Urban Meyer going back to Florida Gators, but it's not what you think

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Urban Meyer going back to Florida Gators, but it's not what you think

Talk about your mixed emotions. It’ll be quite a tug-of-war Saturday inside the psyches of all those at Florida Field (or whatever you prefer to call it), when another season of gloom pauses to recall better times.

The best of times, as Coach Dickens would call it.

Urban Meyer is coming back to town. In a normal world in normal times, there’d be no mixing of emotions in such a situation. The only question would be: “What time does the parade start?”

But with Urban Meyer, it’s complicated. For a while there, the only potential complications involved where they’d eventually put the statue.

After turning around programs at Bowling Green and Utah, Urban Meyer built his legend at Florida, then cemented it at Ohio State.

If you can compare seismic blasts from different endeavors, Meyer put together a Sandy Koufax run in Gainesville from 2005-10. It sure seemed like it was longer than six seasons, but a lot happened. 

Three of his Gator teams went 13-1 and two of those won national championships. His teams were 65-15 overall and 5-1 in bowl games, including the two championship victories in 2006 and ’08. Like Steve Spurrier before him, it wasn’t just all the wins, but the way his teams won. He spread out his offense and spread the spoils — it wasn’t all Tim Tebow, you know.

But he left after a disappointing 2010 season (what they’d give for an 8-5 these days!), looking like a spent quarterhorse in need of shade. The reputation began taking on water — it was suggested he left the program in emotional shambles, partly or maybe largely due to his reputation as a coach who recruited and protected some players who’d never be confused with Boy Scouts.

Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer celebrated their second national championship in January, 2009.

He also left the Gators, he said then, to spend more time with his family. But a year later, one of his two perceived dream jobs opened — not Notre Dame, which was long speculated, but Ohio State, a few hours south of his native Ashtabula. With family time sufficiently sated, he grabbed his whistle and headed home.

That didn’t sit very well with the Gainesville crowd, and it cut even deeper when, amazingly, he actually bettered his Florida numbers with the Buckeyes — 83-9 overall, 54-4 in the Big Ten and another national title in seven seasons.

Without that “other stuff,” if Urban Meyer was returning to Gainesville this week, they’d be unveiling his name on the upper stadium wall, in the highly restrictive Ring of Honor, along with Tebow, Steve Spurrier, Emmitt Smith, Jack Youngblood, Danny Wuerffel and Wilber Marshall.

On paper, where strict criteria is written, he earned it with his first national title, not to mention the second. But they’re not there yet. No lofty enshrinement for now. 

This weekend’s return was brokered by the National Football Foundation’s College Football Hall of Fame. Meyer will be among the inductees later this year. The NFF arranges for all inductees to be honored at a home game of the school where they built that fame. 

Meyer got the same treatment three weeks ago at Ohio State. The ceremony includes the unveiling of a plaque that receives a permanent home at the stadium.

Those on hand Saturday, wondering who’ll be named the fifth Gator coach over these past 15 years, will surely clap and cheer because they’re desperate to do so, even if it’s for what once was.

And in a way, not just what once was in Gainesville, but in all of college football. In the new world, it’s hard to imagine a coach horse-collaring an entire program and producing championships in the manner Urban Meyer delivered them — through tireless recruiting and a Nick Saban level of strict attention to detail. 

When you put it that way, it’s mixed emotions for a whole lot of us. 

To the (e)mailbag …

HEY, WILLIE!

You have written about the hip phrases that have infiltrated football over the years, including “downhill runner” and the like.

I keep hearing another one and I am officially confused. Tell me what they mean by “complimentary football.” Unless they’re saying “complementary football.”

JERSEY JOE

HEY, JOE!

By my reasoning, “complimentary” football would be something you’d receive, say, for staying at a Holiday Inn in downtown Canton. “The breakfast buffet starts at 6, and hey, here’s your free football!”

And if you wanted to be complimentary in return, you’d say, “My oh my, what a wonderful lobby you have. Is that berber?”

Coaches and too many commentators reflexively spit out the term “complementary football” as a way to let you know they know their football. Technically, it’s a matter of all three parts of the team working in harmony — offense, defense, special teams — for the good of all. 

In reality, it doesn’t mean much if your defense is solid but your quarterback couldn’t hit water if he fell in that Holiday Inn’s pool. Or if your kicker has the yips. But it makes you sound smart, so consider the use of complementary football to be your complimentary gift ahead of this holiday season.

HEY, WILLIE!

Your article about the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show (Nov. 7) was fun to read. Next time, if you want to fit in with the yachting people, don’t wear stuff from Tommy Bahama or Vineyard Vines. 

You look like you’re trying too hard to fit in. Best rule: If you’re in that boating world, wear L.L. Bean instead. I also suggest the opposite advice if you’re with hunters or hikers.

BILLY

HEY, BILLY!

My day on the Lauderdale docks was quite an eye-opener. I finally realized what truly separates that upper 10% of the upper 1% from the rest of us.

Even under the highest of cloudless skies, in 80-degree temps with only a whiff of breeze, they can stand before you in a linen blazer and not sprout a single bead of perspiration. How can that be? Is there a South Florida cosmetic center that removes sweat glands? Probably, and it’s likely a drive-thru.

Best guess: Young Bartholomew is fitted for his first sportscoat at age 2 and trains his pores from that young age to never open those floodgates.

