Urban Legend

[bartshan-83]

Yeah, I know some of you are already talking about this on the main board, but I'm all about strengthening our sub-forum brand lately.

 

My take:

 

My first ever impression of Urban Meyer was extreme excitement. I was a senior at ND and Tyrone "Sunday thru Friday" Willingham had just been relieved of duty. Word everywhere was that that the hot, up and coming Utah coach, who was a former ND assistant and supposedly cited ND as his dream job, was a sure thing to take over the reins. It seemed all we had to do was not F up the offer and he'd be in South Bend before the New Year.

 

Of course, we screwed it up. My anger towards ND for botching another coaching hire was also supplemented by my anger towards Meyer for spurning us. Most of it was jilted-lover jealousy, but I had this feeling deep down that he was taking the easy way out and that disappointed me. I thought to myself that if he didn't want the extra challenge that comes with coaching Notre Dame, then I didn't want him either. If I had known he was going to go on to win 2 of the next 4 National Championships, I might have thought differently.

 

Looking back on it now, I think I'm still glad he passed on ND. Here are my reasons:

 

1. I believe he is a great coach. Intense motivator and incredible offensive mind. BUT, I think he hit a grand-slam, World Series homerun with Tebow. I know people mock him, but I don't think I've ever seen a more singularly impactful player than Tebow (Vince Young comes close). Beyond the talent, his leadership and sheer will...just incredible. I think if Tebow had picked Alabama, Meyer would only have the 2006 ring at best. Not to say that is not respectable. It takes such a crazy amount of talent and luck for even the best coaches to win a single championship. But with no Tebow, I think Meyer's legacy is that he took Zook's talent to the next level, but could never replicate it on his own.

 

2. If what he says is true, and the stress he puts on himself is what caused his health problems and led to his stepping down (twice), then he would never have lasted at Notre Dame. No disrespect to Florida, but if his heart couldn't take Gainesville, he would have stroked out probably 2-3 years ago at ND. And I don't mean to make light of his health problems. I just honestly believe he would have burned out even earlier in South Bend.

 

3. Citing the above two paragraphs, it is likely that his career at ND would have ended unfulfilled. I'm not sure he would have been able to lead us to a National Championship and it is likely the stress would have forced him out in less time than he lasted at UF. ND would likely be no better off than we ended up after Weis left. More talent, a little more legitimacy, but still not elite.

 

So if he truly is burned out, I do wish him the best and I hope he stays true to his word and takes it easy. I never really liked him at UF. The endless arrests and recruiting stories turned me off (Jevan Snead's story always made me laugh ). But he does have 2 rings...and that's 2 more than many great coaches ever got.

 

 

Faustus...what say you? Mullen seems to be the name tossed around the most. Although, I've also heard Foley may make another run at Stoops. I think he is shaky at OU and I believe ND almost had him last year. It wouldn't rock my world if he left Norman for Gainesville.