native of Ashtabula, OH who played and graduated from Cincinnati before receiving a master’s degree in sports administration from OSU.
He will take the reins of the Buckeyes from Luke Fickell, who was promoted from co-defensive coordinator to head coach after Jim Tressel was fired in the offseason. Fickell is expected to be retained on the staff at a to-be-announced position.
Tressel was head coach of Ohio State from 2001-10, winning one national championship (2002) and six Big Ten titles (2002, 2005-09) while at the helm.
He resigned in the spring of 2011 after the school learned that he withheld information and lied to NCAA investigators in order to keep players on the field. Tressel had already been suspended by OSU for failing to notify the school of NCAA violations.
The NCAA has yet to fully sanction the Buckeyes but is expected to do so in the offseason. Meyer accepted the Ohio State job aware that punishments are pending.
With No. 9/10 Florida Gators basketball set to take on the Jacksonville Dolphins Friday evening in Gainesville, FL, head coach Billy Donovan met with the media Wednesday to discuss what preparations have been made for his team’s next non-conference home game.
YOUNG’s EYE NOT A BIG DEAL
Despite sophomore center Patric Young sporting a bruised eye with plenty of swelling after being poked in it during Monday’s game, Donovan said that his big man is fine, practiced in full all week and will be good to go on Friday. Young has a small tear sclera (white part) of his eye and will wear goggles during the game to prevent irritation and potential further injury. He has not had any blurred vision and did not have anything happen to his pupil or retina.
“You don’t know how important your body parts are until you can’t use them, especially your vision,” Young said Wednesday.
UNDERSTANDING URBAN MEYER’s TOUGH SPOT
As a two-time national championship winning coach, Donovan empathized with the situation that former Gators head coach Urban Meyer finds himself in. Donovan commented at length about Meyer and his potential decision to return to coaching.
“He loves football. He’s really evaluating what he wants to do as a coach. Sometimes people look at things maybe a little bit differently than what reality is sometimes. The biggest thing for him right now, that he’s trying to get his arms around, is when you get a chance to win a couple national championships, every coach wants to experience that. There is a perception created that it brings a level of worth and value to your life, and it really doesn’t. [...]
“You got to really enjoy the process of dealing with these guys each and every day. Sometimes there’s victories that nobody sees that you got to really look at in terms of helping these guys get better. What happened for Urban – and it happened to me too – is you look at it’s happened twice so why am I coaching? What is my purpose for coaching besides just winning? I don’t think your drive or desire diminishes as far as wanting that to happen, but it doesn’t necessarily make your life complete when it does happen. There are so many coaches out there chasing that, thinking that something is going to change, and when they get it I’m not so sure it does.
“For Urban, it’s that balance now for him of chasing championships, his family, his health, those things. ‘Can I balance all that? Can I make it all work? Can I do it in a way that I can feel good about myself, feel good about my family, feel good about myself as a coach?’ I think he’s evaluating those kind of things and then he’s got to figure out how he can go about enjoying the process.
“My guess would be – and this is not about Ohio State. Do I think he’ll go back and coach? Yeah, I think he will, but I think for himself he’s got to get himself to a place where he feels good about the other aspects of his life that he was missing out on or wasn’t as attentive to as he wanted to be or felt comfortable with himself internally that he was handling the right way. That’s what I think it’s all about for him.”
» On the good and bad things coming out of the Wright State game: “The way we have shot the ball has been good. We’re taking a lot of threes and we’re having a little bit of presence at the basket. [...] Rebounding continues to get better. We’ve done a good job on the glass. We’ve got to become more consistent defensively, guarding actions, screens and those kinds of things. We’re not giving up a great percentage statistically, and we look pretty good defensively, but I’m looking at some of the shots that we’re giving up. As we play better and better teams, those are shots that are probably going to be made.”
» On being pleased that the guards are getting plenty of rebounds due to effort and recognition of the importance of giving the team chances to score: “We’ve certainly had a size advantage the last three games we’ve played, but our guards are trying to get in there. That’s something that we can embrace and have to understand. That’s a commitment and mindset each and every game we play. We’ve at least proven that with a good level of focus on that, we should be able to hold our own.”
» On playing redshirt freshman forward Cody Larson more: “The hardest thing for a guy coming off the bench is, ‘When am I going in?’ We’ve got a little bit of that with our bench right now. There’s not a flow of them knowing when they’re coming in. [...] We’ve got to get Cody in the rotation and get him in a position where he’s giving us some more depth across our frontline. I do trust him out there, but I just got to get him in a better rotation right now.”
