Florida head football coach Urban Meyer was named as one of 10 finalists for the 2008 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award. The announcement was made Wednesday afternoon from Liberty Mutual Insurance and Archie Manning, the chairman of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame.
Joining Meyer as a finalist from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) who best exemplifies excellence in coaching on and off the field are Mack Brown of Texas, Pat Fitzgerald of Northwestern, Brady Hoke of Ball State, Joe Paterno of Penn State, Chris Peterson of Boise State, Nick Saban of Alabama, Bob Stoops of Oklahoma, Jim Tressel of Ohio State and Kyle Whittingham of Utah.
The winner will be recognized in a permanent display at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., and will receive $50,000 from Liberty Mutual to support his favorite civic and charitable activities. A $20,000 scholarship donation also will be made to the winning coach’s alumni association.
College football fans can vote for the choice by logging on and voting at http://www.CoachoftheYear.com. Those votes and an objective scoring model endorsed by the College Football Hall of Fame will determine the winner. Fans can vote beginning Friday, Dec. 12 with the balloting ending Monday, Dec. 22.
On the site, fans have the opportunity to review bios and fan testimonials supporting each finalist before they make their selection and enjoy episodes of “Coach’s Corner” which offer the perspectives of ESPN color analyst Kirk Herbstreit and Manning, a College Football Hall of Fame quarterback at Mississippi in 1970 and the father of Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Peyton (Indianapolis Colts) and Eli (New York Giants) Manning as well as a color analyst for CBS Sports..
To ensure candidates are evaluated fairly and measured against the specific values of responsibility and integrity, a Selection Committee composed of College Football Hall of Fame players and coaches and the national media will also cast votes for the winners. Fan votes account for 20 percent of each coach’s final score while the College Football
Hall of Famers and national college football media account for 55 percent and 25 percent, respectively.
“Hundreds of thousands of fans embraced what is unique about this award by voting to name coach Meyer among the Coach of the Year finalists,” said Greg Gordon, Liberty Mutual senior vice president of Consumer Marketing. “Revered by fans for exhibiting characteristics of sportsmanship, integrity and responsibility, coach Meyer represents what is great about college football because he understands that how you win is every bit as important as winning itself.”
Meyer led Florida to its second SEC Championship in three years after defeating Alabama 31-20 last Saturday in Atlanta. With the win, Meyer became the third coach in the history of college football to lead a school ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press poll to a win over the No. 1 team more than once in his college coaching career. Paterno and former Miami head coach Jimmy Johnson are the others. The Gators will play for their second BCS National Championship on Jan. 8 in Miami’s Dolphin Stadium against Stoops’ Oklahoma Sooners. In 2006, Meyer’s No. 2 Gators beat No. 1 Ohio State 41-14 to win the BCS National Championship.
The 2008 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award winners will be announced Dec. 31 on ESPN during halftime of the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl game between Boston College and Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn.