Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Urban Meyer... Man or Myth

In 2005, after two very successful stints at Bowling Green and Utah, Urban Meyer accepted the head coaching job and Florida to much controversy. People screamed that his spread offense was great for a Utah or a mid-major but it could not handle the speed of the SEC. They said he didn't belong. Oh how wrong they were.

While Urban Meyer was successful as the head coach at Bowling Green it was at Utah that he really put himself on the map. In his first season in 2003 he went 10-2 and was named the Sporting News Coach of the Year. In 2004 his success continued as he lead the Utes to an undefeated season that culminated with a win against Pitt in the Fiesta Bowl. It was the first time a mid-major appeared in the BCS.

He became the main target of Notre Dame and Florida, eventually choosing the Gators. But when he finally took the job many people predicted his doom. His spread offense, which was basically the west coast offense mashed with the option could not succed on the next level. People said that speed that SEC defenses possessed would tear apart the gimmick "offense."

Four seasons later it is safe to say that his offense has done just fine and the critics have been silenced. In 2005 Meyer lead the gators to a 9-3 season and an undefeated record at home. His offense did not take full form yet because he did not have the right trigger-man. Chris Leak, once a prize recruit was just not the type of player that Meyer was looking for to run his offense. He brought in blue-chip recruit Tim Tebow to groom for the job. Using Leak's passing ability and Tebow's running prowess Meyer lead the 2006 Gators to a BCS Championship.

2007 was a down year, by Meyer's recent standards although Tebow did win the Heisman.

Now in 2008 Meyer stands on the verge of another title, powered by Tebow and the offense that could not succeed. If the Gators can pull in another BCS championship against OU this Janurary then Urban Meyer may just emerge as the best coach in the short BCS era. Over time he may solidfy himself with the likes of Bryant and Schembechler. Not bad for a coach who didn't belong.

No comments: