On this day in 2010, Urban Meyer retired from coaching.
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On this day in 2010: Urban Meyer retires from coaching
- Thread starter Escambia94
- Start date
I think the critical point in Gator history occurred before this Meyer or Addazio moment. By December 8, 2010, Meyer had already broken the program. He already chased away Dan Mullen two years earlier. He lost Charlie Strong one year earlier. He had already begun covering up for Zachary Smith about 18 months earlier.
To answer the question directly, I think the University of Florida football program had been sufficiently broken by December 2008 that nothing past that point would have prevented us from having this decade long depression. No. Things would not have been any better or any different.
Probably can make a case it started earlier with Aaron Hernandez and his beating of that bar manager before Hernandez played a down and Gator administrative making a deal with the bar manager. Hernandez should have been kicked out during playing a down for the Gators.
Law enforcement is still trying to figure out what happened with Aaron Hernandez while he was in Gainesville. To this day there has not been enough proof to pin all of his alleged crimes on him, so I doubt that he would been the one to tear the team apart. There certainly were suspicions, but given what we knew in 2007-2009 and not what we know now, all that we know is that he was an angry kid who was an All American tight end with a troubled background.
Just to set the timeline:
- In April 2007, at the age of 17, he got into a fight at a bar when he purchased a drink and tried to leave without paying. Since he was only 17, there was a low probability of him getting kicked off the team or being charged with a felony. The fight can be summarized as a sucker punch to the bartender's ear.
- In September 2007, still age 17, he was allegedly involved in a shooting. The eyewitness who pointed out Hernandez later admitted pointing out Hernandez out of spite, since they had a disagreement earlier that month.
- In late 2009 Urban Meyer informed Hernandez that he would not be welcomed back to the team for his senior year, so Hernandez opted to enter the NFL draft.
- As a New England Patriot, he was allegedly involved in the following incidents:
- 2011 - Hernandez was arrested for fighting in front of his house in Massachusetts
- 2012 - Hernandez was arrested for and later acquitted in a double homicide
- 2013 - Hernandez stopped for, but not charged with DUI
- 2013 - Hernandez questioned for attempted murder, but the alleged victim did not have charges filed and he opted to go with a civil lawsuit instead (as well as a series of heated text messages and death threats against Hernandez). He was acquitted of charges in this incident.
- 2013 - Hernandez arrested for murder, convicted in 2015, but had the conviction vacated (erased) upon his suicide death in 2017.
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As we came to experience ourselves, "Steve Addazio took over" practically amounts to a sentence of "10 years of mediocrity" in and of itself...figure in all those years of dark signs, a gathering "sense of entitlement", Meyers false, often Svengali-like emotional button-pushing and the loss of Mullen (and others) just as the first of the tide of repercussion began to arrive and arise, and both the 9 years in purgatory AND Dan Mullen's return BOTH seem explained, in retrospect even inevitable now.
No matter what, the whole A Hernandez debacle in all seems a sad tale, where a truly messed up dude (Ultimately HE is left blaming himself out of seeming proportion to his limited "guilt" based on what we actually know, at least)...from here it's a case of "we'll never know", and leaves one wondering how "bad" he really was, how guilty and of what, exactly? Or maybe more somewhat a convenient scapegoat...
In final analysis (and with Mullen's return now with the power to not merely "influence", but to throw open the doors and windows, clear the air and set a new tone entirely, CAN now finally be set aside, a new path entirely struck and the very SEEDS of decline eliminated, can now properly be regarded, rejected as all part of the once ongoing nightmare.
We're different, and it's already paying off. A win now would be more reinforcement, a good sign of "more to come" , but no matter what, "the CHANGE" has already happened. And it is for the good. For the BEST.
Also, it didn't help that some players according to some here half-@$$ed it in the 2009 SEC Championship Game to save themselves for the draft and Carlos dun@$$'s (who still playing in the NFL for the Bengals) DUI a few days before that game didn't help and suspension from the game. Dunlap chose a bad time to mess up, Probably cost him millions of dollars because of that. Granted unsure if winning the 2009 SEC and National Championship would have helped convince Meyer to stay. Heck, I'm not even sure if Meyer stays even if the Gators won three straight SEC and National Championship which could have happened especially if Cam Newton stayed or Tyrod Taylor came.
