Merry Canesmas; Florida’s Urban Meyer quits

Urban Meyer is stepping down. Florida’s fifth-year head coach is calling it a career… for now.

Two national titles and a Heisman winner during his run. Two SEC titles and a 56-10 record, too. It was a hell of a ride for the Gators, but it’s over. UF faithful will deny it, but they’ll see in time. Lightning doesn’t strike twice.

College football is cyclical. Everyone is forced to take a step back. Just ask Southern Cal, fresh off a mighty Emerald Bowl victory. No one saw a five-loss seasons and a 55-21 loss to Stanford when 2009 kicked off.

The Trojans expected to reload and were dealt a tough blow… and that’s with Pete Carroll still calling the shots. Where does Florida go without Meyer?

As a Miami fan, you hate Florida and by default, “hate” their coach – and their Heisman-winning quarterback. It goes with the territory. No one is more loathed than ‘the Gator’.

As gimmicky as you found Meyer’s offense, it was working. The Gators were dinking and dunking their way to Ws.

A bowl win over Cincinnati will give UF their third 13-1 season under Meyer. Not quite a dynasty (a third title in four years would’ve been the difference-maker), but a hell of a run… and it’s finally done.

Florida AD Jeremy Foley will hand over a blank check to a big-time guy. The Gators have the budget and football reigns supreme in that one-horse town. The infrastructure will always be there regarding competing with the nation’s best. Athletic budget. Facilities. Top flight coaching staff. Still, no matter how much money you throw at someone, it doesn’t guarantee the perfect storm the Gators just experienced.

Ron Zook got a big check and left the cupboard full entering 2006, banking five strong recruiting classes. Meyer slid in and his new system with Florida’s speed and talent; an ideal fit. The SEC couldn’t handle the spread offense when it fell into place under all-everything quarter-fullbackTim Tebow. A Heisman was preceded by a 22-game win streak, with a national title sandwiched halfway through the streak.

Seemingly on a roll, this year’s dream season ended with a resounding ‘thud’. Not exactly how UF fans drew it up.

Any grief Miami took for anticipating a follow-up title a year after a championship, arrogant Florida folk took that to a new level after last year’s win over No. 2 Oklahoma. Gators were already talking ‘Pasadena’ as they filed out of Pro Player Stadium last January. A second Heisman was in the bag. Another SEC title en route to back-to-back championships. There was no doubt. This was a “dynasty” and “three titles in four years” was a term Gators abroad were uttering.

Riding a fifteen-month high, the bottom fell out after thumping Florida State in Bobby Bowden’s final regular season game. For all the Gators already sizing up those rings, here’s one for you; “three of four Saturdays in December”. That’s how quickly your world unraveled.

Alabama shredded Florida on the 5th, ruining a perfect season and ending championship dreams. On the 12th, a Tide running back took home Timmy T’s Heisman. Moments later, 2.3 million sports fans watched “The U” and remembered that the Canes are still the “Canes”.

A little reprieve on the 19th, it’s now Saturday the 26th and the golden goose has called it a career. As huge as the SEC title loss and Pasadena dreams going up in smoke, both pale in comparison to Meyer stepping down.

The truth behind the resignation will never really be known. Health issues are being cited, but latter reports refute the severity of the condition. Truth is, nobody has a clue. Stress can lead to heart issues with anybody. A lifestyle change is a personal decision, but you can’t gauge the “what if” had you stuck around and pushed it. You simply press on and roll the dice, or you walk away and pray you made the right choice.

Meyer is a workaholic. That’s a no brainer. But so do all top coaches in the game. Stress? Welcome to big time college football and multi-million dollar paydays. It’s part of the job description.

That’s not to say I don’t feel for the man. I’ve had my share of anxiety. It can be brutal. Still, the cynic in me and Gator-hating opposing fan is left wondering, why now? If this has been the case for at least two years, the timing is suspect. A dozen starters headed to the NFL, most notably, Tebow. A defensive coordinator and wide receivers coach having moved on. This is a program ready to endure a hearty rebuilding project even had Meyer stuck around. Without him, the task just got that much more difficult, no matter who gets on board.

All those clamoring for big game Bob Stoops, lest not forget he owns one ring for all his head coaching success. Next year that lone championship is a decade old. For a program that rips Miami for “living in the past” regarding that 2001 title, Stoops’ last ring is a year older than that.

Gainesville isn’t a very forgiving town regarding their football. I spent two-plus years in the 352 and lived through the Gators first title in 1996. An arrogance crept over in a matter of months. 52-20 remained painted on car and house windows for years, an homage to the Sugar Bowl beating of No. 1 Florida State. With a championship ring, UF now felt entitled. Florida fans that once had no rebuttal to Miami fans, it was all about the “present” and the Canes four rings no longer mattered to Gator Nation.

Steve Spurrier never got Florida back to the promised land after that first run. Enter Zook and some top-flight recruiting, but sub-par coaching results. The Gators hovered around five losses a year his entire tenure, prompting the change.

Meyer hit the ground running and his two titles in three years set a bar for Gator fans that won’t ever be matched. It took top talent, the perfect coach and the right personnel to pull off the feat.

