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Urban Meyer or bust


BurntOrange&White

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40 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

Sure, but a smart Volkswagen mechanic who knows how to lean on experienced people and is quick on the uptake will turn into a good Ferrari mechanic in a few years.

The rest of the jokers available out there are drooling on themselves trying to figure out how to put together a lego car. Give me the smart Volkswagen guy.

Volkswagens are for peasants

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34 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

So, I've only been able to skim through the last 9,359 pages of this thread.

Joe Rogan is going to be our new coach, Matt Rhule and/or a velociraptor will also be on staff, and the HSB Marriot curtains are now a meme.  Did I get that right?

Side of mayo.  But otherwise, correct.

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5 hours ago, Horn80 said:

Yep, the women out there would kick my ass.  Tough crowd 

Worked a job out in Midland in the late 80s. I can't remember the name of the motel or the bar but the bar was right across the street. One of the first times we came in there we got to know the bartenders pretty well and they all have the same advice. They said that quite often they had Odessa women come in and get drunk and if one of them asked you to dance you'd better dance with them because if you didn't they would try to kick your ass and were oftentimes successful.

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2 minutes ago, gmr548 said:


Yeah he’s been courted before but he’s petty adamant about being a Northwestern guy for life. Good coach though.

UT has some academic cachet like Northwestern.  We could change his family's financial life without having to be an NFL guy.

If he is good enough for the Packers to consider, we should probably try if we end up in Plan B.

Sure it's not a sexy hire, but we've tried recent success guys like Herman and Strong.  This would be trying something different.

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1 minute ago, Bevo14 said:

I'd say Campbell's resume is more similar to Dan Mullen's at Mississippi State.

In terms of turning one of the more difficult P5 jobs into a top 25 team and conference contender, yes they are

Prior to that, they're a little different though. Mullen has major program experience though from his time at Florida and even Notre Dame as a GA, while Campbell was a small school guy (Mount Union/Bowling Green) and then Toledo, who eventually turned down being Urban's OC twice so that he could be a successful young (youngest in the country) head coach, albeit at a program that was in good shape when he took over. Dudes been a head coach for nine years already, and he's only 42. 

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14 minutes ago, The Dog said:

Ohio State guys are saying that Meyer isn't even in C-bus but in Vegas.

Well if that's to be believed, this flight raises some flags. It's gone Columbus --> HOU --> DAL --> HOU this week (couple other stops as well) and has a bullshit list of upcoming flights, but one fork would take it from where it is now (HOU) to Las Vegas today and then on to Palm Springs tomorrow.

Edit: The Palm Springs piece would also line up with the golfing piece of the Squid's tweet. And getting Urban back out to Palm Springs/California tomorrow would be logical given the Fox show on Saturday. 

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13 minutes ago, SHOOTER12 said:

They said that quite often they had Odessa women come in and get drunk and if one of them asked you to dance you'd better dance with them because if you didn't they would try to kick your ass and were oftentimes successful.

That officially eliminates  Odessa from the shittiest town bracket.

Edited by Bevo14
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FCB

Spoiler

When you take a step back and observe the possibility of Urban Meyer getting back into coaching through the eyes of a group of Texas’ big-money donors, it’s been a bit like watching a high-stakes, dating service - with one of the parties flirting despite still being married.

When you consider Texas’ current coach is Tom Herman, who helped Meyer win a national championship at Ohio State in 2014 and then fell out with Meyer in 2018, there’s more drama here than a middle school girls’ sleepover.

In the past few days, there have been reports of everything from Meyer’s wife, Shelley, looking for real estate in Austin (not true) to a UT intermediary flying to Columbus to meet with Meyer.

ADVERTISING

My high-level source close to the situation said there was no flight involving a UT intermediary to Columbus in the last couple days to meet with Meyer, adding, “Meyer wasn’t even in Columbus.” He was in Las Vegas.

Another source told me about a list of demands that Meyer apparently would expect at any new job he takes.

That list includes two different types of field turf practice fields in addition to a real grass field; three-year guaranteed contracts for assistants; and total control over the hiring and firing of any athletic department personnel connected to football — from medical/training staff, social media/marketing and public relations to academic support staff.

There have also been reports of contract parameters with most of those involving an annual salary starting at $12 million (when the highest-paid coach in the country is Nick Saban at $9.3 million annually).

A dialed in agent source of mine who represents college coaches said he’d heard Meyer has already told Texas’ big-money guys thanks but no thanks — once. And that the Texas BMDs wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Wednesday night the high-level source close to the situation told Horns247 there was still optimism Meyer would get back into coaching and put the odds at “60-40.”

As of Thursday morning, there are still sources close to Meyer who think he’s done coaching due to health concerns and a changed college athletics landscape thanks to the advent of the NCAA transfer portal in 2018 and a one-time transfer rule likely to be implemented in 2021.

So, what does all this mean?

It means if Meyer wants to get back into coaching, then UT’s big-money donors would be willing to fund the $15 million buyout of Tom Herman’s final three years; and the $9.6 million buyout for Herman’s assistants.

The rest would be up to athletic director Chris Del Conte, UT president Jay Hartzell and the UT board of regents (chaired by former Texas senator and former Tyler mayor Kevin Eltife).

They’d have to decide if it’s time to replace Herman, who is 30-18 (.600) at Texas, including 7-7 in his last 14 Big 12 games. Herman would become the first coach at Texas to be fired without having a losing season since before Darrell Royal was hired in 1957.

But each day that this nothing-to-see-here - but there really is something to see here - involving Meyer drags on, Texas risks a replay of 2013, when Texas big-money guys wanted Nick Saban and ended up with Charlie Strong.

Then, there’s the emotional whiplash of the Texas fan base, which is being set up to be disappointed with anything less than Meyer.

Not to mention Texas still has a coach in Herman, who is trying to get his team ready to play at Kansas State on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT despite two captains (left tackle Samuel Cosmi and safety Caden Sterns) opting out.

I’m told running back Keontay Ingram has stopped going to practice this week and is contemplating a transfer out of the program.


(Photo: Scott Wachter, USA TODAY Sports)
Other players are wavering on continuing with the final two games of the season, sources said.

Asked if Herman’s the guy to lead the program going forward following UT’s 23-20 loss to Iowa State last week, senior defensive tackle and captain Ta’Quon Graham said:

“Honestly, this is a hard question for me. I don’t listen to the opinions of people outside of Texas football. I respect coach Herman.”

When asked if the team’s inability to get things together is more on the coaching or the players, senior quarterback and captain Sam Ehlinger said, “That’s the million-dollar question everyone’s been trying to figure out for the last 10 years.”

Herman also got into hot water with Texas’ brass as much for his team’s disjointed approach to the school’s traditional post-game playing of The Eyes of Texas as for his team’s disjointed play on the field in losses to TCU and Oklahoma. Herman is 1-4 against OU and 1-3 against TCU.

The only way you can avoid the conversation returning to Kirk Herbstreit’s 2016 assessment of Texas as a “cesspool” (in which he predicted the coach after Charlie Strong “you’re going to chase away”) is if you land a coach like Meyer or Florida’s Dan Mullen (a former Meyer assistant).

And since Mullen, his 28-6 record at Florida (after working minor miracles for nine years at Mississippi State) and his $2 million buyout - a pittance compared to, say, Matt Campbell’s $6 million buyout at Iowa State - aren’t even being discussed by Texas' big-money guys, you’d better land Meyer.

Del Conte talked last year about wanting to avoid a revolving door of football coaching change when he agreed to fork out $16 million in guaranteed contracts for seven new assistant coaches hired by Herman, including both coordinators.

Texas AD Chris Del Conte overlooks DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium
(Photo: © TexasSports.com)
Does Del Conte change his mind if the 56-year-old, free-agent Meyer, winner of national titles at Ohio State (2014) and Florida (2006, 2008) comes around on coaching again?

This is the week UT donors were hoping for movement with Meyer. If nothing’s happened by Monday, according to one source, then nothing’s happening.

A college football industry source who has known Meyer for years told Horns247, “Don’t be the one to say Meyer is for sure going to Texas until you see him wearing burnt orange with a Longhorn at the press conference.

“It wouldn’t shock me if Meyer was pulling a Jon Gruden here, using Texas’ interest to try to get a raise out of FOX. Gruden did that all the time at ESPN, leveraging any coaching job interest he got into another raise for his TV job.”

Bryan Broaddus, a former assistant scouting director for the Dallas Cowboys, said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas Wednesday, “Urban Meyer right now is in the process of putting a staff together.”

Meyer has been putting out feelers for weeks about potential members of a staff.

Heck, the Texas big-money donors’ flirtation with Meyer started after the Longhorns’ 33-31 home loss to TCU on Oct. 3.

And here we are … two months later.

Some wondered if there might be added motivation for Meyer to replace Herman at Texas?

They won a national title together at Ohio State in 2014 and then found themselves at odds over Meyer’s continued employment of assistant coach Zach Smith, who was accused of domestic abuse by Smith’s wife, Courtney.

Herman even admitted that his wife, Michelle, gave Courtney money to help Courtney hire a divorce attorney.

After serving a three-game suspension in 2018 for his poor handling of Smith’s situation, Meyer stepped down at Ohio State after the 2018 season.

Jeff Snook, who wrote a book with Urban Meyer titled “What It Means To Be a Buckeye,” said on Facebook this week:

“A common proverb always said that the best revenge is living well. But what would be considered living well — and also replacing an adversary at their lucrative, high profile dream job?”

Snook has since removed the Facebook post.

At some point, wishful thinking can become destructive thinking.

No doubt if Meyer’s answer ends up being yes, then this awkward week of speculation about Meyer’s will-he-or-won’t-he decision will fade the moment the press conference begins with the selling point of Meyer trying to become the first coach in FBS history to win national titles at three different schools.

If Meyer’s answer is no, then is sticking with Herman (30-18, .600 in four seasons) and the seven new assistants Herman hired before the 2020 season even still an option?

Or are you forced to cut Herman loose, absorb a $25 million buyout in a pandemic that has already caused a $53 million shortfall in Texas athletics for the 2020-21 school year, and enter a full-blown coaching search that could go on for weeks - depending on if leading candidates are still coaching?

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One agent source said South Carolina should wait on hiring a coach to see if Herman becomes available, because Texas would be paying enough in offset money that South Carolina could pay Herman $3 million per year and have Texas pay the other $2 million for the first three seasons of a contract.

And for Texas, there seems to be no universal answer to the question: If not Meyer, then who?

 

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19 minutes ago, ztejas said:

I'm not entertaining Cristobal. I never have - you can check my entire post history. 

I am firmly in the: "If we don't get Urban then it's Chinatown" camp. 

That said, gun to my head I guess I would take Fickell. Certainly over Matt Campbell. Fickell's current Cincy team is better than any team Campbell has ever coached and you aren't changing my stance on that until we see Cincy fuck around and drop some shitty game (and I don't expect to see them do that).

Unlike others from the Urban tree - Fickell actually has a very similar background.

If we miss on Urban then I'm going to be pretty disillusioned no matter who we hire - but I could at least get up for Fickell or maybe a wildcard from the NFL or top college coordinating ranks. If we hire Matt fucking Campbell it will likely be years before I give a shit about our on the field product or support the program in any way - because it will likely be years before we see any results IF any. 

Whoever commented "yeah well give the VW guy a few years and he can figure out the Ferrari" is making my point for me. I'm not interested in SEEING some heartland Miss Flyover State trip over their dicks for 3 years and get swallowed up by one of the biggest jobs in the country. We've just seen this happen twice and wasted 7 years in the process.

"Maybe Matt Campbell pans out" - fuck that shit. That is complacent, loser-ass thinking and it's why OU smacks our ass 4 out of 5 times when we don't have a Heisman candidate on the field.

There are three distinct buckets of possible coaches:

1. Those with multiple head coaching stints - Campbell, Cristobal, etc.. There are reports that CDC wants someone with success at multiple stops. 

2. Those with one head coaching job - Fickell, Tom Allen, Bill Napier, etc. Herman and Strong were in this group when we hired them. Fickell seems really impressive, but it's hard to tell if that will translate. Tom Allen's job at Indiana is even more impressive. His record isn't as good, but IU is in the ISU tier of crappy jobs.

3. Those with no head coaching experience - Brent Venables, etc. I don't think CDC is even considering this group.

If CDC insists on group 1, Campbell seems the way to go. If you throw in group 2, there's some tough competition. If UM falls through, I wouldn't mind kicking the tires on Campbell, Fickell and Allen. Neither Fickell nor Allen lose to teams they shouldn't. Allen has a slight advantage because he's playing better competition and IU is blowing dominating teams with similar talent and hanging with/beating teams with much better talent.