I agree to some extent. The players and coaches were already beginning to fall apart in the 2008 season. There are multiple reports that some players were mailing it in early in the 2008 season, which was a contributing factor against the Ole Miss loss, and the power of Tebow's motivational speech had lost its impact by December 2009. By December 2008 we started to see that core of Urban Meyer disciples begin to in-fight and leave (including Dan Mullen). Charlie Strong and Tim Tebow really held the players and coaches together from September 2008 to December 2009 while Urban Meyer was losing those coaches and players. Both Tebow and Strong shed tears in December 2009, with Tebow doing it publicly in the SEC championship game, and Strong doing it privately in some discussion with the coaching staff. Even in November 2009 Urban Meyer was making his way to his exit, especially with him being linked to the new Notre Dame head coaching position opening. It was no surprise that Strong accepted the head coach position with Louisville 4 days later. Strong had already exhausted himself in November and early December with keeping the team together. The Carlos Dunlap incident was just additional fuel for the fire.
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The more I learn about what was "REALLY" going on behind-the-scenes "those last-few-months" (2008-9), the more I realize how "inevitable" our Fall-From-Grace "really" WAS. Makes me feel like "naive fool" now!
I was so frustrated/disappointed and BAFFLED at the time--and totally felt/LIVED TT's apoplectic desperation out there for all to see at the time.
It has taken a number of revelations and further details (as above) filled in over time to MAKE me see the truth--and have felt steadily sillier and sillier ever since...Imagine TIM'S growing insight, sinking idealism over that same period--what with his own experience in his life (personal AND professional--John Elway, Taylor Swift, on and on--not to mention Meyer himself and his cynical exploitation of #15's trust and squeaky-clean public image in VARIOUS ways ALONG that way, which in typical and extreme fashion he selfishly managed to both exploit AND tarnish--all of which you can be sure Urban totally rationalizes, even ENJOYS telling himself it all somehow "PROVES" how "EVERYONE is corrupt, similarly corruptible, and will do the same to the next guy if it is expedient to do so--will even take similar satisfaction/rationalization in doing so as the opportunity arises...")
As a GATOR , though, I would submit that you all, like me, took nothing but sadness and sympathy in the realization that our beloved "#15" was very likely "learning that lesson" as we watched.
I was so frustrated/disappointed and BAFFLED at the time--and totally felt/LIVED TT's apoplectic desperation out there for all to see at the time.
It has taken a number of revelations and further details (as above) filled in over time to MAKE me see the truth--and have felt steadily sillier and sillier ever since...Imagine TIM'S growing insight, sinking idealism over that same period--what with his own experience in his life (personal AND professional--John Elway, Taylor Swift, on and on--not to mention Meyer himself and his cynical exploitation of #15's trust and squeaky-clean public image in VARIOUS ways ALONG that way, which in typical and extreme fashion he selfishly managed to both exploit AND tarnish--all of which you can be sure Urban totally rationalizes, even ENJOYS telling himself it all somehow "PROVES" how "EVERYONE is corrupt, similarly corruptible, and will do the same to the next guy if it is expedient to do so--will even take similar satisfaction/rationalization in doing so as the opportunity arises...")
As a GATOR , though, I would submit that you all, like me, took nothing but sadness and sympathy in the realization that our beloved "#15" was very likely "learning that lesson" as we watched.
Along these same lines, and as further proof of how there IS a "RIGHT way", and that it makes a difference--the BIGGEST difference!--I offer the latest news out of Tuscaloosa regarding "How it's done":
Turns out that 3 front line players for the Tide were found to have "violated team rules", this of ALL weeks (the one leading up to the semi-final, the penultimate game of the season against the high-powered Sooner offense)...and it is announced in the same public release that they are to be punished in exactly the same way as team-members are PUNISHED for such transgressions--they have been suspended from play in the NEXT game! This puts his whole TEAM in danger of losing the most important and so far DANGEROUS game of the year, the pivotal "make or break" one they'll logically need their BEST for...
