A year and a half before Urban Meyer started ending seasons with resignations, I got an inkling of how much the Florida coach hated losing.
At the 2008 SEC spring meetings, he was asked if the agony of the last loss had subsided. His look told me it hadn't.
His facial muscles tightened at the mere mention of an upset loss to an inferior Michigan team in the Capital One Bowl. It was as though the 41-35 defeat had occurred minutes, not months, earlier.
When Meyer announced his resignation Wednesday, he said he wanted to focus on his family. When he announced his resignation last year, he cited health issues.
Yet losing was the common denominator between the first resignation - which lasted slightly longer than a coffee break - and the second one. You can't ignore that in trying to explain why one of the game's most successful coaches was walking away from maybe the best job in college football.
Last year, the Gators were on the brink of back-to-back national championships when they were embarrassed by Alabama in the SEC championship game. A year later, a Florida team that was picked to win the SEC East struggled through a 7-5 season with an offense that better resembled Vanderbilt's than any of those that beefed up Meyer's resume.
After his team was trounced by Florida State in the regular-season finale, Meyer talked determinedly about getting the Gators back on their championship track. Two years ago, he did just that, revamping a flawed defense and winning his second national title.
This time, he was just talking. My guess is he hates losing too much to stick around.
Florida's offense is a mess that will require more than a year to fix. The offense is designed for a running quarterback, and the quarterback, John Brantley, is a drop-back passer. The Gators don't have a receiver or running back who could start for SEC East winner South Carolina next season. Their head coach couldn't start for the Gamecocks, either, based on this year.
Meyer's first five years at Florida qualify him as one of the best coaches in SEC history. His sixth year makes you wonder why he reneged on his first resignation. Both he and the Gators might be happier if he hadn't.
Two years ago, the day of Meyer leaving Florida would have been projected as a holiday for SEC coaches. By then, he had two national championships in just four years on the job, and he was working and recruiting at a pace only Alabama's Nick Saban could match. But after the 2010 season, the conference competition might be sad to see him go, particularly if Florida hires Bobby Petrino away from Arkansas.
Dan Mullen was Meyer's offensive coordinator at Florida and has done a nice job in his two seasons as Mississippi State's head coach. Charlie Strong, Meyer's former defensive coordinator at Florida, has taken Louisville to a bowl in his first season as a head coach. And Jon Gruden's name seems magical to any high-profile program with a coaching vacancy.
But Petrino would be the best choice. He has been an NFL head coach and had two runs of success at the college level, first at Louisville and now at Arkansas, which has gone from mediocrity to a BCS bowl in three years under Petrino.
Who better to lead a lost offense back to prominence? Or attract offensive skill players?
If Petrino could take Louisville and Arkansas to BCS bowls, is there any reason to doubt he would win big at Florida?
As for Meyer, he will win big somewhere else. His record for success is too good to think otherwise. He won at Bowling Green, coached Utah to an unbeaten season and won 13 games in three different seasons at Florida. It won't take long for his name to pop up in conjunction with a big-time program anxious to hit a home run with a new coaching hire.
Michigan still hasn't decided what to do with Rich Rodriguez, who is assured of being the Wolverines' coach no longer than their Jan. 1 Gator Bowl game with Mississippi State. By then, Meyer might have figured out he would hate not coaching more than he hates losing.
But he wouldn't change his mind that fast. Would he?
Only if he saw video of Denard Robinson running the spread offense.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com. Follow him at http://twitter.com/johnadamskns.
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Comments » 134
volfaninutah writes:
HE could be in Denver with Timmy next year..... things that make you go Hmmmmmmm.
OrangePride writes:
My own opinion is that Meyer knows just how dysfunctional this Florida team is, how much work it's going to take to put it back together, and he just doesn't want to do it. PLUS, he will really need to rethink his coaching staff and if that's the right mix. Nope...he is out of gas...period. Losing is just the symptom, not the disease. And the Vols should use this time to go get some more good athletes down there!
bobbarbilly writes:
Love him or hate him, Tim Tebow was the chief star gatherer for Urban Meyer's crown while he was the gator's coach. And without Tebow,all of the king's men and all of the kings horses could not put the gators together again.
