Away from the task, along the corridors of college football, far removed from the sweat and the grunting of Gator football practice, questions swirl around the future of Urban Meyer. At nearly every turn when encountering the less-informed, more-detached observer out there in America, I am usually asked: “What’s the deal with your football coach – is he coming back?”
Word has traveled at a snail’s pace. The closer one gets to The Swamp, the less doubt.
Yes, there are many questions to be answered about this 2010 team – What will the offense be? How will Johnny Brantley perform and who are his receivers? How about the new coaches? The new linebackers? Yada, yada, yada.
There ought not be any doubts about who’s coaching the Florida Gators however. Especially for those who have been around their spring practice lately.
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Never mind the overblown incident regarding Urban Meyer and a reporter this spring – his presence was felt long before that.
To watch Urban work is to know his concentration is back, along with his commitment.
He squints beneath a hot April sun, sans sunglasses or cap, wearing the usual long-sleeve white shirt bearing a Gator head logo on his left breast, usually in oversized olive cargo shorts, whistle hanging from a black lariat around his neck, moving about the practice field with ease and purpose. He is mostly a drive-by coach, exhorting here or there for players to get up after a play or move off or on the field, or perhaps reminding Johnny Brantley to get a little more air on the ball which he has thrown deep and incomplete to Deonte Thompson.
There is very little screaming by him – a little vocal reminder to hustle here and there – but clearly it’s his field, his team, his domain. He doesn’t need to micro-manage, but he’s very much got his hands on things.
Mostly what draws him back into a hands-on role is special teams, his baby. Today he hovers over the field-goal unit, Chas Henry holding, Caleb Sturgis kicking. His kicker has missed twice, both times to the right. Urban makes a strategic move, angling over close to the right shoulder of Sturgis as if blocking Caleb’s right window. Hands on knees, Urban watches the snap to Henry, who puts down the hold. Sturgis kicks it straight and true. Bingo!
In coaching, it’s the little things. Nobody pays attention to detail like Urban Meyer.
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This week marks 100 days since Meyer shocked the college football world by suddenly announcing his retirement. Though his medical issue remains undisclosed – “I’m fine,” is Urban’s standard answer—Meyer told the media he had paid a visit to Mike Krzyzewski earlier this year. He didn’t say for sure what they had talked about, but implied he had conferred with the Duke coach about his leave of absence due to heath issues.
(Later, we learned that Coach K’s athletic director, Kevin White, a friend of Urban’s, suggested he call the Florida coach, which he did. Then, when Urban visited Durham for a physical at Duke hospital, they spoke. The Duke coach told him not to make decisions “when you are tired” (or sick). When the flareup between Meyer and the reporter took place, Krzyzewski took that as a positive sign. “You know, I didn’t call him to tell him about press relations about a month ago,” said Krzyzewski, “but (it) showed me he may have had his vigor back. Showed me, he’s back quicker than I thought he would ever be back.”)
No word on what medical advice Urban got from Duke.
There is a question about exactly how much “leave” Meyer really took or how much he pulls away from work or if he really delegates. Around the office, however, there has been a difference.
Unlike past springs, Meyer now disappears for several hours at a time without telling anybody where he’s going. Sometimes he’ll go take a run with his daughter.
“And sometimes,” said one person inside, “he’ll take a whole day.”
You get the feeling, though, that Urban Meyer has really never left the program after his meltdown.
And if he did, he most certainly is back and very entrenched.
Some people deep inside the program would like for Meyer to lighten his grip even more, but they also know that for him to back off too much would change who he is.
“Shelley says things are fine,” said one friend. “And no matter what we think, if Shelley thinks he’s fine, then he’s fine.”
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At last Saturday’s scrimmage, I took a stroll among the fans, inquiring about their feeling regarding Meyer’s role. Is he back? Is he delegating? How do they feel it’s going in his rehabilitation? Surprisingly, there was zero concern and 100 percent consensus that he had returned to his old form.
“A 110 percent back,” said one.
Were they worried about their coach’s health? No.
Picked by Sporting News as the Coach of the Decade for turning around three programs, Urban has vaulted to the top of the coaching ladder in a short five years by winning 56 games, two SEC titles and two BCS Championships, on a tear of 30 wins in his last 33 games.
That’s not the remarkable part. The remarkable part is that he is still a young football coach. He’ll be 46 on July 10.
At Florida, where Steve Spurrier is probably still the most beloved coach in history because of his Orange-and-Blue blood, Meyer is equally as respected and revered – the only thing separating them being that The Ol’ Ball Coach was first with the SEC title and national championship. You don’t forget your first kiss. And all said, Meyer may supplant Spurrier, but never erase his footprint.
Consider that Spurrier was 45 when he began coaching the Gators. Meyer has a fresh start now, but how long will he keep coaching?
THAT is a question not even he can answer right now.
At this rate, he would easily eclipse Spurrier’s won-loss record of 122-27-1. But Steve has more SECs per capita (six). How will they both be judged? That really doesn’t matter in the end, because the resumes of both men are world class and their accomplishments, laid end to end, would do any college football program proud.
Nationally, Meyer has vaulted to the top of his profession in 10 short years, posting an .841 winning percentage, best in the land for a minimum of five years.
By most standards, now that Pete Carroll has left college football for the NFL, the two best coaches are Meyer and Nick Saban of Alabama, followed by Bob Stoops, Mack Brown and Jim Tressel. You can argue about the rest.
All of which put the two best coaches America, Meyer and Saban, head to head in what will be another showdown or two in the immediate future.
With the Gators heading to Tuscaloosa on Oct. 2 for a regular-season game and maybe another date for the SEC title in Atlanta, this has the makings of perhaps a classic matchup that will have a major bearing on the national picture for several seasons to come.
At the very top of his game, it seems that the only thing standing in the way of Urban Meyer and immortality in the coaching profession are the unknown intangibles: Health, stamina and desire. And right now he’s got at least two of those – perhaps even all three.