Fact or Fiction: Urban Meyer will take the Texas job
National recruiting director Mike Farrell and national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney tackle three topics daily and determine whether they believe the statements or not.
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1. Urban Meyer will take the Texas job.
Farrell’s take: FACT. I’ll be the crazy one here and say yes. There aren’t many jobs like Texas and Urban Meyer loves built-in advantages. He would have the home-state recruiting territory and financial backing to take Texas to the College Football Playoff. I don’t know anything about his health and how that factors in, but if there’s a job he’s going to take, it’s Texas. It’s too big to pass up.
Gorney’s take: FACT. According to OrangeBloods.com, representatives from Texas have met with Meyer and now only one question remains: Does Meyer want to coach again? No one knows the answer to that question, maybe not even Meyer himself, who I’m sure has the drive to get back on the sidelines and make Texas a national contender again but he is weighing significant health issues as well, which forced his retirement from Ohio State.
I covered Meyer for three years at Florida and the man is intense and solely focused on winning. He also drove himself into a frenzy and I’m not sure he can control that even as he’s gotten older. I’ve also been told it’s worn on Meyer that he retired from Ohio State under some negative circumstances surrounding the Zach Smith domestic abuse situation. To right that ship would be important.
Meyer is smart and savvy enough to only take a job where he could recruit easily, he would have the resources to win and at Texas he basically has to beat one team - Oklahoma - to get to the playoff. In the end, Meyer is a coach’s coach, he’s only 56 years old and if he can manage his health situation, I think he wants to get back to it. My guess is he will take the Texas job.
2. Brian Kelly will get NFL interest.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Everyone talks about Jim Harbaugh and the NFL or the Dabo Swinney rumors that make the rounds annually, but what about Brian Kelly? Remember when the Eagles wanted him badly many years back? There are going to be a lot of NFL openings and you know some franchises are going to come after him after another great coaching season. Will he leave? I doubt it, but he will be tempted.
Gorney’s take: FACT. For years there have been rumors that Kelly has wanted to try his hand at the NFL and it would be an interesting situation since he has done so incredibly well at Notre Dame and has smartly built this year’s team into a contender again. This might be his best coaching job yet. In a strange way, the only chance Kelly would leave South Bend after this season would be if Notre Dame wins it all. What else could he accomplish at the college level? NFL teams would be very smart to go after Kelly since he’s done so well on the college level.
3. Shane Beamer should be the coach at South Carolina.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. I like Shane Beamer and think he’s a solid coach and solid recruiter but South Carolina needs a home run on this hire and someone with head coaching experience. I know Sam Pittman has done well so far at Arkansas without previous head coaching experience, but that seems rare. Billy Napier or Jamey Chadwell would be better fits here for the Gamecocks having run programs.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Will Muschamp had previous coaching experience and look how that turned out in Columbia. Napier and Chadwell would be fine hires but I like Beamer because he’s coached at South Carolina before, he has been an excellent assistant coach for many years and big-time programs and this could be considered a dream job for him.
Across the state, Swinney had no real head coaching experience before he took over Clemson. When it’s right, it’s right. There will be a learning curve and South Carolina desperately needs to get better on offense, but Beamer makes the most sense.