VolinCalif writes:
John
I think you hit the nail on the head. although I think that it isn't just the hatred of losing that brothers UM. It's that he hates to be looked upon as a leader that really had great staffs and troops that made him great. Somehow he doesn't seem to recognize that the great ones don't do the fighting. He wants all the credit and can't stand the thought that someone will know it wasn't all him. Anyway love your insight you've got it right.
TommyJack writes:
and whatever happened to 99gator?
Bogus writes:
He's around. Was posting on the earlier article.
VolinCalif writes:
TJ does this fall of Fl remind you of UT past? Coaches like everyone else burn out and need to go. Although I really do think that UB was a very lucky man and got a lot handed to him. That is a big part of hi problem.
LovinMyVols writes:
Adams is on to something here, I think.
heyitsme writes:
And just think, all his recruits for the past 4 years have been 4 and 5 stars...
stompintheswamp2 writes:
Urban knows what a long road ahead the gators have. After getting blown out and whipped by Fla. State and South Carolina, he knows next year Tennessee and others await their turn. You're exactly right Adams, he hates losing..... Sorry Fla. fans, Urby runs when the going gets tough. Maybe you are better off.
dwolfcreek#397971 writes:
He wants to join Tebow , he was his meal ticket .
TommyJack writes:
I see your point.
Bobby Bolivar...I was thinking da same .
Fryinpansvols writes:
Too funny! But you're exactly right! And by the way, Urban Cryer is a quitter. GBO!
VolinCalif writes:
You may well be correct that Fl is better off with him leaving. Fl is loaded with talent and most good coaches will work with what talent they have. UB is burned out and someone new will be up to the task. The SEC E just may have it a little harder next year with him gone.
Bogus writes:
Back for more, I see? So are you going to admit that you were out of line calling that Lanier kid a liar, or do we need to keep spanking you?
CarthageVol writes:
I totally agree. A few years under the radar and Urbie will pop up like a pimple in South Bend. In the words of George Plaster "Book It!!"
ETownVol writes:
Wow! Adams talks smack about another program other than UT.... and Florida at that. Who woulda thunk it? At least you did finally figure out what we all knew last year. Without Teblow... Meyer is nothing more than mediocrity.
CarthageVol writes:
Demographics and population distribution make you correct. Actually, where UF is located, you should never loose to UT or anyone else for that matter. Florida should never loose to anyone outside the state of Florida. But, you know what,......The did 4 times this year. And then got out coached by FSU at the end of the year. A Florida team with way less talent than the classes Urbie's been bringing in the last 4 years.
CarthageVol writes:
they did
nothinglastsforever writes:
It'd be better had he stayed so we would have a shot at beating him. It doesn't change the fact that there is still a lot of rebuilding work to be done in Knoxville.
givehim6 writes:
Sounds more like your trying to convince your self of a lie then make a intelligent statement. Best thing you guys need is to get Steve back.
vol_chaz writes:
lol, yet you continue to troll here..
Bogus writes:
Still waiting for you to admit that you were wrong to call the Lanier kid a liar. If you can show a little bit of decency I'll leave you alone. How about it?
RoadTrip writes:
Welcome to the new normal, Gator fans. There is something about the words "arrogance" and "misery" that they belong in the same sentence together. Enjoy!
VolunteerLifer writes:
At 7-5 with all that talent you guys might wanna think about hiring a big east coach to help out. Then again, maybe he'll start whining and quit on you when the going gets a little tough, too. Good luck with that. And won-loss record differentials? Well, they always seem to have a way of evening out over time.
VolinCalif writes:
Actually ZZ If it hadn't been for a Tennessee Boy you would have never crawled out from under the garbage. But you are correct you have stayed ahead of the game since SS took the rains years ago. UB was lucky, but Fl is more of a Zook type of team in the long run. But then Zook gave UB the recruits he made a name with. Stars alone won't do it and UB just proved that point. You're a kid that thinks any attention is good, Yes just like UT's last coach. It works for a time but it ends in disaster.
