Sunday, December 27, 2009

Umm, Urban Meyer Is Coming Back?

So apparently, Urban Meyer has changed his mind. He is not retiring/resigning/quitting, but apparently taking an indefinite "leave of absence," leaving Steve Addazio (ugh) in charge.

This isn't without precedent -- actually, it's not without precedent in Gainesville (see Billy Donovan 3 years ago). It speaks to how gut-wrenching (and gut-reacting) this decision was for Meyer. (There's also precedent when Coach K took a leave from Duke in '94-95... if you remember, Duke was atrocious that year without him.)

The big question -- particularly for the 4:30 press conference: Now what? How long of an "absence" are we talking about? What does that mean for recruiting?

And what about all of those health issues that made coaching difficult... even dangerous? Were they overstated... yesterday night?

Again, this all speaks to how the combination of stress, losing, health issues, family and everything else probably made Urban make a hasty decision (to not leave Florida recruiting in the lurch)... one that he ultimately regretted, apparently.

I'd rather have Meyer back -- even under these odd conditions -- than quitting, but...wow.

UPDATE: So Chris from Smart Football has been tweeting some interesting notions about how Meyer:

*Disheartening that Meyer might merely take a leave of absence during offseason. Point is he's so stressed during the yr could die.

*24 hours later and Meyer ready forgetting that there's more to life than winning/losing fb games. And Meyer's whole thing is his intensity..

*What's the point of a more laid back Urban Meyer? Hobson's choice for him: change the only style he knows or face death? Don't understand

Here was my response to Chris: "Fascinating to wonder if a successful coach can fundamentally change his style and still win. plenty of less stressed coaches who still win."

The point is that I think Meyer was WAY more intense -- even than he is now -- 10 years ago as an assistant or first-time head coach. And he has mellowed since then. I think he can mellow further still without ruining what makes him successful. Yes, part of it is the intensity, but part of it is his meticulousness, his understanding of organizations and psychology, etc. I hope he can mellow out -- it feels like the only way this can work without him working himself to death.

-- D.S.

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