Florida saw firsthand on December 5th that it takes more than a Meyer/Tebow tag team to go wire-to-wire. The Crimson Tide beat the Gators soundly, 32-13. No contest. Any mojo UF had the previous twenty-two games was long gone, punctuated by every Tebow teardrop that hit the Georgia Dome’s turf that night.

Between a post-Alabama hospital run for dehydration and Christmas Day, seems Meyer did a lot of reevaluating. One assessment of the situation and it’s blatantly obvious – now is the time to get out. Do it Jim Brown-style; leave on top and preserve one’s legacy.

Where do you go after a Tim Tebow? How do you improve on two titles in three years? A threepeat? Moving forward, there’s no way in hell Meyer can live up to the legend he created.

The stress has been there for years, but with the cupboard full, you press on. Go balls out. Run yourself into the dirt. Whatever it takes. You’ll sleep when you’re dead. In the moment you’re holding a Royal Flush. No way you’re getting up from the table right now, no matter how rundown you are.

New Orleans instead of Pasadena. That’s why the time is now. Some motivation to beat Cincinnati and a ride off into the sunset, side-by-side with Tebow, instead of merely watching him go and wondering what’s next.

Take a year off. There’s money in the bank. The bills are paid. Spend time with family. Regroup. Leave your post at with some fan sympathy instead of with remorse that’d come your way if/when you took another job. Get out before you’re forced to answer questions after a three-loss season and lesser-tiered bowl game. Just ask Carroll or even a the legendary Bowden, run out of Tallahassee this fall after another six-loss season. No one cares about yesterday’s news. It’ll quickly turn into, “what’s been done lately?”

A year or so from now, college football will still need Urban Meyer and there will always an overzealous NFL owner looking to sell tickets and make a splash with a big name. After some down time, Meyer’s name will be on every wish list. Jack Del Rio could be out in Jacksonville. Eric Mangini, shown the door in Cleveland.

Maybe Brian Kelly doesn’t get it done at Notre Dame. Maybe the Jim Tressel era ends at Ohio State.

We want that which retreats from us and we as a sports-loving nation tend to rely on revisionist history. You always want to go ‘back’. Hell, Miami fans still scream for the return of Jimmy Johnson, even though the coach has long since retired.

Ironically enough, Johnson left the game ten years ago citing burnout – this after taking two years off between Dallas and Miami.

His four-year run with the Dolphins was less than stellar (36-28), ending with a 62-7 playoff loss at Jacksonville. Still, Canes fans remember the good ol’ days and revere JJ as a savior, able to fix any mess dropped in his lap.

Meyer walking away now – it’s actually a brilliant play from a public relations standpoint. That’s not to say the coach isn’t stress-ridden and rundown. It simply means the timing is absolutely perfect regarding the step back Florida will take with all the recent and upcoming departures.

Get out while the getting’s good. Better to burnout than fade away.

Remain involved with the university. Keep your thumb on the pulse. Should Florida hire somebody who stays the course, come back for the NFL payday in a year or so. Should the new Gators coach struggle, ride in on the white horse and attempt to save the day. Call it ‘The Pat Riley Method’.

By shelving football and putting his health and family first, Meyer is preserving his Florida legacy. The media love affair with Meyer continues today, praising him for being a man of character. Swept under the rug, the twenty-seven arrests on his watch since 2005 and 251 traffic citations for Florida football players over this past year.

Regarding history, the legend eventually replaces the truth. The arrests and thuggish behavior now becomes a footnote. Winning is the ultimate cure-all and winning has been Meyer’s thing since donning the orange and blue.

Shower this coach with accolades, Florida faithful and feel good story-hungry media. That’s the story the day after Christmas. Celebrate five years of Urban. Give him the spotlight instead of the title-game bound Alabama bunch that whooped him. This was about as calculated as Spurrier resigning the day after Miami wrecked Nebraska for the ’01 title.

Today is Meyerday, but the truth is the truth – the decline is on, Florida. That doesn’t mean five-loss seasons will become the Zook-like norm, but one-loss seasons and national championships will be fewer and further between.

Funny how those of you claiming Meyer was the be all, end all now feel he’s replaceable. You’re the same fragile bunch who believes John Brantley will just step in and run a better offense than Tebow because he has a stronger arm. You don’t get it both ways. When your head coach and Heisman-worthy quarterback ride off into the sunset, you take a step back. That’s just how it works.

Florida reached the pinnacle and is on the comedown, whereas Miami is on the mend – whether you acknowledge it or not. Randy Shannon has reeled in two solid classes and the program saw significant improvement year three.

Twenty-four verbal commitments on board for 2010 and a safe bet a Florida defect or two heads south with Meyer heading out. Shannon’s stranglehold on the TriCity area began in 2008 and continues. No new Gator coach is rolling into South Florida, getting a kid that Miami wants. If Meyer struggled the past two years, anybody will struggle.

Gator Nation, I hope you enjoyed the ride, as I oft advised. As a Miami fan who lived through the 80s and early 90s dominance, suffered through the mid-90s probation era, soaked up the first half of the 00s and reeled as Larry Coker showed this program rock bottom. I’ve seen the good, bad and everything in between.

Florida will find their way back into the hunt, but not right away… and not with Miami reeling as they did most of Meyer’s tenure. The next Florida coach better be ready to go toe-to-toe with a Canes program that’s about to raise some hell.

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