Now, can you imagine Urban Meyer doing that? No, he'd for SURE find some rationale, if it came out at all before the game he'd have SOME rationale (eg. "I will not punish the whole team for blah blah blah..." or some other double talk) for playing them--typically, once again NOT grasping the clear and simple TRUTH: That consistent and tough application of The Rules, seeing and facing their consequences, is the fundamental constant that BUILDS honor, consistency and UNITY OF PURPOSE among the members of the very "team" you are trying to build--the fundamental underpinning of everything that comprises a "TEAM" in the first place!
And now WE have finally found a Coach OURSELVES who "gets it"--one who wanted, WANTS to be here, for whom THIS is his "Dream Job". Just remember this particular "lesson", one that reminds us that "what's good for us" may be inconvenient, even short-term-detrimental to our seeming "goals of the moment", but in the LONG run invariably amounts to WHAT WE NEED, how things "NEED TO BE, REGARDLESS"...
Turns out that 3 front line players for the Tide were found to have "violated team rules", this of ALL weeks (the one leading up to the semi-final, the penultimate game of the season against the high-powered Sooner offense)...and it is announced in the same public release that they are to be punished in exactly the same way as team-members are PUNISHED for such transgressions--they have been suspended from play in the NEXT game! This puts his whole TEAM in danger of losing the most important and so far DANGEROUS game of the year, the pivotal "make or break" one they'll logically need their BEST for...
Now, can you imagine Urban Meyer doing that? No, he'd for SURE find some rationale, if it came out at all before the game he'd have SOME rationale (eg. "I will not punish the whole team for blah blah blah..." or some other double talk) for playing them--typically, once again NOT grasping the clear and simple TRUTH: That consistent and tough application of The Rules, seeing and facing their consequences, is the fundamental constant that BUILDS honor, consistency and UNITY OF PURPOSE among the members of the very "team" you are trying to build--the fundamental underpinning of everything that comprises a "TEAM" in the first place!
And now WE have finally found a Coach OURSELVES who "gets it"--one who wanted, WANTS to be here, for whom THIS is his "Dream Job". Just remember this particular "lesson", one that reminds us that "what's good for us" may be inconvenient, even short-term-detrimental to our seeming "goals of the moment", but in the LONG run invariably amounts to WHAT WE NEED, how things "NEED TO BE, REGARDLESS"...
Sounds inevitable, now that you mention it--of course, that in turn depends on what kind of angle ESPN figures its got come that day it is pitched in a conference room in Bristol...Meyer himself will no doubt further flesh out the details of THAT "story" between now and then.
I think the perfect situation ESPN would be for the 30-for-30 show to be coordinated with the University of Florida as a publicity stunt. Whether we like it or not, Urban Meyer is the only remaining person eligible for the Gator Ring of Honor, and those eligibility rules are not going to change anytime soon. Note that Aaron Hernandez qualifies in every way except the nebulous statement about being in good standing. Now is not a good time to put Meyer's name on our Ring of Honor, but "time heals all wounds" and with ESPN's help via the 30-f0r-30 series maybe Meyer will be able to return to the good graces of the Gator Nation and be placed in the Ring of Honor.
The problem is how long will it be for Meyer's name to be on the ring of honor? Also, how long will it take for us to forgive Meyer? Honestly, I don't think I can forgive him ever because I do hold grudges (sad but true) and I might not the only one that thinks that. I know I know like it or not, Meyer did won two championships here. Also, I know that there have been similar 30 for 30's on the U and Pete Carroll's USC Trojans but I think the Gators from 2005 to 2009 is a story too good for ESPN to pass up plus there's the SEC Network 30 for 30 spinoff SEC Storied. Not to mention Tim Tebow and Laura Rutledge who went to Florida during that time are there in ESPN/SEC Network. They would have good insight during those years especially Tebow for obvious reasons.
I think the time for mending fences with Urban Meyer is a few years away. I give it five years from now, maybe in 2024. This would be Mullen's first contract extension or second contract, and Meyer would have been five years removed from coaching (assuming he does not un-retire to Notre Dame), and most fans will have forgotten Meyer's transgressions.
Go ahead and start the clock on mending fences with Urban Meyer! He happily did a Gator Chomp for a Rose Bowl fan who shouted out to him, "The Gator Nation still loves you!"
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