» On how he statistically evaluates defense: “It’s pretty clear when [Mike] Rosario’s guarding a guy and a guy goes right by him. There is no chart for that.”
Further publicizing a report from WKMG-TV in Orlando, FL, FOX Sports noted Wednesday morning that former Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer has “agreed in principle” to a seven-year, $40 million deal to take the top job with the Ohio State Buckeyes beginning in the 2012 season.
The report goes on to state that Meyer is set to pull linebackers/special teams coach D.J. Durkin and strength and conditioning coach Mikey Marotti from Florida’s staff and make them defensive coordinator and director of football operations, respectively.
Meyer, however, issued another denial of even being offered the OSU job, which was released by his current employer ESPN.
“I have not been offered any job nor is there a deal in place. I plan on spending Thanksgiving with my family and will not comment on this any further,” he said.
The New York Times reports that Meyer’s denial is genuine in the sense that he has not yet accepted the job because he has a few hurdles to get overcome:
There are a handful of obstacles Meyer must clear before further engaging with Ohio State, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. That includes speaking with his entire family over Thanksgiving and further researching just how significant the N.C.A.A. sanctions against Ohio State may be.
Rumors have been circulating seemingly since the day he stepped down from his post with the Florida Gators that Urban Meyer would return to being a college football head coach sooner than later. When Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Jim Tressel resigned on May 30, it appeared as if Meyer’s next destination was a certainty.
Throughout the last six months, Meyer has spent his time working as a college football analyst for ESPN, doing speaking engagements across the country, making appearances and spending time with his family. He has also – on numerous occasions – denied any specific intent on returning to coaching in 2012 though he has admitted more than once that he does miss carrying a whistle.
Over the last few days, however, the murmurs regarding Meyer’s future and Ohio State’s coaching situation have gotten louder. It appears inevitable to many that he will be donning the scarlet and grey sooner than later.
Here’s a look at a timeline of how things have shaken out since Tuesday:
» The New York Timespublished a story Tuesday noting that Meyer had met with Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne one week ago in Miami, FL to discuss his school’s coaching position. Meyer, according to the story, declined the opportunity but “expressed his desire to return to coaching.”
» Two days later, BuckeyeGrove.com writer Kyle Rowland tweeted the following: “Same plane that came from Gainesville to OSU airport was in Miami when Urban Meyer met with Univ. of Ariz. That meeting took place in Miami.”
» CBS Sports’ NFL insider Mike Freeman then referenced a report he read on Scout.com Thursday, tweeting that “Urban Meyer has agreed to coach OSU for 7 years, $35 million. If true, whoa.”
» After that began to circulate, Sports Illustrated’s Andy Staples attempted to set the record straight with a tweet of his own: “Spoke to someone who would know tonight and was told any report of a deal between Urban Meyer and Ohio State is untrue.”
» However, Buckeyes blog Eleven Warriors quickly took to Twitter to divulge what they had uncovered: “We are 99.7% sure Urban Meyer has agreed to a deal to become the next coach of Ohio State. Solid sources. Plural.”
» Shortly after, The Gainesville Sun’s Pat Dooley texted Meyer directly and asked him specifically about the rumor that he had accepted the OSU job. “No truth to it,” Meyer replied via text.
» Meyer’s wife Shelley also made a statement after being contacted by WCJB TV20 and asked if her husband had agreed to coach Ohio State. “No, he did not,” she told the station.
» SPORTSbyBROOKS then posted a full story about the Meyer situation Friday evening, reporting that a “deal between Meyer and Ohio State was consummated in principle earlier this week in Columbus but not signed.”
Brooks goes on to cite specifics of the agreement including a “generous compensation package” and a promise from the school to provide him with the ability to hire the “highest-paid assistant coaching staff in college football history.”
» Saturday morning, Associated Press writer Larry Lage asked Meyer about the deal. He declined comment. He also questioned ESPN analyst Chris Spielman (rumored by Brooks to be a future Meyer assistant) about the situation, and Spielman said there was no deal between Meyer and OSU.
» While doing color commentary for the Michigan-Nebraska game at noon, Meyer addressed the rumors on the air (video): “I know it’s that time of year. I’ve not been offered any job, and I’ve certainly not accepted any job,” he said.
» Minutes later, ESPN.comreleased its version of Brooks’s story, noting that “Ohio State has been in contact with Urban Meyer about becoming the school’s coach” but “no contract is in place and no announcement likely would be made until after the regular season.”
