Coach Meyer and “The Game”
A lot has been said about Urban Meyer and Ohio State in recent weeks. Since his hiring on November 28th, Ohio State and Coach Meyer have been the talk of ESPN, and all the local radio sports shows. Each day, hope and expectations are raised, as Meyer is currently making his stamp on the recruiting scene by landing some of the biggest names at the national level.
Then there’s the coaching staff Coach Meyer is currently assembling. It may not be the “big-name” assistants, like Mike Stoops or Chad Morris (Clemson), but they’re impact hires. Names like Tom Herman, Stan Drayton, and Everett Withers, aren’t exactly household names at this point and time, but Urban Meyer has a knack for elevating the coaching talent, if you will, around him. If you take a gander throughout the landscape of college football, the “Meyer Tree” has really blossomed.
Today, as a matter of fact, another ‘new guy’ was hired, and this one, in my opinion, is going to do absolute wonders for the Ohio State football program. Urban Meyer brought long-time friend, and strength and conditioning guru, Mickey Marotti aboard. He’ll serve as the Assistant Athletic Director of Football Sports Performance – exhale.
Coach Meyer and Coach Marotti go way back, all the way back to their days as graduate assistants at Ohio State in the ’80s. The two were also paired together at Notre Dame, and again at Florida. Marotti is an incredible hire for the Buckeyes. One thing I think the team clearly lacked this season was toughness, and Marotti will certainly fix that. The one player to watch-out for, now that Marotti is in Scarlet & Grey, is John Simon. Already an athletic freak, Simon will be an offensive-lineman’s worst nightmare come next season.
At any rate, you get the point. All the talk is about the expectations and recruiting craze Coach Meyer is on, while not much is being said about the greatest rivalry in all of sports – The Game.
Everyone in Buckeye Nation remembers when Coach Tressel was hired, and the halftime speech he gave about how proud we were going to be of our team when we traveled up north. It brought excitement, and a sense of change – for the better – in Columbus.
We didn’t see that when Coach Meyer was hired. His name alone generated the excitement surrounding the hire, while “The Vest” needed a profound guarantee-type statement to get the fan base excited. While I’m sure the importance of beating those bastards up north isn’t lost on Coach Meyer, but it would be nice to have a sit down with him, and only talk about the rivalry.
Obviously the talk is Big Ten Championships, BCS Bowls, Heisman Trophies, and, ultimately, National Championships, so obviously those things would include beating those idiots up north. Nevertheless, it’s great to see passion and excitement in a person’s eyes when talking about things of importance, it shows the sincerity behind their words. Coach Meyer clearly knows he needs to embrace the rivalry, but seeing him embrace it by actually talking about it is something I look forward too.
I know it sounds like I’m being negative, but for me, at least, it’s alarming that the rivalry hasn’t been talked about all that much. I am on record saying that I would be skeptical about Ohio State hiring Coach Meyer as the next head coach, and as of now, I stand by that. That’s not to say that I’m not excited about the hiring, and I am in no way saying that I’m not happy with him leading the Buckeyes, but part of me is still skeptical. A way to ease that skepticism for me, would for Coach Meyer to publicly address the rivalry between our beloved Buckeyes, and, well… “them”.
Expectations are at an all-time high in Columbus, which can mean one of two things: an incredible collapse of epic proportions, or, Coach Meyer takes the Buckeyes beyond those expectations. I think in the back of Coach Meyer’s mind, he knows that he’s going to embarrass the pudgy guy up north – and no, not Santa.
Maybe Urban Meyer is an ‘action speaks louder than words’ kind of guy, and will let the play on the field address his thoughts on the rivalry, but for this Buckeye fan, I want to hear what it means to him. If for nothing else, to see and hear his conviction in his response would be nice.
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Urban Meyer – The Greatest Hire In College Football History? (I’m reluctant to think so.)
When you think great coaches in college football, there’s a plethora of legends to name off. Names like Paul “Bear” Bryant, who put Alabama football on the map during his 25 years as head coach with six national championships, and 13 conference titles. There’s Joe Paterno, who was the face of Penn State University for 46 years, and put his stamp on the college football world with 409 victories before he was fired this year. Glenn “Pop” Warner, Walter Camp, John Heisman, John Gigliardi, Eddie Robinson, and Knute Rockne – the list goes on and on, but all of these coaches of left their mark on the college football world in one way or another.
For me, and I think for most of my generation, legend means Bobby Bowden, Joe Paterno, Frank Beamer, and Tom Osborne. For us, the list of college football coaching greats – the coaches that we’ll talk about to our sons and grandsons – consist of Les Miles, Nick Saban, Mack Brown, Jim Tressel, and Chris Petersen.
At the Ohio State University, there’s a few college football legends, at least in the eyes of Buckeye Nation, which we’re damn proud of. Obviously there’s Wayne Woodrow “Woody” Hayes, who many will argue is responsible for putting the Ohio State University on the map. His name is synonymous with Ohio State, and, really, everything Ohio State stands for – tough, dedicated, gritty, and, a winner. Albert E. Hernstein brought Ohio State their first conference championship, but was 0-4 against those scum-bags up north. John Wilce compiled a 78-33-9 record at Ohio State, with 3 conference titles and was 4-7 against “Little Blue”.
Then, of course, there’s Jim Tressel. Who, for my generation anyway, has absolutely been the face of the entire Ohio State football program. He replaced John Cooper, who in his own right is a legend (inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame), but was constantly pissing Buckeye Nation off by losing to that junior varsity team up north – despite some of the best teams in Buckeye history.
Watching Tressel’s tenure at Ohio State come to an end was devastating. For me, he was symbolic with Ohio State, even if he was a tad bit boring. The success he had at Ohio State, and at Youngstown State before that, was incredible, and was really my generations’ “Woody Hayes”. He’ll be remembered by Buckeye Nation, eventually, for all the success, and will always hold a place in our hearts as “one of the greats” – even if there is an asterisk next to it.
For now, Coach Tressel is known as the guy that broke the rules, and the guy responsible for Ohio State’s first real black eye on the football program. Though his actions and dismissal were met with mixed emotion, those who scorned the legendary coach for his role in the scandal are quickly forgiving ‘The Vest’. Why?
Urban Meyer.
What’s the best way to give a mourning fan base hope? Hire Urban Meyer. How do you piss-off your biggest rival just days after they end a (near) decade-long streak? Hire Urban Meyer. The biggest impact, though, has been on ESPN. Those bastards embraced the role of ‘the bad guy’, and have been Ohio State’s biggest critic ever since the scandal broke. For days we were force-fed the Ohio State saga, to the point where all I wanted to do was puke.
I’ve stated my Urban Meyer skepticism. Enough on that.
The biggest part of me knows that this is a great hire for Ohio State, the evidence is already there with what he’s done in recruiting. Somewhere in my mind, however, I’ve come-up with a theory, one that’s bound to piss a few people off (SEC fans), and, at a minimum, stand as a conversation starter for our readers.
If Urban Meyer holds true to his word, and honors his six year contract – which is the focal point of my doubts – then when all is said and done, Urban Meyer can go down as the greatest coach the sport as ever seen.
For the last five, now six, years, the SEC has ruled the college football world. Nick Saban, Les Miles, and Urban Meyer have been the face of a movement that has seen parity, at least as the common football fan would see it, slowly diminish. Early on in the BCS Era, the PAC-10, BIG XII, and Big Ten, all hoisted the crystal football in triumph after a national championship victory. Starting in 2007, however, that all changed.
That year, the Urban Meyer led Florida Gators throttled the Ohio State Buckeyes. From there, LSU, Florida – again, Alabama, and Auburn (a one year wonder in the grand scheme of things) have all done their part in ensuring the crystal remains in the south. Now, either LSU or Alabama will continue the tradition for the SEC, when the face each other in the most controversial national championship game in history.
Clearly the SEC has raised the bar in terms of what it takes to be a dominant conference, and until someone knocks them off, they have the right to brag all they want – even if most of it is controversial (no way should it be LSU – ‘Bama in the title game). Anyone who faces an SEC opponent come bowl season, especially in a title game scenario, are led to believe that they are defeated before the game is even played. If half the battle is mental, the media single handedly destroys SEC opponents before bowl games even start. Teams like Mississippi State and, even Vanderbilt, are given an added mental edge heading into bowl season, simply because they play in the SEC.
To be frank, the media’s love affair with the SEC is ridiculous.
So what does the SEC’s success have to do with Ohio State, a member of the inferior Big Ten? Everything.
If the SEC is the standard in which every conference should strive to be, then Urban Meyer has six years of experience in excellence.
Urban Meyer has been successful everywhere he has coached, including his first stop at Bowling Green State University. He wasn’t phenomenal at BGSU, but he took a wide receiver in Josh Harris, and made him one of the top quarterbacks in the MAC during his two years under center. He took his ability to develop talent to Utah, where he developed Alex Smith (‘49ers) to the first pick of the NFL Draft, and put Utes on the map as the first real “BCS Buster”.
Then there’s Florida, where he coached Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Tim Tebow, along with countless other NFL prospects (and Cam Newton), to two national championships in his six years as the head man in Gainsville. Because of Meyer, the SEC East was just as much of a threat as the West, and I know Gator fans would’ve loved to have seen what kind of magic Meyer could work had he stayed.
Meyer is arguably the best recruiter in the nation (though Pete Carroll is probably the best), and being at a school like Ohio State, makes him damn-near unstoppable. When you take a coach, like Meyer, who has had the success that he has in the SEC – a conference that is hands-down the best in the business – and you put him at a school with the name power Ohio State has, it’s really almost unfair.
Jim Tressel was, quite frankly, had one of the most boring offenses in all of college football, but was successful. His defenses were always among the nation’s best, and, for one reason or another, found a way to sell his “Tressel-Ball” style of offense to some of the top recruits.
A lot of it has to do with the name – Ohio State. There’s something about playing in Columbus that really draws the attention of some of the best recruits, and the history at OSU is rich and deep. You come to Ohio State to compete for national titles, and Big Ten Championships. There’s the possibility of going pro, but there’s the guarantee of one of the top educations in all of America – if one actually chose to do so. Couple the brand name of Ohio State, with the fact that the state of Ohio itself produces some of the top college football talent, and there’s already an underlying recipe for success.
So, in theory, the name Ohio State, does a lot of the recruiting for the coaches.
Meyer uses his track record to recruit, and his ability to develop talent for the next level draws some of the nation’s best prospects. He’s been successful in the media-hyped SEC, which is also going to draw recruits. Now that he’s at Ohio State, the assumption is that what worked in the SEC, should excel in the B1G. If true, Ohio State is the cream-of-the-crop of the B1G, paving the way for Coach Meyer to swoop in and dominate the entire nation if he so chooses.
Ohio State may be the last stop on the “Urban Meyer Coaching Tour”, but will it be limited to just six years? Urban is young (47) and could extend his stay at Ohio State, if he so chooses. With the success he’s had in the almighty SEC, and a head coaching job at one of the top two schools in the nation, Meyer has the potential to be extremely – extremely – historical with his time at Ohio State.
After nearly a year of turmoil, it’s finally great to be a Buckeye. Let’s hope it stays that way, it’s hard to trust anything from the SEC.
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