Bogus writes:
Still waiting, coward.
Bogus writes:
No, no, no, see, he takes the info he wants to use and spins it to fit his own pathetic arguments. Notice he doesn't use all-time records. Heck, by using his rationale, we could say that UT has owned and always will own UF in basketball. Dude makes Glenn Beck look tame by comparison.
VolinCalif writes:
Yes I agree Fl will always have a respectable team. I wouldn't want it any other way. They sure shouldn't have any trouble getting a good coach ether, Fl is loaded with talent as is Tx and Calif. But keeping it all together is another problem. EB's staff was great and they became his opponents. Just the way it works, seen it many times in my many years. So don't crow to loud because every thing has ups and Downs. if one wants to look at records then they need to start looking at the beginning. It is like a poll, one can make a poll report anyway they want and pollsters always want to know what your goal is so they can get the correct results for your cause. But you're smart fellow and know all this. Have fun trolling.
bigorange61 writes:
You're right. However, you had all that this year. Still wound up 7-5.
bigorange61 writes:
I think IF Blakely bolts it will be to Auburn, but you never know.
Afghan_Vol writes:
I bet Ron Zook would love to come back to UF!
FWBVol writes:
I hate to validate a point the back2z1 clown ever makes, but this time he has a legitimate argument. Yes, the series is only 21-19 in Florida's favor, but prior to the 1990 we didn't play Florida every year.
That said, while Florida should be able to get in and win on a consistent basis, there are no guarantee's that it will happen. Florida played football for 80 something years prior to Spurrier's tenure as head coach and never won a title or had a 10-win season, so there is that chance that negative history will repeat itself in Gainesville.
No program, not even one Florida can be on top every year. Look at what happened to FSU. Bobby Bowden had them in the top five for something like 14 years in a row and they won 10 or more games during every one of those seasons, but they haven't been in the top five since 2000.
Yes, Florida should be able to get a big time head coach, but they had to settle for Zook when Spurrier left. Now that Spurrier and Meyer have both been so successful at Florida there will be even more pressure on the next guy to win big and quickly. It does make for an interesting situation.
stompintheswamp2 writes:
Again, Fla. going down. UT going up. No matter what the trolls say, this is true. I kinda like the pattern.
CroKev writes:
Could we please get a list of all the UF "soft commits" that the Vols were in the hunt for?
BigOrangeSmoker writes:
I'll bet Myres dont hate loosing no worse than Tennessee Fans HATES to see john adams reporting,your pitful adams!!!!!!!
PUL4VOLS writes:
John Adams actually making sense? What's with that? Although there are some who would question whether or not Petty Petrino was ever REALLY a head coach in the NFL.
Let's just let Meyer go where ever he chooses. Most likely whomever goes next to Florida will be very competitive and bring some new elements to SEC football.
volhome writes:
Well, all I can say is that Super Tim leaves a lasting impression of sobbing on the sidelines. And now Urbie's long face in all of the losses this year is priceless. In their defense, losing is a lousy feeling. But it's how you deal with it and come back for more that proves your mettle in the long run. Thanks for the memories, Urbie. I'll cherish the long face for years.
shipperman#280095 writes:
Gator fans forget to remember that you all were very irrelevent until Spurrier came along in the 90's. So your history and tradition is minimal. Florida's east dominance is ending and it sickens you. Jackazzes like you predicted UT would lose 63-6 the last 3 years, and we hung in there with no where near the talent. You will go back to mediocrity and hide like gators are prone to do
jobrando#216494 writes:
Gator fans are struggling to accept a Music City Bowl next year. Welcome to average Gator trolls. LOL
volsfannsc writes:
Zz.... I actually feel sorry for you. Everything, and I mean everything moves in cycles. No program, no anything has been on top for extended periods and UF is no exception. I applaud your tenacity but it will end up as denial. I have no doubt that UF will be a great program again, but not in the near future. It's their turn to cycle. All the tumblers have fallen in place and the decline has now started- get used to it. As for TN, our cycle has started the uphill trend with a promising near future. Go ahead and resist what is inevitable, but you are only headed for a heartbreak. To put it in terms you can understand.........BBBWWWWHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
dvols writes:
with 0 coaches at Miami and Florida, is Florida State getting ready for another run....Jimbo Fisher might have just hit the powerball....
