Urban Meyer Speaking at 2012 Ohio High School Football Coaches Association Clinic
Here's over 60 minutes of footage of Urban Meyer speaking at the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association Clinic at the Easton Hilton last Friday.
It's the same session in which Meyer responded to coaches upset about his recruiting practices by saying he had "nine guys who better do it again and do it a little harder next time." That statement fired up a fanbase fresh off a decade of senatorial articulation, but as it turns out, Meyer had much, much more to say.
He gets things going with an Earle Bruce meets turtle joke, expresses his desire for guys that will choke you out after losing a game of checkers and goes on to cover a multitude of topics -- all with passion and a flair for colorful language -- before imploring the coaches in attendance to "make the great state of Ohio even greater". Honestly, all that was missing was Meyer dropping the microphone and exiting stage left.
Gerry DiNardo’s one-on-one interview with the new Ohio State head coach. In the interview, the two discuss a number of interesting topics, including why Meyer chose to get back into coaching now. January 17, 2012 Source: Big Ten Network (BTN took you on a tour of the Ohio State football coach’s football office last week: watch inside Urban Meyer's office HERE.)
BTN Part II Gerry DiNardo interview with Urban Meyer January 24, 2012
BTN Part II Gerry DiNardo interview with Urban Meyer, bonus content
Urban Meyer introduces his coaching staff at halftime of Buckeyes IU game Sunday January 15, 2012 Source: BuckeyeGrove.com More on Urban Meyer's Coaching Staff
Go inside Urban Meyer's office January 10, 2012 Source: Big Ten Network
Meyer Talks About Opening Weeks As OSU Head Coach Source: nbc4i.com
Q&A with Ohio State coach Urban Meyer February 19, 2012 Source: Columbus Dispatch - “I’m loving what I’m doing right now,” Meyer said last week as he sat down for this conversation. In this first installment, he reveals a new approach when it comes to his expectations for his assistant coaches.
Q: Have you felt like a piece of taffy at times the past few months, being pushed here, pulled there?
A: I don’t want to minimize it because it’s here at Ohio State, but I’ve done it a few other places (Bowling Green in 2001, Utah in 2003, Florida in 2005). Lou Holtz said it best, that “it takes energy and passion to build. It’s fatiguing to maintain.” For me being here, this is all new, this is all energy, something that keeps going and going and going. So I love it.
Q: What’s the biggest lesson you learned from the other three places that made it easier to transition this time?
A: Thank God my first job was at Bowling Green because the mistakes I made there — thank goodness it wasn’t in front of 107,000. A couple of times it was in front of two. When I first got there, no one went to games. And it was my first rodeo. But you learn at every stop. One of the great experiences I had last year (working for ESPN) was I got to go see some programs I admire, and I have changed our approach a little bit because of that. I like to see new things, something you can’t do when you’re a head coach because you’re in a cocoon.
Q: What’s an example?
A: I went to Oregon. (Coach Chip Kelly) is a friend of mine. He’s bizarre, very bizarre. But the thing I admire about his approach is, it’s unique, but everybody (in the program) is aligned, from the secretaries, to the equipment people, to the coaches, everyone. Bill Belichick (New England Patriots coach), who is another mentor of mine, says this all the time and does this (sweeping motion upward with both hands almost touching), that everybody has to be aligned. I think we had a great staff when we went to Florida, and we lost some coaches along the way. That’s going to be my mantra here: If you’re not aligned, you’ve got to go. I have never fired a coach. I will do that. If there is something or someone not aligned in our program, they have got to go because that will bring you down.
Q: From your staff at Florida at 2006, when you won your first national championship, to the staff on your last team there in 2010, there were only three holdovers. Isn’t it hard to keep good coaches?
A: I’ve had 11 guys who’ve worked for me become head coaches, and if you hire quality people, they will be head coaches someday; you can’t stand in the way. The key is when you lose someone, how you replace him. Like when you lose a player and then have to go with a lesser player, you’re not as good. It’s the same with a coach. But more important than that, if you bring in someone you have to constantly preach to keep them aligned, that’s not my job anymore. I’m beyond that. You’re either going to be aligned or you’re not, and if not, you’re not going to coach here. In my year off and visiting programs, I found the No.?1 common denominator of great programs is alignment of the staff.
Q: What’s the key to gaining that alignment?
A: Being very clear in what your objectives and expectations are. Maybe I failed at that (the last couple of years at Florida). I did it in ’05. I hired nine guys which I believe turned out to be the greatest coaching staff in the history of college football. A lot of them had been head coaches, one of them had been a (defensive) coordinator at a rival school. We produced more first-round draft picks than anybody else, the highest winning percentage, two national titles, three SEC East titles, all because of what that staff did in recruiting and development. When you start losing guys — I didn’t do a good job in terms of clarity about what was expected when I brought in new coaches. But if you’re around the guys in this building now, it is very clear about the way we do things, about what we expect...
Q: With all that went down with some of your Big Ten coaching brethren in and around signing day earlier this month, do you think you’ve brought a new day to recruiting in this league?
A: Me personally? No. I think there are some new coaches in this league, one is at our rival school (Michigan’s Brady Hoke), who go recruit. A comment was made by one of the coaches in our league, I won’t say who it was, but he said, “There’s a rulebook and a signing date. Go recruit. Follow the rules and they sign on the first Wednesday in February.” The Big Ten is no different than the SEC; they better not be. I heard a comment about, “We don’t want to be a certain conference (SEC).” You don’t?
Q: What seemed to cut you the most, though, was the insinuation by Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema of “illegal” recruiting practices, right?
A: It’s awful. Our track record, there’s secondary, silly mistakes, but there’s no willing intent violations, and I will tell you this, too: There never will be. And if a coach on my staff does it, they will be dismissed within minutes of me finding out. I won’t hire a guy who has a reputation of that. So for that to be challenged — it was all a mistake. It’s no secret for the last 10 years that we follow the rules...
"His passion for Ohio State is there. He knows who he is. He's a Buckeye." - Chris Spielman, on new head football coach Urban Meyer
The new Ohio State head football coach talks with BTN.
Ohio State head football coach Urban Meyer talks to The Salt Lake Tribune. Formerly the University of Utah and University of Florida coach, he takes on his new job preparing for the fall season.
Urban Meyer on NCAA issuing OSU sanctions: ‘I didn’t think they’d do it’ March 12, 2012 Source: Dr. Saturday Yahoo Sports - It's been a little more than three months since Urban Meyer took over at Ohio State in that time he's learned of NCAA sanctions, landed the nation's fourth-ranked recruiting class, dealt with some accusations from his fellow Big Ten coaches and offended a campus LGBT group.
The guys deserves a little R&R, so he packed up the family and headed to Utah where his wife and son went to ski and he joined them after speaking at the ACG Utah Intermountain Growth Conference. It's the first down time Meyer has had since become the Buckeyes' coach.
Meyer was relaxed in a non-football setting as he prepared to speak with several business folks about winning strategies, something he's done several times in the past. Because he was so comfortable in his old stomping grounds of Salt Lake City, he opened up to the Salt Lake Tribune about the trials and tribulations of his first few months, especially learning about the NCAA sanctions that will keep the Buckeyes out of a bowl game in 2012...
Brian Bennett of ESPN.com writes about Ohio State's hiring of Coombs:
...it's a really good move.
Coombs has coached defensive backs for the Bearcats since 2007, and has worked with some good players there, including eventual NFL draft picks Haruki Nakamura, Mike Mickens, DeAngelo Smith, and Buckeyes transfer Brandon Underwood. The 2008 secondary was a big reason why Cincinnati won its first Big East title. While it's true that Meyer's Florida team led by Tim Tebow tore apart the Bearcats' pass defense in the 2010 Sugar Bowl, Coombs has done solid work during his tenure at Cincinnati.
Here's another reason why hiring Coombs is smart: Before Brian Kelly gave him his first college job in 2007, Coombs was an extremely successful high school coach at Cincinnati's Colerain High School. His connections to the high schools in that city have made him a strong recruiter in that talent-rich area. Cincinnati should be a major pipeline for Ohio State, but the Buckeyes have had more success in the northern part of the state. Coombs should give them even more recruiting inroads...
Zach Smith Named Wide Receivers Coach December 22, 2011 Source: OSU Official Site - Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer has recruited an assistant from his Florida staff with the announcement today that Zach Smith would join his Ohio State coaching staff as a wide receivers coach. Smith was wide receivers and special teams coach for the past year at Temple University, which won nine games this season, including its first bowl win (37-15 over Wyoming in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl) in 32 years.