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Can you think of a single great football coach at any level that would do the backpack thing to Drew Lock that Herman did? I can't.
Try to get a mental image of Dabo, Urban, Saban, Bellicheck, Payton, Tomlin, Carroll, etc. doing that and you'll realize what a caricature Tom Herman is.

That one really was the moment I started thinking Herman was going to fail. That is so wildly unbecoming of the coach at Texas that it’s hard to articulate. Especially when he began and ended his first season getting punked by inferior teams at home.

FWIW, Maryland 2018 was strike two and OU last year, which was an ass beating despite the score line, was the final straw.
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13 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

killing my buzz. so all the positive news and excitement of the past few days is all fan fiction? 

Of course. It all is made up. Like Burton said, it's not that he doesn't believe what his sources are repeating; it's that he doesn't believe what they themselves are hearing.

It's all a deliberate smokescreen for what's actually happening.

So nobody knows shit.

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Those stupid "so and so's wife is in town looking at real estate on the downlow" posts/insights need to stop. For every coaching hire--not just this one. Urban is a very rich man; could about to be richer. Austin is a very nice town where wealthy people live. His wife does not need to fly down there and look at houses. Without a doubt there are multi-million dollar homes available. This isn't like your uncle Bobby getting an offer to run a bait stand in Kilgore so he sends his sisterwife Betty Lou down to the trailer park to see if there are parking spots available with good shade left for them to jackup the trailer. Rich people will have rich people places to live in Austin. No one send a wife down to look. Stop with that crap. 

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Can you think of a single great football coach at any level that would do the backpack thing to Drew Lock that Herman did? I can't.
Try to get a mental image of Dabo, Urban, Saban, Bellicheck, Payton, Tomlin, Carroll, etc. doing that and you'll realize what a caricature Tom Herman is.

That one really was the moment I started thinking Herman was going to fail. That is so wildly unbecoming of the coach at Texas that it’s hard to articulate. Especially when he began and ended his first season getting punked by inferior teams at home.

FWIW, Maryland 2018 was strike two and OU last year, which was an ass beating despite the score line, was the final straw.
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3 minutes ago, Texasrocks said:

There are three distinct buckets of possible coaches:

1. Those with multiple head coaching stints - Campbell, Cristobal, etc.. There are reports that CDC wants someone with success at multiple stops. 

2. Those with one head coaching job - Fickell, Tom Allen, Bill Napier, etc. Herman and Strong were in this group when we hired them. Fickell seems really impressive, but it's hard to tell if that will translate. Tom Allen's job at Indiana is even more impressive. His record isn't as good, but IU is in the ISU tier of crappy jobs.

3. Those with no head coaching experience - Brent Venables, etc. I don't think CDC is even considering this group.

If CDC insists on group 1, Campbell seems the way to go. If you throw in group 2, there's some tough competition. If UM falls through, I wouldn't mind kicking the tires on Campbell, Fickell and Allen. Neither Fickell nor Allen lose to teams they shouldn't. Allen has a slight advantage because he's playing better competition and IU is blowing dominating teams with similar talent and hanging with/beating teams with much better talent.

I'm impressed that Allen kept it going after losing his OC, who I was interested in Texas hiring 

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7 minutes ago, Hiphopopotamos said:

 

How can anyone take an article seriously when he can't even do something as simple as take a look on youtube to see which way Dicker missed on the kick?

Dude said he missed wide right -  "... when Cameron Dicker’s 57-yard game-tying field goal hooked wide right." 

Journalisiming is hard.

 

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9 minutes ago, squib said:

Those stupid "so and so's wife is in town looking at real estate on the downlow" posts/insights need to stop. For every coaching hire--not just this one. Urban is a very rich man; could about to be richer. Austin is a very nice town where wealthy people live. His wife does not need to fly down there and look at houses. Without a doubt there are multi-million dollar homes available. This isn't like your uncle Bobby getting an offer to run a bait stand in Kilgore so he sends his sisterwife Betty Lou down to the trailer park to see if there are parking spots available with good shade left for them to jackup the trailer. Rich people will have rich people places to live in Austin. No one send a wife down to look. Stop with that crap. 

You must not be married.  

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