By: Tyler Ward
News surrounded Urban Meyer today as ESPN has reported that he has denied a report that he accepted the head coaching position at Ohio State.
It has been reported that the contract that was offered would be a seven-year deal worth approximately $40 million.
The Columbus Dispatch has said that two sources close to the school reported that the current ESPN analyst and former Florida football coach will be introduced as the new lead man for the Buckeyes sometime next week. However, the sources have said that the terms of the deal have not be announced.
Meyer said of the report, "I have not been offered any job nor is there a deal in place. I plan on spending Thanksgiving with my family and will not comment on this any further."
But there are a few obstacles regarding the situation at Ohio State. Meyer has said that he needs to speak to his entire family about the job over Thanksgiving and wants to delve into how bad the accusations are against his soon-to-be school.
Luke Fickell, the current interim head coach, would stay on as an assistant head coach if Meyer were to join the Buckeyes before the start of the 2012 NCAA Football season.
The only question that remains is how Meyer would fill in with the once-upon-a-time powerhouse.
Meyer has been one of the best and highest-paid coaches since he left Utah for Gainesville after the 2004 season. He would go on to have a stellar coaching tenure at Florida, winning two national championships and coaching players such as former Heisman winner and current Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, Maurkice Pouncey, Brandon Spikes, Aaron Hernandez, Percy Harvin, Joe Haden, Carlos Dunlap, among many others.
He would also have an exceptional bowl record, winning five of six games, including those two national championship games against Ohio State and Oklahoma.
There is no doubt that if he were to accept the head coaching position, he would be going into a rebuilding process that has been decimated with NCAA sanctions. But there is also no doubt that if a single person could turn Ohio State around, that it would be Meyer who has been one of the most successful coaches of the decade.
The Buckeyes, currently in turmoil over the sanctions, have been struggling this season. Ohio State has already lost five games this season, with losses against Miami, Michigan State, Nebraska, Purdue, and Penn State. They also really haven't been that great in their wins this season with their best win coming at home against the Wisconsin Badgers a few weeks ago.
Like former Buckeye teams, they have been a stellar defensive team but they have struggled offensively, which is considered uncharacteristic. There has been inconsistency at the quarterback position with Joe Bauserman and freshman Braxton Miller taking the majority, if not all, the snaps for the Buckeyes.
And to just go off the beaten path for a second, Bauserman is perhaps one of the worst quarterbacks I have ever seen - yes, even worse than current Colts quarterback Curtis Painter, former Chargers quarterback Ryan Leaf, and possibly even worse than former LSU star and Raiders bust JaMarcus Russell (Leaf and Russell were phenomenal college stars, however).
So, with that being said, that is possibly why Ohio State has been a horrible offensive team this season.
But I digress. The Ohio State Buckeyes NEED Urban Meyer as their head coach. And in some kind of weird way, Meyer needs the Buckeyes. So ideally, it could be a great fit if the puzzle pieces fall the right way for both sides.
The school also needs to realize that there is a realistic chance that they will not find a better coach than Meyer on the market and anything short of Meyer will be a disappointment. So they need to go all in with their poker chips and throw anything and everything in the pot to try and officially sign Meyer to a contract.
However, there is one thing that could possibly hurt the Buckeyes if Meyer decides to become their head man. When the going gets tough, Meyer gets less tough and decides to leave the program. If the NCAA sanctions somehow become too tough to handle, Meyer could leave.
During the 2009 season, Florida and Alabama faced off in the SEC Championship game with a trip to the title game on the line. Florida would go on to ultimately lose the game while the Tide would go on to win the national championship over the Texas Longhorns.
Shortly after the game, Meyer was sent to a hospital for dehydration and chest pains. He would be released later that day, but would announce later that he would resign from the Gators and no longer be the head coach. There are a few theories out there that Meyer simply was not used to losing at Florida and once they lost without getting Tim Tebow an astounding third championship ring, he just left the team. So if that is the case, Meyer could eventually leave Ohio State once the team starts to struggle.
Only time will tell however. And I'm sure we will find out what Meyer will do within the next week or two.
Other Potential Candidates if Meyer doesn't sign:
- Houston Nutt - Resigned from Ole Miss, officially will end after the season
- Joe Paterno - You never know, but I highly, highly, highly doubt it
- Jim Caldwell - Coached under Paterno at Penn State; current head coach of the 0-10 Indianapolis Colts and has been rumored to be on the hot seat
- Gus Malzahn - Current Offensive Coordinator at Auburn and is considered to be one of the best up-and-coming coaches
- Mark Richt - Was once reported to be on the hot seat; current head coach at Georgia
- Robert Smith - Current ESPN analyst and former Ohio State running back
- Mike Stoops - Former Arizona Wildcats coach; fired during this season and is looking for employment
- Tony Sparano - current Miami Dolphins head coach; has been reported to be on the hot seat throughout this season