» UPDATE: Dooley had an extensive conversation with Meyer over the weekend about the rumors that he might return to coaching. Meyer denied reports of interviews with both Arizona and Ohio State but did say he would consider an offer from the latter institution. “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,” Meyer said. “If there is a decision to be made concerning Ohio State, there will be a lot that will go into it. But right now, there is no decision to be made.”
He also noted that the three reasons he resigned from Florida will have to be taken into consideration before making any move. “The concerns are still there,” Meyer added. “No. 1 – my health. No. 2 – my family. No. 3 – the state of college football. I’ve done some research into the second one. 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.”
It is not surprising that Ohio State and Meyer would both want to wait until the end of the 2011 regular season before announcing any type of agreement. Doing so in-season would be disrespectful to both interim head coach Luke Fickell and Meyer’s current employer. That is, of course, unless there truly is nothing to announce, which appears to be less and less likely as things progress regardless of Meyer’s denials.
With the Florida Gators again struggling on the road and losing their fifth game of the season, a number of players were made available to the media early in the week to discuss preparations heading into Saturday’s game against the Furman Paladins.
DEFENSIVE TACKLES GETTING PLENTY OF WORK
Head coach Will Muschamp has noted that the ideal number of defensive linemen to be active and playable on the roster at each position is six. Considering Florida is operating well below capacity at defensive tackle this year, the rotation has been thinner and guys have been seeing more time on the field. That is a positive from a playing time perspective but not so much from an energy and freshness one.
“We’re a little short on guys, but I think the guys [we have] are in good shape and handling it pretty well,” redshirt junior DT Omar Hunter said Wednesday.
Hunter is not concerned about whether or not he will wind up starting a game this season because he said he has been seeing the field plenty regardless.
“I have no idea,” he said about starting. “I never worry about that. I’ve been playing 40-45 snaps a game, and I’m pretty happy about that. If I start the first series, it doesn’t matter to me.”
STURGIS HEALED AND EXCELLING
Redshirt junior kicker Caleb Sturgis is having a great season. Though he missed one game due to a leg injury, Sturgis has hit 19-of-21 attempted field goals and all 21 of his extra points. His 78 points scored is tops on the Gators and tied for 21st nationally, but Sturgis is also third in field goals made and may wind up with some All-SEC awards and potentially be named a Lou Groza Award finalist when the season is out.
“I’m glad that I’ve been helping the team and all,” he said. “Some of the games have been a little rough the way we’ve lost and all. Coming into the year I wanted to get back, help the team, and I feel like I’ve been doing that better this year than in years past.”
Sturgis said he is close to 100 percent and that, while the leg injury bothers him a little, the back injury that sidelined him for most of 2010 is fine. He plans to return to Florida for the 2012 season, which would be his fifth in the orange and blue.
» Hunter on what Florida misses without redshirt junior Sam linebacker Lerentee McCray: “He’s stepped up big time as far as a leadership role. He brings a lot of leadership to the team. He’s very vocal. If we have a problem he’ll speak up and address the team. Being on the edge, he can run down some of the faster guys we go against. He’s a big, physical presence on the outside as a linebacker. We lose a lot with Lerentee [injured].”
» Hunter on if Muschamp and the coaches text players about penalties: “That is true. I have been getting a few text messages, but I don’t think I’ve been getting as many as other guys.”
» Hunter on head coach Urban Meyer possibly taking another job: “Great football coach. He can’t stay away from the game, and I would love to see him coaching somewhere. With his love for the game, I figured he would come back sooner than later. Whenever he comes back, I’m happy to have him back because I know he’s healthy, it’s going to be great for I’m to come back. I’m looking forward to him coaching.”
1 » The Southeastern Conference announced its coaches’ preseason All-SEC first and second team selections on Wednesday, and three Florida Gators were honored on the lists. Senior point guard Erving Walker and junior guard Kenny Boynton both earned first team nominations, while sophomore center Patric Young was the only UF representative placed on the second team. Walker and Boynton were both on the media’s All-SEC second team, and Young was left off.
2 » Former Florida safety Louis Oliver was one of six people inducted into the Broward County Sports Hall of Fame on Tuesday evening. Fellow former Gators student-athlete Dara Torres was inducted previously. “It is very flattering,” Oliver said, according to the Sun-Sentinel. “I am very excited to be in a group that includes a group like [Dan] Marino, Coach [Don] Shula, H. Wayne Huizenga, Michael Irvin and those types of people. Just to be recognized with those people puts me in a category that most people aren’t in. It’s not Canton, Ohio, but it is a really big deal for me.”
3 » With Joe Paterno stepping down from his job as head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions at the end of the season, former Gators head coach Urban Meyer is obviously going to be the No. 1 name on the list of the university and fans. Meyer discussed his admiration for Paterno at the 2011 Outback Bowl but has also said on numerous other occasions how much he is enjoying his time off from the game. However, Meyer is not the only candidate as Miami head coach Al Golden and Rutgers top man Greg Schiano could also be in the running for the job. The fact of the matter is that Meyer may very well not be ready to return to college football and could also look at the sport’s landscape (with major violations and legal issues going on at his supposed top two destinations of Ohio State and Penn State) and choose to wait a bit longer.
4 » Central Florida Knights head coach Donnie Jones was suspended three conference games without pay and publicly reprimanded by the NCAA on Wednesday for being aware of contact between a recruiter for a sports agency and student-athletes and not preventing it. The recruiter allegedly paid tuition and travel expenses for some players and recruits. “As the program’s head coach, I accept responsibility for mistakes when they occur,” he said in a statement from the school. A former assistant at Florida under head coach Billy Donovan, Jones took his UCF team to Gainesville two Saturdays ago for an exhibition game against UF.
Inefficient for three-and-a-half quarters on Sunday in South Florida, Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow engineered two touchdowns drives in just over five minutes to tie the Miami Dolphins 15-15 and force an overtime that saw Denver complete an improbable comeback 18-15 victory.
Miami scored the first 15 points of the contest and led late in the fourth quarter before punting the ball away with just over five minutes left in the game.
Though Tebow struggled mightily for most of the game save a few dynamic runs, he engineered an eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that cut the Broncos’ deficit nearly in half with over two minutes remaining.
Denver recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, and Tebow once again led his team on a 10-play, 56-yard drive that ended in his second-straight passing touchdown and a two-point conversion that he ran in on a quarterback draw.
Tebow combined to go 9/13 for 121 yards on those two drives for and also ran the ball twice for nine yards not counting his game-tying conversion. He finished 13/27 for 161 yards with eight carries for 65 yards and a quarterback rating of 91.7.
All of this occurred as the Dolphins hosted Gator Day at the stadium, a special celebration that honored the 2008 national championship team at halftime of the game. Former Florida head coach Urban Meyer was in attendance and spoke during the celebration, calling his team “one of the greatest in college football history.”
The occasion also featured a performance from the Pride of the Sunshine marching band and an appearance by more than two dozen former players. Miami handed the University of Florida a $25,000 check for their scholarship fund, and the band even played the Dolphins’ fight song as halftime was coming to a close.
Meyer was on Denver’s sideline before the game and stood on Miami’s sideline for the duration of the game, including in the waning minutes of the contest.
Following the contest, Tebow, Meyer, Dolphins center Mike Pouncey and the other former UF players in attendance had the opportunity to meet briefly on the field and exchange pleasantries (picture).
Tebow and the Gators got a mixed reception throughout the course of the afternoon. He was booed early by the crowd but chants of “Tebow, Tebow” were audible both late in the fourth quarter and at the end of the game. Meyer and the former Florida players were booed heavily during the halftime celebration, which lasted approximately six minutes.
While the crowd was obviously made up of mostly Dolphins fans, thousands of Tebow jerseys could be spotted in the stands. There were, of course, other fans wearing non-Tebow Broncos jerseys and others donning non-Tebow Gators jerseys.
Some of the players in attendance (in alphabetical order):
Markihe Anderson, Brandon Antwine, Tate Casey, Lorenzo Edwards, Javier Estopinan, Brandon Hicks, A.J. Jones, Bobby Kane, Kestahn Moore, Kyle Newell, Jonathan Phillips, Butch Rowley, Terron Sanders, Ryan Stamper
Thanks to Buffalo Bills wide receiver David Nelson for sending along the photos.
POST-GAME QUOTES
Tebow: “You can’t lose confidence in yourself, or you’ve lost already. When you get knocked down, you’ve got to keep getting back up.”
Pouncey: “It’s tough to say, but man, Timmy did a great job. Hopefully the critics will get off him about what he can’t do and talk about the things that he can do, and that’s figure out a way to win the game, no matter what.”
Taurean Green (@TaureanJGreen):
"Yes yes....my #GatorBoys in the Elite 8. All u jive time turkeys that thought Marquette was gonna win can sit down and go to sleep!"
The Silver Lining is an exclusive column written by Adam Silverstein of OnlyGators.com for Yahoo! Sports and Rivals.com affiliate InsideTheGators.com. OGGOA readers can receive a special discount on a subscription to InsideTheGators, which can be accessed by clicking the image above!
