Urban Meyer might not be coaching this season, but he?s not out of the spotlight. The two-time national championship winner with the Florida Gators is a talking head analyzing college football for ESPN.
But the inevitable speculation of where and when he?ll return to coaching already is ramping up. The fans at Notre Dame Stadium even thought enough to chant his name as the Irish fell to USC.
But South Bend isn?t the best place for Meyer, at least in the minds of our writers. They debate where Meyer?s landing spot should be.
Going back to Ohio roots would be perfect for Meyer
By Steve Greenberg
The world is Urban Meyer?s oyster. Sort of. It?s also been tough for him to figure out the past few years, or maybe for a lot longer than that. Among other things, this is a man who?s both driven and sentimental; who cares about being the best coach in football and fears losing his grip on the things he knows matter even more than that.
So go home, Urban. Go back to Ohio, where you?re from. Go back to Ohio State, where your coaching career began 25 years ago.
Lots of temptation for the coach everyone wants. What man who?s great at what he does wouldn?t see himself in L.A. (UCLA?) or Miami (Dolphins?) or any number of places in between (Columbus? State College? South Bend, someday?) and think, ?Yeah, I can see how that might be wonderful??
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But there?s no place like home. Even in a pressure cooker like Ohio State?when?s the right time to point out that job isn?t open yet??there?s comfort to be found when you?re of the people. Emotional comfort. Physical comfort.
Penn State would be a nearly ideal job if Joe Paterno chooses to make it available. The tradition, the recruiting base, the place itself?all are pluses. Also, a relatively happy place, Happy Valley. The days of expecting, demanding national championship contention have passed. Generally speaking, being good is good enough.
But Ohio State would be an even better job. The demands are higher, but so is the opportunity to be great. Again, this matters to the man. Even amidst a storm of controversy, the Buckeyes are closer to great than the Nittany Lions.
And what a hero Meyer could be. A coach?equal parts Tressel and Hayes?who is dignified but not afraid to put himself out there, to share his true self with the people.
And it?s home. You can?t replicate that somewhere else no matter how hard you try.
Happy Valley would be the idyllic spot if JoePa leaves
By Matt Hayes
Far be it from me to run off college football?s greatest coach ever. But what if?I mean, what if?Penn State could land the best coach in college football right now?
What if the Nittany Lions, college football?s gold standard in winning without cheating, and loyalty over all else, could hire Urban Meyer right now? The thought is oh so tantalizing.
Don?t believe what you hear on talk radio or what you read on message boards. If Urban Meyer could have one job, it would be Penn State.
It?s the Midwest where he grew up. It?s a storied program with untapped 21st century growth potential. It?s a program that, despite all of JoePa?s success, has yet to make its mark on the Big Ten.
There?s the hook for Meyer: Big Ten championships.
Penn State has won one outright championship since it arrived in the Big Ten in 1993. That title was won a year later in 1994?Joe?s best team in the last 25 years.
Now the Big Ten?Meyer?s boyhood Shangri-La?has a championship game. Now Meyer can do what he did at Florida: make the entire focus about winning the East Division (or in this case, the Leaders Division), getting to Atlanta (Indianapolis) and playing in the biggest conference game of the season.
Can it happen? Doubtful.
The first domino in any dream scenario is JoePa stepping down. And the chances of that are about as slim as Roseanne Barr walking by The Diner in State College and not grabbing a few Grilled Stickies.
But let?s say Penn State continues its wonderfully wacky season of winning without a true quarterback, and that the Lions somehow win the Big Ten championship (it?s a dream scenario, right?). There wouldn?t be a better time for Joe to sit at the postgame podium and say it?s time.
If you?re Penn State, you get a coach who doesn?t break NCAA rules, and who recruits better than anyone in the nation. You may get 30 players in six years running afoul of the law, but every program has bad seeds?even Penn State under Joe.
The reality is JoePa likely isn?t going anywhere, and Meyer isn?t staying out of the game another year. He wants to coach. He needs to coach.
Only Joe can make it happen at Penn State.
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