Is Urban Meyer on way out at Florida?

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Paul Finebaum – Press-Register

 

 

Is it too early for President Obama to place FEMA on red alert for Gainesville?
A big storm is brewing and could possibly leave many in Florida brokenhearted.

Urban Meyer is probably leaving Florida after the season to go to Notre Dame.
Meyer says he's not going. He insists he loves it in Gainesville and has no
intention of taking a position he once described as "my dream job."

So how do I know Meyer is not telling the truth? Easy. Meyer's lips moved when
he denied the story.

Perhaps there was a time when Meyer was about what's right in college football.
They say he was just a normal guy out in Utah. Maybe he was even a decent cat
for about 24 hours in Gainesville. Since then, Meyer has become obsessed with
success and power (see the blatant strong-arming of quarterback turned talk show
host Shane Matthews). The lure of being "the man" at South Bend might be too
intoxicating for him to turn down.

Besides, Meyer knows better than anyone that Superman (Tim Tebow) is gone after
the season and Florida's reign of terror in the SEC will be over. Don't think
Meyer isn't just a tad concerned about Nick Saban stockpiling warehouses loaded
with blue-chip talent in Tuscaloosa. Meyer knows he dodged a bullet in the
fourth quarter of the SEC title game last year. However, that wasn't enough for
the self-absorbed coach. Beating Saban once wasn't enough.
He needed to beat him a second time.

Why else do you think that leading up to the Sugar Bowl Meyer was burning up the
Salt Lake City telephone towers to his one-time assistant Kyle Whittingham,
helping construct the game plan that beat the Tide 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl?

Instead of a Senate hearing this week on (Utah senator) Orrin Hatch's spurious
attack on the BCS, wouldn't it be interesting to ask Whittingham and Meyer to
show up with phone records intact?

Here's a guess that Meyer enjoyed the beating of his rival Saban as much as his
own second national title.

SEC Commissioner Mike Slive just cracked down on league coaches accusing each
other of cheating. Luckily for Meyer, he didn't mention league coaches aiding
and abetting out-of-league opponents in showcase BCS games.

Had Meyer spent even a fraction of that time employing some sort of discipline
program on his own campus, Florida wouldn't be teetering on being completely out
of control right now. In case you don't own a police blotter — or have the DVD
collection of the television series "COPS" — the Gators recently celebrated
their 24th arrest since Meyer's arrival.

Apparently, that doesn't seem to bother school President Bernie Machen, who just
brazenly promoted the idea of Meyer getting a raise. Meyer has four years left
on a contract that pays him well north of $3 million a year. He works at a
school that recently cut $40 million from its general budget.

However, the megalomaniacal Machen knows=2
0all about the Notre Dame threat and wants to be on the record, just in case
Florida wins its third national championship in four years, making Meyer a
legend in all parts of the universe and perhaps opening the door for him to
finally take his "dream job" that he supposedly doesn't want.

What's the old line from "Hamlet" about protesting too much?




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