Greetings from God's waiting room, Indian River County. Today blogisode (again, not a word...but as soon as I get this petition off the ground, it just might become one) I thought that it'd be interesting to use my sarcasm and wit for more than Twitter, Facebook, and the occasional post on the World's largest and greatest Super Secret Internet Forum (SSIF) for short, and use it towards talking college football. (Which is why eViL G brought me here in the first place, apparently.)
Today's topic: Urban Meyer
Urban Meyer (Corch Urban Meyers for those of you reading this from inside the Nat Moore or Corrine Brown household) was Florida's head coach from 2005-2010. In that time frame, The Gators accumulated 2 BCS National Championships, 2 SEC Conference Championships, 3 SEC Championship appearances, as well as a Heisman Trophy winner in Tim Tebow. Long story short, he returned Florida to relevancy in the state as well as the Nation after Steve Spurrier resigned in 2001.
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| Passing the torch? |
Fast forward to this year. Urban Meyer resigned from coaching the Gators due to health and family issues, and is currently an analyst for ESPN. Joe Paterno is in what is probably the biggest non-cheating scandal to ever hit college football. Today, Joe Paterno announced that effective at the end of the season, he will resign as Head Coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions. Without getting into the meat and potatoes of the scandal and having this blog turn into the opening statement of my college thesis, I'll save you all the details of the retirement; since I'm sure that by now, you all are aware why he is. If you're not aware, check me out on iTunes this Friday where I'll get more into it.
First things first, Joe Paterno has coached the Lions of Penn State for 61 years. He IS Penn State. I don't know what it is about head football coaching in the state of Pennsylvania, but if ever you're fortunate enough to get a job coaching the game of football in that state, you're there for the long haul. In a society where high profile teams allow you a very limited window to show their fans what you have as a head coach, Penn State is a anomaly. They allow their coaches to recruit, coach, rebuild, compete, try, fail, and eventually, find the correct recipe for winning. This would be the perfect condition for Urban Meyer.
As the head coach at Florida, it's safe to say that Meyer put pressures on himself to win. Win at all costs; even if it meant straining the relationship between his children, his wife, or even his health. Those pressures paid off with the aforementioned accolades he acquired while in Gainesville, but they left a toll on him both mentally, physically, and emotionally. Coaching in the SEC and specifically at Florida is NOT an easy job. I will say that Meyer stepped up to the plate while in Orange and Blue, and at the end of the day, his legacy and his stamp on this program will never be forgotten.
With Joe Paterno retiring at the conclusion of this season, there will be a head coaching position open in University Park, Pennsylvania; and for the first time in 61 years, there will not be a Paterno roaming the sidelines. It's safe to say that because of the black eye Penn State has suffered from this scandal, they will look to start over completely. Starting over means not having anyone with the last name "Paterno" being on their football team's staff. Urban Meyer is a perfect fit for this job. He would have been out of football going on two years, he would have been able to spend time with his two smoking hot daughters, and his son, whatshisname....as well as his MILF of a wife, Shelley.
Going to Penn State makes sense. He's not going to worry himself into a stroke, and PSU won't push him to bring them back to relevancy and prominence in one years time. They'll allow him to do the shopping, do the cooking, and serve the meal. They'll allow him to recruit, rebuild, and restore the image of Penn State Football to what it was in Joe Pa's hayday. Let's be clear, he's not going to overshadow anything Paterno has meant or done for that community or university over the past 61 years, but if ever there was someone who could come in and get the job done and keep traditions running strong in University Park, Pennsylvania, it's Urban Winston Meyer.
(For the record, I know Urban's middle name isn't Winston)
Until next week,
-FlawdaGator
Follow me on "the twitters" @FlawdaGator
Facebook at facebook.com/lionelforbescomedy
I have a love/hate relationship with Urban. I love what he accomplished while at UF, but he really did the football program a disservice by sticking around last year. His loyalty to Steve Addazio was baffling...in hindsight the handling of the Billy Gonzales situation was poorly. He toyed with the media, which extended to the fan base over time. That said, he added two crystal footballs to the trophy case. He's a much better fit at Penn State than Ohio State imo, but his ego will probably steer him towards Columbus.
ReplyDeleteCaptain of Inappropriateness -- I too thought Urban would be a great fit for this job but as the week progresses and freakin riots breakout, I'm not sure Meyer touches this gig with a 10 foot pole. OSU and it's issues (which seem downright benign given the troubles of PSU) are looking more and more attractive by the second...
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