How much of a Real Possibility is it that Florida Coach Urban Meyer leaves Florida for Notre Dame?
Rumors have flied around this topic like moths to a flame. People have said if Charlie Weis doesn’t win at least 9 games this season for the Irish, he is gone. Maybe. Maybe not. I am guessing they would still have to pay Weis a hefty buyout of his contract if they were to fire him.
There was a column by well known college football columnist, Paul Finebaum, that Meyer would leave Florida for Notre Dame because staying at Florida would be the wrong move. It is a pretty vicious attack column on Meyer. I wish Atlanta columnists were this controversial. Here is an excerpt-
You can call Meyer lot of things. He’s arrogant. He’s cold blooded. He recruits like a serial killer. But he’s not stupid.
Meyer doesn’t have to study history to understand that staying in Gainesville would be the wrong move. All he has to do is walk across the street from his office and ask Billy Donovan.
It would be the wrong move to stay at Florida? Why would he ask Billy Donovan? He is not the Football coach. Donovan is second fiddle because he is the basketball coach and not the Football coach, not because Florida fans have quickly forgotten that he won them back to back championships. Football holds more weight.
He also suggest he would do this after he won a third national championship at Florida? Here is another interesting excerpt from the article-
Perhaps there was a time when Meyer was about what’s right in college football. They say he was just a normal guy out in Utah. Maybe he was even a decent cat for about 24 hours in Gainesville. Since then, Meyer has become obsessed with success and power (see the blatant strong arming of quarterback turned talk show host Shane Matthews). The lure of being “the man” at South Bend might be too intoxicating for him to turn down.
He would??? I will believe when I see it. It just doesn’t seem practical. Your running arguably the top program in nation and you want to trade down? That is exactly what leaving Florida for Notre Dame is– trading down. If your obsessed with success and power, why wouldn’t you stay at Florida and the SEC. He is not going to win 3 national championships at Notre Dame. I would be impressed if he won more than one in South Bend if was even lucky enough to win that.
If it’s an issue of how much money are they going to offer him, then Urban Meyer is coaching the Irish next fall. Finebaum points out the fact the Florida Athletic Department recently cut 40 million dollars from its budget. Though I find it hard to believe the Gator athletic department and alumni wouldn’t rush to string together funds to match it like LSU did with Les Miles a few years ago when Michigan came calling. That being said Notre Dame and Michigan are not what they used to be.
This is the 21st century not the 1960’s or 1970’s. Notre Dame is no longer the king of the mountain. The Notre Dame of old is like a rich and successful business man. The Notre Dame of NOW is the son of that rich and successful business man who can’t even measure up to his father’s great legacy. Plenty of us have known people whose parents were successful and the children turned out to be just regular joes. Maybe they were not grade-A screw-ups but in comparison to their father they were average. Saying that Notre Dame is your dream job is little strange. Your dream job at Notre Dame was to coach there at the time of Ara Parseghian , Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy, Dan Devine, Lou Holtz and many other great names to mention. That Notre Dame is gone.
Personally, I hope Meyer’s arrogance drives him to take this job if it is offered. However, for this to happen, Charlie Weis would actually have to lose his job. The Irish have a somewhat easy schedule this year. A schedule that other than the Trojans of SC has them favored in likely every game. I have seen both teams schedules(Notre Dame and Florida) and both are very easy (at least compared to most years in Florida’s case). If both teams are successful this year which I believe they will be, Nobody is going anywhere.
This is just what I think. What do you think?
UPDATE- Gatorsports.com- Urban Meyer said at a charity golf tournament Saturday that-
“I’m not going to Notre Dame. Ever. I’m going to be the coach at Florida for a long time, as long as they want me.”
2 Comments
July 10, 2009 at 1:07 pm
I agree. UF is the pinnacle of college sports in this era. I worked there when Spurrier was HC and it was a championship machine. Now in the era of Urban, it is an unstopple force. Every detail from the recruiting of players to bailing the athletes out of jail is meticulously planned. UF has as many problems as other collegeswhen it comes to off the field issues. They just have a much better way of dealing with “youthful exuberance.”
Finally, the talent is in Fla. I know my midwestern friends don’t like to hear that and they will point to all the great prospects that come out of ILL and OH. Only problem is that you can take that number and multiply it times 10 to get the number of athletes that come out of Florida highschools. Let’s face it. Kids that grow up playing ball year round make better athletes and Urban is sitting in the Garden of Eden.
July 11, 2009 at 12:26 am
While I do not share all Of FergySports praise for gainesville, I agree Urban will not leave as long as recruiting remains strong. But at the first hint of decay he will bolt, just not on south bend’s timetable.