Rank & File: Ranking Florida college football teams

The weekly ranking of Florida’s seven big-league football programs, based on results versus expectations, current trends, and the labor bureau’s current Producer Price Index for Slaughter Turkeys (What? You thought they grew on trees?) …

1. Miami Hurricanes (8-2). Last week: (2) beat N.C. State, 41-7. This week: at Virginia Tech. FYI: Miami lost star DB Keionte Scott to a season-ending knee injury last week, but it won’t matter this week. BTW, Penn State went 8-4 and 7-5 in the two years before new Tech coach James Franklin began turning around the Nits’ program. That’s like inheriting the ’27 Yankees compared to what he’s getting in Blacksburg next year. The pick: ’Canes 33, Hokies 16.

2. USF Bulls (7-3). (1) Last week: (1) lost to Navy, 41-38. This week: at Alabama-Birmingham. FYI: Here’s a little reminder to those who might think Alex Golesh’s cachet may be shrinking among bigger programs searching for a new coach. His 21-15 USF record nearing the end of Year 3 isn’t off-the-charts stuff, but consider the Bulls were 4-29 in the three previous years. Oklahoma State is 4-18 since the start of last year, for what it’s worth. The pick: Bulls 40, Blazers 22.

3. FSU Seminoles (5-5). Last week: (5) beat Virginia Tech, 34-14. This week: at N.C. State, Friday night. FYI: The Two Men and a Truck are still idling over at the Pilot station near Ochlockonee. Right now, 7-5 seems probable which means 8-5 is feasible, and programs like FSU, in today’s climate, shouldn’t fire coaches who go 8-5. The pick: ’Noles 27, Wolfpack 20.

4. FIU Panthers (5-5). Last week: (4) beat Liberty, 34-27. This week: Jacksonville State at home. FYI: Jax State, in Alabama, is college football’s other Gamecocks. Until 1947, they were called the Eagle Owls. Like you, I’d never heard of an eagle owl, and after looking at pictures, I sure as hell hope to never encounter one. Meanwhile, Jax State is two wins away from a C-USA title in just its third year of FBS ball. The pick: ’Cocks 33, Panthers 26.

5. FAU Owls (4-6). Last week: (3) lost to Tulane, 35-24. This week: UConn at home. FYI: UConn, recently known as UCan’t, wraps up another nine-win season this week and you might start seeing Coach Jim Mora’s name pop up here and there. Would a USF opening be considered a lateral or upward move? The pick: Huskies 33, Plain ol’ Owls 23. 

6. Florida Gators (3-7). Last week: (7) lost to Ole Miss, 34-24. This week: Tennessee at home. FYI: Last week’s “quality loss” bumps the Gators out of the basement. Problem is, Oklahoma State is so bad, this newly attained promotion might be short-lived if the pick at No. 7 comes through. The pick: Vols 27, Gators 14.

7. UCF Knights (4-6). Last week: (6) lost to Texas Tech, 48-9. This week: Oklahoma State at home. FYI: How in the world can UCF be a 14-point favorite over anyone? Here’s how. Since opening the season with a win over Tennessee Ernie Martin, the Pokes have lost nine straight and boy have they — by an average of 27 points each. They did scare K-State last week, however. Somebody has to win this thing, right? The pick: Knights 9, Cowboys 8. 

Other college football picks

Just what we need as we plop down between the candy corn of Halloween and candied yams of Thanksgiving. Welcome to Cupcake Week, brought to you by Jardiance.

It’s payday for some smaller programs and pad-the-record day for some of the biggin’s. Just look at these matchups: Texas A&M vs. Samford; Georgia vs. Charlotte; ’Bama vs. Eastern Illinois; Auburn vs. Mercer; South Carolina vs. Coastal Carolina; Clemson vs. Furman; LSU vs. Western Kentucky.

Most ripe for the pickin’ is likely either LSU or South Carolina. Maybe even Auburn against the 9-1 Bears. Given the little bit we know and all that we don’t, you can probably count on one of those above games giving us a soul-sucking upset. Maybe two.

ELSEWHERE: Ohio State routs Rutgers; Boomer survives Mizzou; SMU beats Louisville; Oregon over USC by 10; Irish handle Syracuse; Vandy over Kentucky; Texas by 19 over Arkansas; Duke by 6 over Belichick; Tech beats Pitt; Cal big over Stanford; BYU beats Cincy; and in Crawfordsville, about halfway between Indianapolis and the Illinois state line, the home-standing Little Giants of Wabash by 6 over the Ohio Northern Polar Bears. 

BTW: Wabash leaders learned an early lesson about branding. The school was originally called the “Wabash Teachers Seminary and Manual Labor College,” just in case the seminary part didn’t seem strict enough. A moderate burst of research shows it’s one of just four all-male colleges remaining in the country. For what it’s worth, Indiana’s only all-female college, Saint Mary’s in South Bend, is 135 miles away. By mid-winter, some of those Little Giants would walk it.

BTW II: For two years in the late-’30s, Crawfordsville was home to young brothers Dick and Jerry Van Dyke. It’s also the birthplace of 1919 Indy 500 winner Howdy Wilcox, as well as underrated 1800s outlaw “Curly Bill” Brocius, who made the grave mistake of killing Wyatt Earp’s little brother, Morgan. 

∎ Email Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida Gators, coach Urban Meyer reuniting? Yes, and it’s complicated

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