"Zach Smith has already coached with me for five seasons, and so I know what a quality coach he is," Meyer said. "He knows my system inside and out and he teaches the system the way I want it to be taught. He has coached and taught some great players already, like Percy Harvin, Aaron Hernandez and Louis Murphy."
Smith spent five years as a graduate assistant and quality control assistant for Meyer at Florida, during which time Florida won a pair of national championships while producing some of the best offensive and special teams units in the country. Smith was a special teams quality control coach for three years (2005-07) and an offensive graduate assistant for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. He assisted with coaching the UF wide receivers, quarterbacks and special teams during his time in Gainesville.
Smith left Florida to work on Doc Holliday’s staff at Marshall for the 2010 season. He then moved on to Temple when Steve Addazio took over that program this year. He was coach of the wide receivers and special teams at both schools.
Marshall’s receivers totaled 152 catches for 1,824 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2010 and featured all-Conference USA performer Aaron Dobson. Temple’s receivers managed 66 catches for 961 yards and eight touchdowns despite the Owls featuring the seventh-best rushing offense in the country and the top unit in the Mid-American Conference...
Everett Withers Named Co-Def. Coord./Asst. Head Coach December 21, 2011 Source: OSU Official Site - Defense taking shape; Withers, Fickell, Johnson and Vrabel all on board
...Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer has added another member to his coaching staff today with his announcement that 24-year coaching veteran Everett Withers would be the Buckeyes’ co-defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. Withers is currently the interim head coach at the University of North Carolina. "Everett is extremely well respected across the country," Meyer said. "I’ve known about him for a number of years and followed his progress as a college and NFL assistant coach. He will be a great fit for this staff and I think he and Luke [Fickell] are going to work well together as the co-coordinators of our defense." Withers has been a collegiate coach for 17 years and has also worked seven seasons in the National Football League: six years (2001-06) as defensive backs coach with the Tennessee Titans under Jeff Fisher, and a year (1994) as a defensive quality control coach for the New Orleans Saints. Finishing up his fourth year at North Carolina, Withers was promoted to interim head coach at the school this past July and led the Tar Heels to a 7-5 record and to a berth in the Dec. 26 Independence Bowl against Missouri. He will coach the Tar Heels in the bowl game. "I am excited, and I couldn’t be more excited to be on coach Urban Meyer’s staff at The Ohio State University," Withers said. "Ohio State is obviously one of the storied programs in college athletics. Having an opportunity to work at that university, and as part of Coach Meyer’s staff, is something that you just can’t pass up."...
"If you threaten the perimeter of a defense, that opens up everything else. If you can't threaten the perimeter of a defense, in my opinion, and it's a very strong opinion, and you'll see us threaten the perimeter, you have no offense." - Urban Meyer December 19, 2011
Talking with Urban Meyer, Part I: The state of college football and keeping the Ohio State Buckeyes out of NCAA trouble December 19, 2011 Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer - Urban Meyer met with Ohio State reporters for about 30 minutes this morning. I'll hit you with a few of the highlights, in several different posts. In regards to news, Meyer confirmed that current OSU coach Stan Drayton and Taver Johnson will remain on his staff. He also said Mike Vrabel is still being considered. So the known staff, on offense, is Iowa State's Tom Herman as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and Drayton moving back to the running backs coach, which is what he was under Meyer at Florida, after serving as the receivers coach with the Buckeyes last season. On defense, there will be Fickell and Johnson. Fickell, though, has interviewed for the head job at Pitt, and Meyer said the Buckeyes should hear news on that soon. Now, Meyer's take on avoiding NCAA problems at Ohio State...
Talking with Urban Meyer, Part II: Fitting his offense into Ohio State and the Big Ten December 19, 2011 Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer - We've all seen what happens when a successful college football coach with a spread offense brings his offensive philosophy to a traditional Big Ten power ... and it doesn't work. We also know that Meyer respects Rich Rodriguez and his ideas about the spread. And we knew that the rocky three-year tenure of Rodriguez at Michigan was undone more because his defenses couldn't stop people, he wasn't a cultural fit for the program and some NCAA problems didn't do him any favors. I used all of that in the preface to a question for Meyer about how he'll fit his style of offense into Ohio State and the Big Ten, and whether what he'll do with the Buckeyes will look like what he did at Florida. Meyer began by saying he felt he didn't do a good job with the quarterback change at Florida, the switch after Tim Tebow graduated after the 2009 season. "We didn't transition very well," Meyer said. "And something we have to do very well is adapt." And he will adapt here, saying, "Much of it is what we have." He mentioned that the Buckeyes have bigger backs than what he had at Florida, though he also said he does believe he has some speed at tailback as well, mentioning both Carlos Hyde and Jordan Hall. And then he said what he has said before about Braxton Miller. "The quarterback is ideal for what we do," Meyer said. "But once again, it's getting our hands on him. I watched practice a little bit, but I stand back. I wanted to see him release the ball. The pocket presence, the ability to lead, I wanted to evaluate myself. So much of that is going to dictate how we run the offense."...
Talking with Urban Meyer Part III: Driving his Buckeye players and hitting Ohio State like 'a hurricane' December 19, 2011 Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer - Meyer said he hopes to have his entire coaching staff announced on Jan. 3. He's waiting until some of the future hires are done with their bowl games, and until the Buckeyes are done with theirs. He's not coaching the team during bowl practice now, and he doesn't want to be, because he said when he hits the players with how he does things, "I want to do it right. I want a hurricane to hit when we hit," Meyer said. "And a hurricane can't hit by itself. I want nine guys, I want the strength staff in place, then when we stand in front of that team it's a very clear message. And I couldn't do that right now." So while he's waiting on that, he's jumping in with both feet on recruiting. And he's preparing for the day when the team is fully his and he applies his philosophy. Meyer spoke to two parts of his plan, basically caring about the players and then pushing them. "One is making sure that you hire a staff that genuinely cares, not agenda-wise or superficially," Meyer said...
Meyer On Staff, Recruiting, Offense December 19, 2011 Source: Bucknuts - Meyer said Bruce helped sell him on Ohio State – now and in 1986, when he arrived as a graduate assistant. "In 1986, I had graduated from Cincinnati," he said. "I could be a GA at Cincinnati or I could come here. I came here because I was a fan. Tom Lichtenberg was the guy who brought me up for the interview and there were some great guys here. "When Coach Bruce walked through the door, I couldn't believe I was sitting in the same room with him. The amount of football integrity … not cheating, do it the right way, recruit hard, coach hard. Coach Bruce's coaching tree, there is one common denominator – they do it right, they work extremely hard and they treat their players like they're their kids. That's what I learned from him."
Meyer was asked about the NCAA issues that landed OSU and former coach Jim Tressel in hot water. "I trust what happened here was a series of legitimate mistakes," he said. "Were they willful, intentful violations? I don't think that. I know the people who were here. I know them very well. I know what this place stands for. I'll fight that even though I wasn't here."...
Urban Meyer chatted with ABC6's Clay Hall, explaining why he chose words like "hurricane" and "monster" to describe his plans for OSU football. Dec 19, 2011
Brian Voltolini & Mark Pantoni Join Meyer's Staff December 12, 2011 Source: OSU Official Site - Named Director of Football Operations and Director of Player Personnel, respectively...Voltolini will be responsible for the operation of the football program's budget, scholarships, team travel, housing, camps and clinics. Pantoni will supervise all aspects of the program's administrative duties for recruiting, including on-campus official and unofficial visits, budgeting, travel and database management...
Tom Herman, the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Iowa State University the past three years, and before that an offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach for record-setting offenses at Rice University, has been named offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at The Ohio State University. Ohio State coach Urban Meyer announced the hiring today.
"Tom Herman has one of the bright young minds in college football," Meyer said. "His philosophies are very similar to those of my own. I spoke to numerous colleagues about Tom and all had great things to say about him. I enjoyed our time together during the interview process and I am excited to have him on the staff."...
Iowa State's Herman to join Ohio State staff December 9, 2011 Source: Columbus Dispatch - Tom Herman, an expert at the spread offense and coaxing prolific numbers from quarterbacks, has been hired by Urban Meyer to be quarterbacks coach at Ohio State, sources told The Dispatch last night.
It's not known whether Herman, 36, could be candidate for offensive coordinator. He held both positions at Iowa State, where the Cyclones' offense was 55th nationally this season. The offense was the driving force in a come-from-behind victory over No. 3 Oklahoma State, an upset that will keep the Cowboys out of the national championship game. Before going to Iowa State in 2009, Herman was at Rice for two seasons. The 2008 team won 10 games.