99gator writes:
as i said yesterday, he left in 12/09. that's the real story here.
hindsight is now 20/20. if you saw camera shots on him on the sideline this season, the man looked lost. the team followed suit and also looked lost.
i think there is a lot of talent in gainesville and there will be someone who can win a lot of games that would be more than happy to take the job.
hard to imagine someone accomplishing what meyer or spurrier did, but i don't think urban was going to produce the same kind of results that he had because this was a different urban meyer.
best of luck to him.
richvol writes:
Same goes for Tennessee after Peyton.
hcjournals#206623 writes:
Meyer has been exposed since Tebow left. he is an extreme narcissist and a crybaby. He can't handle the pressure, and folded when it got a little tough. Just like Spurrier after we beat him in 2001. Glad he's gone. He couldn't hack it under his own players. He never gave the other SEC teams the respect we have earned and now he will pay for it.
CoverOrange writes:
As I said last year, what separates great coaches from good coaches is intensity. When UM said he was going take time off and take it easy, I knew one of two things would happen, either he would renege and have another episode or UF would struggle. UM has lost that intensity, he knows it. He knows he can't get it back and is stepping away so as not to drag UF down with him. Thanks to Spurrier and Meyer UF is now bigger than who their coach is and they will survive and be a threat in a weak SEC East, unfortunately.
The list of coaching replacements is impressive. Makes me wonder why Hamilton didn't have a similar list in November 2008.
allvols4life writes:
I don't understand you. I really don't. Yes UT is down. Yes Florida has had our number for the past couple of decades. But do you have to be a punk about it? Enjoy your success while you have it. Enjoy everything about the recent run Meyer put you on. All you need to do is look to UT in the late 90's and see a similar run and then look at where we are today. It could be Florida in the near future. I doubt that it gets as bad at UF as it has at UT, but it could. Then, you can look like the punk that you are and be wallowing in your self-pity, just like your former coach. Or should I wait until after the Bowl game and make sure he isn't going to return for Spring practice like last year?
EMBuckles writes:
This may seem like a silly question, weird even, however, regarding the SEC, I long ago stopped thinking that anything was beyond the bounds of possibility. Anyway, that said, do you suppose, do you imagine that there is any possibility that Steve Spurrier might dump South Carolina and come back to Florida to close out his career? Seriously, any chance Spurrier might return to coach his Alma Mater (that's "fostering mother", his university for those not familiar with the term) Florida for the end of his career?
Rich_Is_Re-born writes:
You know, I agree 1,000% I've been flamed by gator fans for saying this. But as they wanted Addazio fired, I continued to remind them that it was Saint Urban that left THE ENTIRE PROGRAM in the hands of Addazio in the off season. I continued to wonder why the blame wasn't aimed toward Meyer.
On the flip side, you are ONE HELL OF A MAN 99! I respect the hell out of you. You come on here, give an unbiased opinion on our Vols, good or bad. But when it's not going good for your gators you show your face, take your medicine, and move on. Much respect from me man.
Huttdawg100 writes:
Every team has to rebuild... Period. Tim Tebow can only play for 4 years. Cam Newton, Peyton Manning, Colt McCoy, Bush, and Joseph Addai, all have one thing in common: they only have a small window to make an impact on your program and then you blink your eyes and they're gone... That's College Football... Can you survive during the time between those players?
At some point, the giants fall: USC, Florida, Miami, FSU, Texas. There was a point when I said, "Wow, USC will never lose". "Wow, Florida is just too good to fall." "Wow. Auburn sucks." Your team is always one special player away from changing the direction of your program: Manning, Tebow, Reggie Bush... This entire situation makes me respect Bowden and Paterno so much more because they could survive the storm.... Yeah Bowden got forced out, but he was a class act for years and an example for guys like Pete Carroll and Urban Meyer.
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