More than a Game
December 8th 2010 21:50
When Urban Meyer first stepped in as the coach of the Florida Gators, I had no clue how he would end-up doing in Gainesville. After all, many wondered if he was ready for the big step from a non-BCS Utah team, who had gone un-defeated the year before, but wasn't even close to the profile of the program he was now stepping into. Could he run the spread opton in the SEC, one of the big boy conferences? Many doubted that he could six seasons later, I consider Meyer one of the best coaching hires in collge football history.
Sure, he had Tebow, Harvin, Haden, Spikes, and the Pouncey twins to make him look better, but who recruited and sat in their homes, and sold the program to those guys? Urban. I'm kind of scrambling for words right now, so bare with me. It's hard to see Urban leave, if it is indeed true this time, and I believe it is. In no way, shape, or form do I blame Urban for leaving the program.
When he tried to relax, he wasn't as prepared for teams, and when he stressed himself over every detail, the losses made him a mess inside. As much as I love what he's done for the program, it was the right thing to do to step down. Not because his team is 7-5, or because he couldn't find what QB to use. For him it was the right decision, and it was best for the program.
I'll admit, he wasn't the usual Urban this year. He didn't have as much of the mastermind pressense, nor did he have the players and the functioning system to pull great things off. Florida was crushed at Bama, destroyed at home by Steve Spurrier, and killed by the new sheriff in town at FSU. Meyer could take the heat, otherwise he wouldn't have won a second title (even with Tebow). It was now better that he didn't. It was time. As much as you would of liked him to coach here 15, 20, 25 years, it's not in him. His hardest critict is him. At the same time, the boos from fans and the fact that I think the "Gator Nation" has gotten a little greedy also factors in.
Expectations can make or break you in this buisness. They made Urban, and then broke him. Coaching in college football has become life and death, which it never should be. Sure, you can say I'm not hard-core enough, but Florida football is a lifestyle for me. I haven't felt great the past two months, and my stomach aches as I write this. But to think coaching football, even while making loads of money, is a reason to risk your overall health during mid-life is not right.
I could go over all the guys that could take over the job, who would fit, who wouldn't, but that wouldn't even feel right to me rat the moment. What does this mean for recruiting? Will top QB prospect Jeff Driskell say with us? Would players transfer? None of it really matters to me, not today. Today is for realization that you can't stay at the top of the mountain too long. We've more than learned that Urban was not a perfect man, or coach. Florida will rebuild, with or without Urban, I can assure everyone that.
But I'll always remember the way I felt when we won those two national titles, the SEC championships I went to, the heart-break of losing to Bama, where I could barely go a minute without thinking about the loss. If I felt that bad, I can't imagine th coach. So, all I can say in the end is thank you to coach Meyer, for making me realize the joy in winning, the full effect of Florida football, the gut-wrenching feeling of a loss, but most of all, that your life, and the one's of those around you, is more important than a game.
Sure, he had Tebow, Harvin, Haden, Spikes, and the Pouncey twins to make him look better, but who recruited and sat in their homes, and sold the program to those guys? Urban. I'm kind of scrambling for words right now, so bare with me. It's hard to see Urban leave, if it is indeed true this time, and I believe it is. In no way, shape, or form do I blame Urban for leaving the program.
When he tried to relax, he wasn't as prepared for teams, and when he stressed himself over every detail, the losses made him a mess inside. As much as I love what he's done for the program, it was the right thing to do to step down. Not because his team is 7-5, or because he couldn't find what QB to use. For him it was the right decision, and it was best for the program.
I'll admit, he wasn't the usual Urban this year. He didn't have as much of the mastermind pressense, nor did he have the players and the functioning system to pull great things off. Florida was crushed at Bama, destroyed at home by Steve Spurrier, and killed by the new sheriff in town at FSU. Meyer could take the heat, otherwise he wouldn't have won a second title (even with Tebow). It was now better that he didn't. It was time. As much as you would of liked him to coach here 15, 20, 25 years, it's not in him. His hardest critict is him. At the same time, the boos from fans and the fact that I think the "Gator Nation" has gotten a little greedy also factors in.
Expectations can make or break you in this buisness. They made Urban, and then broke him. Coaching in college football has become life and death, which it never should be. Sure, you can say I'm not hard-core enough, but Florida football is a lifestyle for me. I haven't felt great the past two months, and my stomach aches as I write this. But to think coaching football, even while making loads of money, is a reason to risk your overall health during mid-life is not right.
I could go over all the guys that could take over the job, who would fit, who wouldn't, but that wouldn't even feel right to me rat the moment. What does this mean for recruiting? Will top QB prospect Jeff Driskell say with us? Would players transfer? None of it really matters to me, not today. Today is for realization that you can't stay at the top of the mountain too long. We've more than learned that Urban was not a perfect man, or coach. Florida will rebuild, with or without Urban, I can assure everyone that.
But I'll always remember the way I felt when we won those two national titles, the SEC championships I went to, the heart-break of losing to Bama, where I could barely go a minute without thinking about the loss. If I felt that bad, I can't imagine th coach. So, all I can say in the end is thank you to coach Meyer, for making me realize the joy in winning, the full effect of Florida football, the gut-wrenching feeling of a loss, but most of all, that your life, and the one's of those around you, is more important than a game.
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