Ohio State would not confirm the hiring last night, but it would be the first outside coach brought in by Meyer, who was hired on Nov. 28 to replace first-year coach Luke Fickell. Fickell has been guaranteed a spot on Meyer's staff, and it's believed that current assistants Stan Drayton and possibly Taver Johnson and Mike Vrabel will be retained, too. Each has been involved in recruiting for Meyer.
Herman reportedly was seen meeting freshman quarterback Braxton Miller yesterday. Nick Siciliano, who coached quarterbacks for Fickell and his predecessor, Jim Tressel, will handle that duty for the Gator Bowl on Jan. 2.
More on Tom Herman Source: Iowa State Official Site: The statistics and accomplishments speak for themselves. Iowa State quarterback Austen Arnaud ended his career as the Cyclones No. 2 all-time leading passer with 6,777 yards and 42 touchdown passes. His 8,044 yards of total offense is the second-best total in school history. Running back Alexander Robinson finished his Iowa State career as the Cyclones' fourth all-time leading rusher with 3,309 yards. Such are the fruits of the Iowa State spread offense employed by offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tom Herman in the first two years Herman was tabbed in January 2009 by Iowa State head coach Paul Rhoads to serve as ISU's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Herman's track record speaks for itself. In two seasons with the Temple Owls, Herman's offenses re-wrote the school record book (nearly 50 records were broken) and helped Rice win 10 games in 2008, including the school's first bowl game since 1954...
Urban Meyer: The man with the QB plan December 3, 2011 Source: Columbus Dispatch - The closest Urban Meyer came to committing a faux pas during his introductory press conference as Ohio State’s 24th head coach was when the subject of Braxton Miller was broached.
Meyer curbed his verbiage, he said, because he didn’t want to offend anyone in the mixed crowd. But he couldn’t mask his excitement about the collision of his career path with that of Miller, the Buckeyes’ first-year quarterback who this week was named the Big Ten’s freshman of the year.
"To tell you I’m excited to coach him, I’m not using the correct adjectives, and because there’s mixed company around, I’m not going to use the correct adjectives for how excited I am," Meyer said. "So I think you get it, right? Really excited."
...
Gary Danielson on Urban Meyer: What impact will Urban Meyer have on Ohio State and the Big Ten? How many national championships will he win? Gary Danielson answers those questions and more exclusively for CBSSports.com
Urban Meyer carries the inspiration of his father and a mentor to Ohio State football December 3, 2011 Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer - As he accepted the position of Ohio State head football coach, Urban Meyer admitted he was largely shaped as a coach and a man by former OSU coach Earle Bruce and Meyer's father, Bud, who passed away in November. "I think they both are about doing the right thing," Meyer said in 2004 of both men. "There's a lot of things that are important, but doing it the right way is probably the most important."...
Pink pact gave Meyer OK to coach OSU December 5, 2011 Source: Toledo Blade - Before Urban Meyer could sit down with Ohio State officials and discuss a working agreement to become the next head coach of the Buckeyes, he had to face a more formidable panel. Nicki, Gigi, and Nate -- Meyer's three children -- grilled him at a family gathering in Atlanta the day before Thanksgiving and laid out their terms before consenting to his return to coaching. They had a contract of their own in hand..."It's tougher than any other contract I've signed in my life," said Meyer, who brought the deal with him for his initial face-to-face meeting with OSU officials. The terms were crafted by Nicki, a junior volleyball player at Georgia Tech, with input from Gigi, a freshman volleyball player at Florida Gulf Coast, and Nate, 13. Nicki put the stipulations on a pink piece of paper: It requires Meyer to exercise at least every other day, eat three meals a day, and attend some of his daughters' volleyball games. There is also a clause that he keep his phone on silent during church and an entry limiting the number of hours Meyer can spend at the office each day...
Gators strength coach Marotti to rejoin Meyer December 5, 2011 Source: Fox Sports Florida - Gators head coach Will Muschamp confirmed that Mickey Marotti, director of strength and conditioning for the past seven seasons, has left to rejoin former Florida coach Urban Meyer at Ohio State. Marotti came to Florida when Meyer took over the program in 2005 and played a vital role in helping the Gators win two national championships in six seasons under Meyer. He was retained by Muschamp after Meyer’s resignation. Marotti first got to know Meyer when they were grad assistants with the Buckeyes in the late 1980s and his departure doesn’t come as a major surprise considering his ties to Meyer...
CineSport's Noah Coslov and Doug Lesmerises of The Plain Dealer talk about the impact Urban Meyer will have not only with Ohio State, but the entire Big Ten. December 2, 2011 Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer
Urban Meyer Will Lead Ohio State to the 2012 Big Ten Title November 30, 2011 Source: Athlon Sports - Just how soon can Ohio State fans start to think about a trip to the Big Ten title game? Try 2012. With Urban Meyer taking over as the coach in Columbus, Ohio State will be in the Big Ten title game in 2012. Predictions are always subject to change over the next couple of months, but the Buckeyes should be the early favorite to win the Big Ten in 2012. Here are five reasons why Ohio State will win the Big Ten in 2012...
The Ohio State University Selects Urban Meyer as Head Football Coach November 28, 2011 Source: OSU Official Site - Ohio State Athletics Director Gene Smith announced today that he has named alumnus Urban Meyer head coach of the University's football program. Meyer, who has the all-time tenth-highest winning percentage among head coaches, returns to the institution from which he earned his master's degree and where he began his collegiate coaching career.
"In Urban Meyer we have found an exemplary person and remarkable coach to lead the University's football program into the future," said Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee. "As an alumnus, he understands and believes in the core academic mission of the University. As an Ohioan, he shares our common values and sense of purpose."...
Overall head-coaching record: 104-23 (.810)
National championships: 2006 and 2008 with Florida
Personal:
Urban Frank Meyer III
Born: July 10, 1964
Hometown: Ashtabula, Ohio
High school: St. John (now Saints John & Paul)
College: 1986, bachelor’s in psychology, Univ of Cincinnati;
1988, master’s in sports administration, Ohio State
Family:
Wife, Shelley; daughters Nicole, 21, and Gigi, 18, who play volleyball at
Georgia Tech and Florida Gulf Coast University, respectively; son Nathan, 13
Professional career
Minor-league baseball player (44 games in
Atlanta Braves system, 1982-83)
Assistant-coaching career
1986 Ohio State tight ends (graduate assistant)
1987 Ohio State receivers (graduate assistant)
1988 Illinois State outside linebackers
1989 Illinois State quarterbacks/receivers
1990-95 Colorado State receivers
1996-2000 Notre Dame receivers
(and special teams in ’98)
Head-coaching career
2001 Bowling Green (8-3 record)
2002 Bowling Green (9-3)
2003 Utah (10-2, won Liberty Bowl)
2004 Utah (12-0, won Fiesta Bowl)
2005 Florida (9-3, won Outback Bowl)
2006 Florida (13-1, won BCS national-title game)
2007 Florida (9-4, lost Capital One Bowl, to Michigan)
2008 Florida (13-1, won BCS national-title game)
2009 Florida (13-1, won Sugar Bowl)
2010 Florida (8-5, won Outback Bowl)
Bowl record: 7-1
League titles: Mountain West 2003, 2004, SEC 2006, 2008
The 24th head coach of the Ohio State University not only has Ohio ties, but has Northeast Ohio roots. Fox 8 Sports Reporter P.J. Ziegler spent the day in Urban Meyers' hometown.
NCAA Waiver Allows Meyer to Hit Recruiting Trail December 1, 2011 Source: Columbus Dispatch - An NCAA waiver has allowed the Buckeyes to have more than the normal allotment of 10 coaches in place during their coaching transition...Under normal NCAA guidelines, teams are only permitted to have 10 full-time coaches on staff, including the head coach. In this case, Ohio State filed what is called an SLR waiver (formerly ARS), which is Subcommittee for Legislative Relief, with the NCAA. "What we did in this case is file the waiver to say we would like to have more than 10 coaches, but the responsibilities essentially will not go beyond 10 coaches," said Chris Rogers, Ohio State’s Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance.
"Which is to say, for a lack of a better word, the former coaching staff will have responsibilities for on-field coaching only. The new coaching staff members who would come on would have responsibilities for recruiting and administrative responsibilities only." That even applies to Meyer, who will have limited access to the actual day-in and day-out coaching of Ohio State’s team until he takes over as the man in charge...
How Ohio State's staff is shaping up December 1, 2011 Source: ESPN - Urban Meyer didn't hold back at his introductory news conference Monday at Ohio State. "I'm going to go about and try to assemble the best coaching staff in college football," Meyer said. Ohio State is supporting its new coach on the endeavor. So how is the process going? Let's take a look at what we know and what could be happening soon with Meyer's staff at Ohio State...
What They're Saying: Meyer To OSU December 1, 2011 Source: Bucknuts.com - Statewide and national columnists have had plenty to say in the wake of the news Monday that former Florida coach Urban Meyer has taken the job at Ohio State. As a service, we are sharing some of these local and national viewpoints with excerpts and links:...
Smith details Meyer signing December 1, 2011 Source: Columbus Dispatch - Despite rumors to the contrary, process was not lengthy, AD says...As Fickell’s chances dwindled when Ohio State stumbled to a 6-6 record, speculation heightened that Meyer was all but a done deal. Smith watched with muted disbelief as rumors were reported as fact.
Some said that he was more a figurehead than true leader of the search process. Others said Meyer had agreed to contract terms far more generous than would later be true. It became conventional wisdom that Meyer’s deal was for seven years and $40 million, with one report saying it was for $55 million. (The actual deal is for six years and $24 million.)
Smith wondered about the source of such "information." Other than consulting Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee, university officials Chris Culley and Jeff Kaplan and board of trustee members Robert Schottenstein and Alex Shumate, Smith told no one about the status of the coaching search.
That’s because the other candidates were active coaches. Out of respect for them and their programs, Smith did not want information to leak.
"It was wild," he said of the rumors. "It was like, ‘Where is that coming from?!’ But to do this thing right, I just couldn’t talk. I didn’t even tell my wife."
Meyer was staying quiet, as well. Chris Spielman, his friend and ESPN broadcast partner, said they did not discuss the Ohio State job.
"If he wanted to tell me, he’d tell me," Spielman said. "If he didn’t, it was none of my business."...
Ohio State willing to pay for Meyer's staff November 29, 2011 Source: ESPN - Multiple times during his introductory news conference Monday, new Ohio State coach Urban Meyer talked about putting together the very best staff he can. All coaches say that, of course. But Meyer has walked the walk before, leading a very talented staff at Florida that included, among others, Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen, Louisville head coach Charlie Strong, Temple head coach Steve Addazio, Marshall head coach Doc Holliday and Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Mattison. "In 2005 -- I know this is a little biased -- I think we put together the best coaching staff maybe in college football history," Meyer said. "I know that's a profound statement. But what those guys did, the recruits they brought in and the run that team went on, with the great players, the style of offense, defense and kicking game ... my goal is to find that kind of group of coaches again." Bringing in that kind of all-star staff takes one thing above all else: money. And athletic director Gene Smith says Ohio State is willing to pony up. "We'll put in place the resources necessary to attract the staff that Urban feels he needs," Smith said...
Share play-calling duties November 29, 2011 Source: Columbus Dispatch - Urban Meyer said he will hire an offensive coordinator to help run the spread offense — with other elements — but will retain some of the play-calling duties. "I will hire a play-caller offensive coordinator. I will call plays myself and be very involved in that, like I’ve done in the past," he said. "But I need to hire a really good offensive coordinator." Earle Bruce, whom Meyer described as being a father figure, gushed, "Wait until you see this guy’s offense." Bruce predicted an offensive coordinator will call most of the plays, with Meyer stepping in when he sees something is missing.
Urban Outfitted November 28, 2011 Source: Eleven Warriors - "It's good to be home." -- Urban Meyer, November 28, 2011...
So how did Ohio State go from losing their best coach in a generation to hitting the coaching lottery with arguably the game's best coach? The Roy Williams to North Carolina analogy has been thrown out and it's certainly fitting. Like Williams, Meyer had previously coached at another football blue blood, the Florida Gators. The two also answered a call to return home, knowing they may never again have a chance to coach the team they grew up loving.
Urban Frank Meyer, III was born in Toledo on July 10, 1964, but his father Bud's2 job as a chemical engineer soon took the family to Ashtabula, a city northeast of Cleveland that's known for tough weather and love for the Browns and Buckeyes3. Reflecting on his love of Woody Hayes and the Buckeyes as a kid, Urban had the following to say: "You got beat up in school if you were not a Buckeye or a Woody Hayes guy. And I certainly loved him."...
Spielman Says Ohio State 'Perfect Situation' For Meyer November 28, 2011 Source: The Ozone - "In my eyes it's a homerun," Spielman said moments after Monday's press conference. "That being said, I would like Luke [Fickell] to be a head coach because I think he'd be a great coach. But if he doesn't want to do it yet, or he still wants to be a part of this, I think that's a win-win. It's a huge win for Urban. I couldn't be more pleased and happy for both guys. You've got to hire good people," he explained. "You've got to be able to delegate and hire good people, and trust people to do what you want them to do, and then do your job. Woody wrote the book on it—you win with people. In all walks of life, it's who you surround yourself with. A coaching staff is a team within a team." Luke Fickell is one piece of that team, with many more yet to come. Spielman is confident that Meyer will lean on his staff more than he has in the past because the level of consumption that he was working with in the past just wasn't healthy for him or his family. "We talked a lot about life issues," Spielman said. "I think that he's always been a great father and a great husband, but I think sometimes things can consume you—especially football if you're a competitor, and I'm very open about that as a player, it consumed me completely and totally. There's choices that we all have to make. But I think he has checks in place to make sure he maintains that balance. And people will hold him accountable to what he says. I think it's very possible that he can be just as successful, just as effective, just as great a coach without ever having to sleep in the office, because that accomplishes nothing."...
Roundup of Urban Meyer reaction November 28, 2011 Source: ESPN - Here's a collection of quotes and columns on Meyer and Ohio State:
ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit to The Columbus Dispatch: "I am beyond elated about this hire. [I] have always privately wondered what Urban Meyer would be like at Ohio State, just because of his Ohio ties, and because of his personality. He will recruit at a level that I think will be exciting to a lot of people in the Buckeye community, just how intense he is when it comes to recruiting. Talk about some wars between Michigan head coach Brady Hoke and Urban Meyer, it’s going to be outstanding to see how that goes...
Michigan coach Brady Hoke: "I've known Urban, he's a good football coach, a good guy and I welcome him in. But it's still Michigan and Ohio and neither one of us is going to play the game."
Former Ohio State coach Earle Bruce to The Associated Press: "Well, if he'd had a heart attack and his heart was bad, I'd be worried about that. I'm not worried that he was stressed out over the game of football because he was thinking too much and not doing some things [exercising] that would have kept him straight. I think he got everything back under control by sitting out a year. I think he missed football. And he's good at it."
CBSSports.com's Gregg Doyel: "Urban Meyer to Ohio State is the perfect hire. It's Calipari-to-Kentucky perfect. The marriage of Urban Meyer to Ohio State is a game-changer for college football, a move that will propel Ohio State back to the top of the national heap with such velocity that it will pull along the rest of the Big Ten in its jet stream."
SI.com's Stewart Mandel: "One need only examine Meyer's past career stops to figure out how things will develop at Ohio State. Year 1 may be a bit of a struggle, as Ohio State players adjust to an entirely new staff and scheme. In Year 2 the Buckeyes will explode, contending for the Big Ten and national titles barring impending NCAA sanctions...
The Sporting News' Matt Hayes: "If you don’t think Meyer was preparing for this very moment, you’re the same guy who thinks Ohio State has institutional control. Now think again, Ohio State fans, about the Meyer hire. Are you getting the game’s best coach; the guy who turned around Bowling Green, who led the first non-BCS team (Utah) to a BCS bowl, who won two national championships in six seasons at Florida?...
CBSSports.com's Bruce Feldman: "We'd sat in the meeting for some three hours and Urban Meyer didn't gush when any of the top 150 recruits' names came up. Well, at least not like he did when the name Braxton Miller was called out that day. About a dozen of us were seated around one of those long rectangular tables in a cramped room in Charlotte last February. ... The day before we had a three-hour production meeting where Meyer talked about, well, raved about having watched film on Braxton Miller. We'd gone thru ESPN's top 150 players one by one on that list and I recall Meyer, who always seems quite measured, didn't rave about any of them like he did when Miller's name came up. ... The room, which had more than its share of side conversations, went silent when Meyer spoke about what he saw in Miller. He even used the word "special" when describing the QB from Huber Heights, Ohio, who had been rated as the 80th best prospect in the class...
Urban Meyer's Introductory Ohio State Presser Source: Eleven Warriors
Urban Meyer seeks balance, success November 28, 2011 Source: ESPN - Before Urban Meyer signed his Ohio State contract, he got another one in the mail. This contract was written on pink paper by his 21-year-old daughter Nicole, a volleyball player at Georgia Tech. In it, she listed all the things her father would have to do if he wanted to return to coaching football. It states that he must exercise at least every other day, eat three meals a day, make every effort to see Nicole and her sister, Gisela, play volleyball and limit the number of hours he spends on football. "She's not going to win that last one," said Shelley Meyer, Urban's wife...
We have seen this before: Meyer ready to dominate at highest level November 28, 2011 Source: SI.com - Urban Meyer's hiring at Ohio State is similar to his hiring at Florida in 2004...Meyer takes over a once-dominant program with huge resources...Ohio State fans can expect Meyer to win big in a short period of time at OSU...He looked a little older. He sounded a little less brash. The questions were slightly different, because his reputation had changed. He wore a black suit and a red tie instead of a black suit and an orange tie. Other than that, there wasn't much difference between the press conference Monday in Columbus to introduce Urban Meyer as Ohio State's coach and the press conference in Gainesville on Dec 7, 2004, to introduce Meyer as Florida's coach. Each time, Meyer looked like a man smart enough to understand the challenge ahead of him and confident enough to believe he could succeed. Each time, Meyer seemed like the perfect coach in the perfect place at the perfect time...
Urban Meyer hiring a stroke of luck for Ohio State: Doug Lesmerises analysis November 28, 2011 Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer - Sure, you loved that guy (Tressel), but how can you not love this guy? He loves Woody Hayes. And the OSU band. Luke Fickell, the guy stuck in the tough spot between Tressel and Meyer? Heck, if you liked him, he's sticking around, too. Josh Harris, who played quarterback for Meyer at Bowling Green, was at the news conference and said of his old boss, "He's like Oprah. Everything he touches turns to gold." The Buckeyes then are freaking out like the guests on Oprah's old Favorite Things episodes. "You get a coach! And you get a coach! And you get a coach!"..."A year ago, I was convinced I was done coaching," Meyer said. It turns out that conviction was the best thing Ohio State could have hoped for. The Buckeyes were able to move this quickly because Meyer, an ESPN broadcaster, was otherwise unemployed and unencumbered. Smith said he originally was going to wait until after the regular season to talk to Meyer, but chose to move more quickly in order to let the entire football staff know what their futures would be. Now Ohio State knows its future, too...
Earle Bruce Confirms, Lauds Meyer’s Hiring November 28, 2011 Source: The Ozone - Arguably nobody in the coaching world is closer to Urban Meyer than former OSU Head Coach Earle Bruce, and Earle is simply elated to have Urban in Columbus...Bruce was the coach who gave Meyer his start in the profession back in 1986. Meyer had played defensive back at the University of Cincinnati and was coaching as an assistant at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati when Bruce saw something in him. He hired Meyer as a graduate assistant coaching the tight ends in ’86 and eventually the wide receivers in 1987. Meyer would go on to work for Jim Heacock at Illinois State, but quickly reunited with Bruce after he took the head-coaching job at Colorado State in 1990...
I Want A Team That Goes Hard, Meyer Says November 28, 2011 Source: Associated Press & NBC4 - If Ohio State did not come calling, Urban Meyer says he was planning to stay away from coaching for at least another year. Meyer, the former Florida coach and native Buckeye, was officially hired Monday by Ohio State, a program with a glittering past that has suffered through a difficult year of NCAA violations. "If not for the coaching position at Ohio State, I would not have coached this year,' he said. Meyer resigned as Gators coach after last season, citing health concerns and a desire to spend more time with his family. "A year ago in my mind I was convinced I was done coaching," he said. He added that he is feeling great. "I've been checked out and I'm ready to go," he said. Meyer will become one of the highest paid coaches in college football, along with Alabama's Nick Saban and Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, and Texas' Mack Brown. The school says he will receive a six-year contract that pays $4 million annually, plus another $2.4 million total in "retention payments."...
Dienhart: Meyer is Ohio State’s man November 28, 2011 Source: Big Ten Network - There is no arguing with Urban Meyer’s resume. It’s sparkling. It’s glistening. Meyer is 104-23 (.819 winning percentage) in 10 seasons as a head coach. And on the big stages, he’s even better, boasting a 7-1 bowl mark (4-0 in BCS games) with national championships in 2006 and 2008. Meyer has produced first-round draft choices, Heisman Trophy winners, seemingly jamming 30 years of head coaching accomplishments into a decade. And recruit? Few have done it better than Meyer, who annually inked one of the top recruiting classes in the nation in each of his seasons in Gainesville. Add it all up, and Meyer is an all-time great before he’s 50. "There’s the right time for certain leaders, this is the right time for Urban Meyer to lead our football program," said Ohio State A.D. Gene Smith today at Meyer’s introductory press conference today. Meyer couldn’t have imagined himself in this spot a year ago. "A year ago in my mind, I was done coaching," Meyer said. "I had no idea it was gonna be a year." Meyer looks good. He sounds good...
7:30AM Monday, November 28, 2011: Urban Meyer's agent, Trace Armstrong, tells ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike Urban Meyer will be next Ohio State Football Coach.
taking over as the head coach at Ohio State November 28, 2011 Source: ESPN Mike & Mike
Meyer's latest change of heart will wake Ohio State from nightmare November 28, 2011 Source: SI.com - The past 11 months have been the most miserable Ohio State fans can remember. Beginning with the Sugar Bowl non-suspensions of Terrelle Pryor and Co., continuing through Jim Tressel's unthinkable fall from grace amid NCAA violations and culminating in a loss to Michigan to cap a humbling 6-6 season, this has been the bleakest stretch in the storied program's history. There was only one coaching candidate in the country who could come in and immediately galvanize the program while also promising a quick return to the heights the Buckeyes achieved under Tressel. By happy coincidence, that same candidate happened to be serving a self-imposed sabbatical this past year and was thus readily available when the school he grew up rooting for and eventually working for had an unexpected vacancy. What's been looming as a possibility since Tressel resigned on May 30 became a reality early Monday when Ohio State named Urban Meyer its new football coach. The school opened its purse strings to secure Meyer so that he will do for the Buckeyes exactly what he did for Bowling Green, Utah and Florida: Win big, quickly. One need only examine Meyer's past career stops to figure out how things will develop at Ohio State...
Dream Job Ends Ohio State's Nightmare November 28, 2011 Source: BuckeyeGrove.com - The Urban renewal is underway in Columbus. Arguably the most successful current coach in college football, BuckeyeGrove.com has learned Urban Meyer will be announced the 24th head coach of the Ohio State football program Monday afternoon. Meyer comes to Ohio State after a year of broadcasting college football for ESPN. Prior to his sabbatical, Meyer was the head coach at Florida for six seasons where he won two national championships - one a 41-14 win against Ohio State - and two SEC titles. "He's a Hall of Fame coach," former Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said after Meyer's retirement last season. "What he's accomplished, two national championships, the undefeated season at Utah, just some amazing things. When he had it going he was playing and coaching as good a football as there was in college."...
A long way from Cincy November 28, 2011 Source: Cincinnati - But Urban Meyer still has roots in Queen City...This story about Meyer's Cincinnati's connection by the Enquirer's John Erardi appeared in The Enquirer on Jan 8, 2007, before Meyer's Florida team met Ohio State for the national championship. Meyer's father, Urban Sr., mentioned in the story, died on Nov. 11, 2011.
Birthdate: July 10, 1964
Hometown: Ashtabula, Ohio
Education: 1986, bachelor's degree in psychology, University of Cincinnati; 1988, master's degree in sports administration from Ohio State..
Meyer Set To Take Ohio State Job November 28, 2011 Source: BuckeyeSports.com - After two weeks of reports leaking out that it was bound to happen, Urban Meyer is set to be announced as the 24th head coach of the Ohio State football program. The Ohio native, who won two national championships at Florida, would take over from interim head coach Luke Fickell with an official announcement expected later today...The Coach of the Decade in the 2000s according to both Sports Illustrated and Sporting News has not been confirmed as the new hire by the university. Meyer's agent, former NFL player Trace Armstrong, said ESPN jumped the gun on the final report, but the official announcement and a press conference are widely expected later today...
Bob Hunter commentary: Rumblings ... Ohio State football Source: Columbus Dispatch November 25, 2011 - If Urban Meyer is named Ohio State football coach next week as expected, Louisiana State offensive coordinator Greg Studrawa is rumored to be his top choice for the same position at OSU.
Studrawa, a native of Fostoria, Ohio, coached on Meyer’s staff at Bowling Green and guided a record-setting Falcons offense for four seasons. In 2004, his BG unit finished second nationally in total offense with a Mid-American Conference record 506.3 yards per game. That offense was fourth in the nation in scoring (44.3 points per game) and scored at least 50 points four times. The Falcons’ passing game (338.3 yards per game) was ranked third nationally and capped a 9-3 season with a 52-35 victory over Memphis in the GMAC Bowl.
In 2003, the Falcons broke 10 school records and went 11-3, with a Motor City Bowl victory over Northwestern. In 2005, the Falcons ranked second in the MAC in passing (283.9) and scoring (33.8).
Studrawa is in his fifth season at LSU and first as offensive coordinator, having moved into the job in early August when coordinator Steve Kragthorpe was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He served as a graduate assistant on John Cooper’s OSU staff in 1997.
On the day Studrawa moved from the offensive line coach to the coordinator’s position, guard Josh Dworaczyk called him "an offensive mastermind."
The inroads that Michigan has made into Ohio recruiting circles since Brady Hoke was named Wolverines coach and Jim Tressel resigned at Ohio State have been well-documented: Michigan has won three out of six head-to-head battles for some of the state’s top recruits, and one OSU commitment — Canton GlenOak running back Bri’onte Dunn — is wavering.
Mentor High School coach Steve Trivisonno said that if Meyer is named coach of the Buckeyes, that trend will stop.
"That’s going to change it all right back," Trivisonno said. "Urban is going to come in and go after the Ohio kids, and Ohio kids are going to go to Urban Meyer. Urban recruited here when he was at Notre Dame and Bowling Green, so he’s going to know all the people and know all the ties the coaching associations have to Ohio State."
Local 6 sources: Meyer builds OSU staff with former colleagues Source: Orlando.com November 25, 2011 - Several of Urban Meyer's former colleagues from Bowling Green State University and the University of Florida will make up the coach's staff at Ohio State, Local 6 sports director David Pingalore has learned.
Sources of Pingalore are saying Greg Studrawa will be OSU's Offensive Coordinator. Studrawa has ties with Meyer from Bowling Green, where he served as Meyer's offensive coordinator. Currently, he is LSU's offensive line coach and is a native of Fostoria, Ohio.
Pingalore's sources confirm that Stan Drayton will be retained by OSU, but will move from the wide receivers coach to running backs coach. He worked previously with Meyer at Bowling Green and Florida.
Also, on the move with Meyer, according to Pingalore's sources will be Zach Smith. Smith, who was a graduate assistant under Meyer at Florida, will leave Temple as the wide receivers coach and do the same job at Ohio State. He is legendary former Ohio State coach Earle Bruce's grandson.
In Pingalore's original report, sources confirmed that Mickey Marotti will become Ohio State's director of football operations. Marotti is currently Florida's strength coach.
Sources on Tuesday also confirmed that D.J. Durkin will leave Florida as the linebacker coach and join Meyer as OSU's defensive coordinator.
Luke Fickell, who has worked this season as Ohio State's interim head coach, will be retained by Meyer and serve as OSU's assistant head coach. Sources confirmed that Fickell played a major role in recruiting Meyer to Ohio State.
Meyer, currently an analyst for ESPN, released a statement earlier this week denying that any official agreement has been reached with Ohio State. Pingalore's sources confirm that Meyer will be introduced early next week as Ohio State's next head coach.
ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit says Ohio State and Urban Meyer won't come to any agreement until after the Michigan game. Herbstreit says that if Meyer's offense dominated SEC defenses, playing in the Big Ten will be like going up against the scout team.
More Famly Ties Source: Bucknuts November 25, 2011 - … So, you know Urban Meyer was born in Toledo, raised in Ashtabula, played at Cincinnati, was a grad assistant at Ohio State and received his first head coaching job at Bowling Green. Meyer has literally covered almost all the corners of the state.
However, did you know that Meyer’s sister still lives in Cincinnati and his wife’s sister lives in Chillicothe? Well, now you do.
"It probably played a small part, but that’s another reason this has been a done deal for quite some time," a source said "The funny thing is people actually thought Notre Dame was Urban’s dream job. He never said that and the urban legend – no pun intended – just took off. Ohio State has always been his dream job.
"If Notre Dame was his dream job, he obviously would have taken that job in 2005 when he was offered instead of going to Florida.
"Urban considers this 'going back home' and so does his wife. He's tried to play it cool, but he's wanted this job for a quite some time and Ohio State has wanted him ever since (Jim) Tressel was forced out."
Really? Who knew?
Football: Meyer to take over at Ohio State November 24, 2011 Source: Columbus Dispatch - Deal isn’t finalized for Ohio native who won big at BG, Utah, Florida...Urban Meyer is expected to be named head football coach at Ohio State next week, multiple well-placed university sources told The Dispatch yesterday...
Urban Meyer to be Ohio State Buckeyes' football coach, sources tell Plain Dealer November 23, 2011 Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer - Five years ago, then-University of Florida football coach Urban Meyer heard "Hang On Sloopy" as part of the musical rotation pumped into practice to help his Gators prepare to face Ohio State in the BCS National Championship Game. "Can you imagine that?" Meyer said as he listened to the traditional OSU favorite, the Ashtabula native letting it sink in that he was readying to face the team he had grown up watching. Now he can imagine not just what it is to face the Buckeyes, but to be one. Sources have confirmed to The Plain Dealer that Meyer will be named Ohio State's next head coach. Multiple other outlets have reported the understanding also reached between the school and the two-time national championship coach, though Meyer, a former OSU graduate assistant, continues to deny any finalized agreement. No official announcement would come from Ohio State until next week...
Ohio State Buckeyes: Urban Meyer has agreed in principle to coach OSU, according to sources November 23, 2011 Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer - Sources have told at TV station in Orlando that Urban Meyer has agreed in principle to become the next head coach of Ohio State and will be introduced in the coming days, according to WKMG's sources, Meyer has agreed to a seven-year, $40 million deal...
Updated: report says Meyer to take OSU job amid denials from Meyer himself November 23, 2011 Source: CollegeFootballTalk.com - For the umpteenth time in the past week or so, a media outlet has reported that the former Florida coach has agreed to become Ohio State’s next head coach. This time it’s Orlando television station WKMG doing the honors, reporting that Meyer has agreed to a seven-year, $40 million contract — previous reports had the number pegged at $35 million over the same number of years, so Meyer has apparently earned a raise before ever coaching a game in Columbus — and will be introduced as Jim Tressel‘s permanent replacement in the coming days.
The report goes on to state that Meyer "will bring several current UF assistant coaches with him to Columbus, including D.J. Durkin, the Gators’ linebackers coach, who will be the OSU defensive coordinator". Previous reports had suggested that interim head coach Luke Fickell would stay on as Meyer’s coordinator; the TV station says that Fickell will stay on Meyer’s staff as an assistant. Additionally, UF strength coach Mickey Marotti is expected to become OSU’s Director of Football Operations, the station reported.
One source with knowledge of the situation told CFT earlier this week that while it’s not a signed, sealed and delivered deal — still — it will be in short order and that an official announcement will come next week. Meyer, as he’s done on at least a couple of occasions over the past couple of weeks, has denied reports that he has landed the job, but did so in an open-ended statement that’s very much open to interpretation...
Urban Meyer: No Buckeyes deal November 23, 2011 Source: ESPN - Sources have told WKMG-TV in Orlando that ESPN college football analyst Urban Meyer has agreed in principle to become coach at Ohio State and will be introduced in the coming days. According to WKMG's sources, Meyer has agreed to a seven-year, $40 million deal....
Meyer Closer to Becoming Coach at Ohio State November 23, 2011 Source: New York Times - The possibility that Urban Meyer will coach Ohio State next season is inching toward becoming a reality. Still, the final word on Meyer and Ohio State will not come until after Saturday, when the Buckeyes play Michigan in their final game of the regular season...
Reports: Urban Meyer will be next Ohio State football coach November 23, 2011 Source: Detroit Free Press - "I feel good, and I'm enjoying what I am doing," Meyer told CBSSports.com. "If an opportunity like that did come along, I would consider it only because it is home. "If something happens at Ohio State, then I would have a decision to make."...
Urban Meyer coming to Ohio State is a Thanksgiving treat for Buckeye fans November 23, 2011 Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer - On the way up the coaching ladder, Meyer turned around programs at Bowling Green and Utah. He coached two national champions, a Heisman winner in Tebow and a No. 1 overall NFL draft choice in Utah's Alex Smith, who is now starting for the 49ers. The coach even slept in the dormitory with the players during two-a-day drills at BG, to show them that he was going through the same thing they were. No one in Columbus would begrudge him sleeping in the governor's mansion as long as Ohio State doesn't go through another season like this...
Bill Greene of Scout.com joined Bull & Fox, 92.3 The Fan Cleveland OH, to talk about his report that Urban Meyer and OSU have agreed to a deal to make Meyer the next coach of the Buckeyes.
Urban Meyer sits down for an interview with friend and Gainesville Sun reporter Pat Dooley and performs the semantics dance by denying he's ever interviewed for the Ohio State job.
On his health and family concerns:
"The concerns are still there. No. 1 — my health. No. 2 — my family. No. 3 — the state of college football. I've done some research into the second one. I've found that it is possible to have balance between your job and your family, that there are coaches out there who are doing it."
Addressing the Ohio State job specifically:
"I'm in a good place right now mentally and physically. So if something happens with Ohio State, I'll have a decision to make. But there has been no interview. There has been no offer to make a decision about."
But then, the money quote:
"I love football," he said. "It's what I am. I miss it."
Meyer goes on to say how much he loves the Gators and he's hoping for the best for Will Muschamp and the team. When you consider how tight Dooley and Meyer are, it reads like a well-orchestrated soft breakup to Florida fans.
So, last night's tweet generated a bit of chatter, eh?
Responses to that tweet break down between outright jubilation (70%), proper skepticism (25%) and efforts to discredit us by some in more traditional media (5%).
While we can't blame the skeptics, it's worth pointing out our track record. We hear a ton of things, but only come forward with things we're virtually certain about. Like this. Or this. We were flamed for breaking both of those, but, you know how they turned out.
Before we dive into what we do know, it's important to point out what we're not saying:
• Urban Meyer was not in Columbus yesterday or anytime in the last couple of weeks.
• There is no contract in place between Urban Meyer and Ohio State. Nothing signed, whatsoever.
Now, here's what we do know based off of multiple sources that have a proven track record with delivering timely information to us:
• There has long been mutual interest between Ohio State and Urban Meyer.
• Urban has agreed in principle to take the position next year. Numbers have been exchanged and agreed upon via back-channel talks.
• Ohio State and Meyer are waiting for the NCAA to deliver their verdict, after which time, the announcement of Meyer as the new head coach will take place.
• Both parties are on the same page with regards to what they expect to hear from the NCAA. Both parties believe the NCAA's punishment will not be an obstacle to Meyer taking the job.
• While early December has been floated, the university is hoping to hear back from the NCAA later this month.
• LSU offensive coordinator Chuck Studrawa, a Fostoria native who coached with Meyer at Bowling Green, is very much in play to become a member of Meyer's staff at Ohio State.
That's what we know at this time. We'll continue to deliver news that we're confident in as it comes our way. We have a five year history of being conservative with what we break and we're proud of not rushing to break news just to break it.
Pretty par for the course for this far along in the process. Remember, Thad Matta was not interested in filling the vacancy at Ohio State before ultimately becoming Ohio State's head coach.
It's officially open season on Urban Meyer-to-Ohio State speculation.
Various Buckeyes message boards have spent a sizable chunk of the past week tossing around well-sourced tidbits of information on their Insider forums, all relating in some way to the former Florida head coach being on the verge of becoming the next Buckeyes head coach. One unnamed board — technically, one very in-the-know poster and his unique use of a mathematical symbol — had Meyer to the Buckeyes late Thursday afternoon. That was followed by ElevenWarriors.com – as money as it comes to all things OSU — tweeting a few hours later that they "are 99.7% sure Urban Meyer has agreed to a deal to become the next coach of Ohio State. Solid sources. Plural."
Today, Doug Lesmerises of the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote in his excellent summary of where the Urban legend stands at this moment that "[t]here absolutely was and is mutual interest between Meyer and Ohio State, and the school believed then that if he coached next season, it would be at Ohio State." (Urban Meyer and the Ohio State Buckeyes: Putting the rumors in perspective)
On CFT's front, we've been told for the past couple of days that Meyer had not agreed to become the new head coach, but the qualifier "yet" or "not yet" was added in each and every instance. Now, reportedly, those qualifiers can all but officially be stripped away. Maybe.
SportsByBrooks.com is reporting Friday night that Meyer "is assembling a coaching staff after agreeing to become the next head football coach at Ohio State." Brooks goes on to write that "[t]he deal… was consummated in principle earlier this week in Columbus but not signed", and that, as would be expected, Meyer would become one of the highest-paid coaches in major college football. Perhaps the most intriguing — or head-scratching, depending on your vantage point — part of the report relates to the composition of at least a portion of Meyer's would-be coaching staff:
In addition to Meyer's generous compensation package, sources said a major factor in the coach's decision to agree to take the position was the school promising him the budget to assemble what is expected to become the highest-paid assistant coaching staff in college football history.
Of that staff, sources indicate Meyer's intial plan is to retain current Ohio State head football coach Luke Fickell and current Buckeye wide receivers coach Stan Drayton.
Meyer also aims to add Chris Spielman, Kirk Herbstreit, current North Carolina State linebackers coach Jon Tenuta and current LSU offensive line coach Greg Studwara to his Ohio State staff.
Our attempts to get an on-the-record comment from OSU officials has thus far proven fruitless. The same can be said for Meyer's agent.
We should note, though, that our sources continue to say Meyer-to-OSU is not a done deal. Pat Dooley, the long-time Gainesville Sun writer who maintains a close friendship with Meyer, tweeted the following after Brooks' report surfaced: "I can only tell you what Urban just texted me back about rumor that he has accepted job at Ohio State — "No truth to it."
However, there's too much smoke for there not to be some flicker of truth burning underneath all of this speculation. Whether it turns into a full-blown, five-alarm blaze in the coming days or weeks remains to be seen.
As a walk-on Bearcat, Urban Meyer made off-field impression at Cincinnati November 18, 2011 Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer - Memories of Urban Meyer the football player at the University of Cincinnati during the early 1980s are not vivid. Even to some of his former teammates. You see, Meyer didn't get much action on the field as a defensive back for the Bearcats. His football presence was minuscule...
Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller would thrive under coach Urban Meyer: Bill Livingston November 18, 2011 Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer - If Urban Meyer becomes the coach at Ohio State next season, quarterback Braxton Miller will win the Heisman Trophy before he is done...Meyer is a spread formation genius. He depends on misdirection, trick plays and quick hitters, in the air and on the ground. He would be perfect for Miller...
CBS Sports Network's Tom Lemming explains how Urban Meyer has been able to successfully recruit for Ohio State.
Head Coach Urban Meyer Part 1 Source: Bucknuts
Head Coach Urban Meyer Part 2 Source: Bucknuts
Assistant head coach/co-DC Everett Withers Source: Bucknuts
Q&A: Ohio State assistant Everett Withers January 17, 2012 Source: ESPN - ESPN.com caught up with Withers last week, and here are some thoughts from the new Ohio State co-defensive coordinator/assistant head coach/safeties coach. ESPN: Do you think the Big Ten defenses stack up to those nationally, the ones you saw in the SEC and ACC? EW: I think so. It's all about being able to do what you do philosophically on defense. If your philosophy is to be physical and stop the run and be good on third down, and be good in the red zone and create turnovers, that's the philosophy of a lot of defenses across the country. Now how you get to it and how you work at it is important. So I don't think there's a ton of difference. It's just a matter of how you approach it each day and that you're practicing to win the games. ESPN: Have you have a chance to look at film on any of the players you'll be working with at Ohio State? EW: I've looked at a little, not as much as I'd like, but as this recruiting process the next three weeks starts to wrap up, I'm sure we'll be watching a lot more tape and be able to evaluate the talent here... Bucknuts
OC/QBs coach Tom Herman Source: Bucknuts
Q&A with Ohio State's Tom Herman January 13, 2012 Source: ESPN - How'd you like to be Urban Meyer's offensive coordinator at Ohio State? That's the question Tom Herman got to answer last month while he was calling plays at Iowa State. Needless to say, Herman jumped at the chance to join the Buckeyes, where he'll also serve as quarterbacks coach and tutor budding young star Braxton Miller. Herman will oversee a much different looking Ohio State offense in 2012, and I recently had a chance to catch up with him before he hit the road for the final recruiting push. What was your reaction like when Urban Meyer first called you?...Did you know him at all or study his schemes?...How would you describe your offensive philosophy?... Bucknuts
Co-offensive coordinator/OL coach Ed Warriner Source: Bucknuts
Mickey Marotti talks about his winter conditioning goals, the teams current condition, his assistant coaches and more
Urban Meyer introduces his coaching staff at halftime of Buckeyes IU game Sunday January 15, 2012 Source: BuckeyeGrove.com
Bill Sheridan Completes Urban Meyer's 2012 Coaching Staff January 30, 2012 Source: OSU Official Site - Bill Sheridan, a 31-year coaching veteran who has Midwest ties, Big Ten Conference experience and seven seasons of coaching in the National Football League, will be a defensive assistant coach on Urban Meyer's first coaching staff at The Ohio State University, Meyer announced today. Sheridan was the linebackers coach for the Miami Dolphins the past two seasons.
"Bill Sheridan is a perfect fit for our program," Meyer said. "His experiences in the NFL are huge. He has Midwest roots and, most importantly, he wants to be an Ohio State Buckeye. I am really impressed with him and I think he is going to be a terrific addition to our defensive staff as a coach, teacher and as a recruiter."
Sheridan is a native of Detroit and attended Grand Valley State University. A four-year letterman as a linebacker and a 1982 GVSU graduate, he started his coaching career at Shrine High School in Royal Oak, Mich., and then spent 20 seasons, beginning in 1985, in college coaching at seven institutions, including Michigan, Michigan State and Notre Dame.
After spending the last seven seasons as an assistant in the NFL, during which time he won a Super Bowl ring in 2007 with the New York Giants, Sheridan is looking forward to this opportunity to coach at Ohio State.
"I can't remember the last time I was more excited to take a job, and for obvious reasons," Sheridan said. "Ohio State has a historic, winning tradition, and I am very excited to be a part of that. And with the tremendous success Urban Meyer has had at each of his schools, I am honored to be a part of his staff."
Sheridan's arrival gives the Ohio State coaching staff 32 years of NFL coaching/playing experience with Mike Vrabel (14 years playing), Everett Withers (seven years coaching), Stan Drayton (three years coaching) and Luke Fickell (one season as a player) having also experienced the NFL. Sheridan says coaching in college and the pros is a lot more similar than people think.
"The NFL provides an invaluable experience," Sheridan said. "It is a competitive league from a talent level and strategically. But it is coaching just the same. You are still teaching football in the classroom and then you take it to the field and you teach it there."
He admits, too, that he is excited to be returning to the college game.
"I have a refreshed perspective coming back from the NFL and getting into college coaching again," Sheridan said. "I am really interested to study the offenses people are running in the Big Ten. The running quarterbacks are distinctly different than what you see in the NFL. It is stimulating if you enjoy the schematic part of the game, and I do."...
Meyer makes final hire January 26, 2012 Source: Columbus Dispatch - The final piece of Urban Meyer’s coaching staff has been filled. Bill Sheridan, a veteran college and NFL assistant, has been hired as the Buckeyes’ defensive backs coach, an OSU source confirmed. Sheridan replaces Taver Johnson, who left to become assistant head coach/linebackers coach at Arkansas. Sheridan’s hiring was first reported by The Lantern student newspaper.
Most of Sheridan’s experience has been with coaching linebackers. That was his job for the Miami Dolphins the past two years. He also served in that capacity for the New York Giants from 2005 to ’08. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2009 but was fired after the Giants had a disappointing season.
Sheridan, who turns 53 today, is a Detroit native who played linebacker for Grand Valley State. He was a graduate assistant at Michigan before coaching at Maine, Cincinnati, Army and Michigan State, mainly as linebackers coach. Sheridan coached safeties and special teams for Notre Dame in 2001 before returning to Michigan, where he coached linebackers for one season and defensive linemen for two. He also was recruiting coordinator for the Wolverines, who had top-10 recruiting classes in 2002 and ’03...
'Revitalized' Urban Meyer eager to start work of rebuilding Ohio State Buckeyes football team January 13, 2012 Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer - The original plan was for Ohio State football to start its off-season conditioning program next week. Instead, it started the beginning of this week. The new boss couldn't wait. "I feel as good as I've felt in many, many years, and I'm anxious to get going," said OSU head coach Urban Meyer on Thursday, "which is probably the reason these guys are out there early in the morning. And I'm anxious to get out on the road recruiting for the next three weeks. 'Revitalized' is a strong word, and an appropriate word for where I am right now."...
Meyer, New Assistants Say Hello January 12, 2012 Source: Bucknuts - In terms of the staff, Meyer was retained four assistants and clarified their titles on Thursday. Luke Fickell, who served as the head coach this past season, was retained as the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach. Stan Drayton, a former Meyer assistant at Florida, will move from wide receivers to running backs. Mike Vrabel will move from linebackers to the defensive line. Taver Johnson will stay as the cornerbacks coach.
The new assistants include Everett Withers (assistant head coach/co-defensive coordinator/safeties), Zach Smith (wide receivers), Tim Hinton (tight ends/fullbacks), Tom Herman (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks) and Ed Warinner (co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach/running game coordinator). It was reported that Hinton will also serve as the recruiting coordinator. (For more on the staff, see the story and videos linked above as well as the official announcement of the Warinner and Hinton hirings.)
Meyer said there is a chance he will name a special teams coordinator, but, at least for now, he will probably supervise those units himself.
In discussing the hirings, Meyer was asked if he was turned down by anybody he wanted to bring on board. “I don’t think I had a no,” he said. “We’ve had a few nos in recruiting. My opinion of them is very strong. I’ve worked with two of the five on offense. On defense, I am O-fer. That’s scary stuff.”
Everybody on the staff has a tie back to Ohio with the exception of Withers, who has had a varied career with stops at seven colleges as well as a six-year stint with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans. Meyer said it was by design that he wanted coaches with Ohio roots.
“It’s not a coincidence,” he said. “I know this one cuts real deep when it’s your home state. The high school relations are important. Ed Warinner was a no-brainer. He played at Mount Union. He had a great job (at Notre Dame). You don’t leave that job and come here unless there is some kind of tie...
2012-13 Football Coaching Staff Source: OSU Official Site (After Thursday’s press conference, OSU came out with official notification of the hirings of Warinner and Hinton. Here is the release: Urban Meyer has his Ohio State coaching staff assembled. Today, Meyer announced the addition to his staff of two veteran collegiate coaches who have a combined 58 years of coaching experience: Ed Warinner will coordinate the running game as the team’s co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach, and Tim Hinton will be the tight ends and fullbacks coach. Both coaches were at the University of Notre Dame the past two seasons under coach Brian Kelly. January 12, 2012 Source Ohio State via Bucknuts
Closer Look at Hinton and Warinner January 13, 2012 Source: Mansfield News Journal - Hinton, in charge of the tight ends and fullbacks, will be a familiar name and face to many north central Ohio football fans because of the 11 years he spent as head coach at Marion Harding High School. From there he spent six years working at Cincinnati under former OSU defensive coordinator Mark Dantonio and then Brian Kelly, before spending the last two years at Notre Dame with Kelly...Hinton and Meyer have been friends since they last worked together as graduate assistants at Ohio State in 1986. Hinton, a year ahead of Meyer, remembers helping OSU quarterbacks coach Tom Lichtenberg, in charge of hiring GAs, with the screening process. "We always said someday that this might happen," Hinton said. "In our world (of coaching), you never know. Notre Dame is a great place; I don't want to downplay that or my relationship with Brian Kelly, but (Ohio State) was certainly the right choice for my family and me."...
Hinton off and running at Ohio State January 12, 2012 Source: The Ozone - Urban Meyer raided the Notre Dame coaching staff to make the last two hires on his OSU staff. According to people who follow Notre Dame football closely the move not only bolstered OSU's staff but also also hurt the Fighting Irish...
Ohio State football: Meyer’s staff hits pay dirt January 13, 2012 Source: Columbus Dispatch - New football coach might have 'the best group of coaches in America,' but it’s costing the university a pretty penny...
Watch Columbus NBC4's full, unedited interview with the new first lady of Ohio State Football, Shelley Meyer.
"His passion for Ohio State is there. He knows who he is. He's a Buckeye."
taking over as the head coach at Ohio State
