Urban renewal: in two seasons Urban Meyer built Utah into a top 10 program and guided them to a BCS Bowl game--the first for a non-BCS conference school.COACH: When you were growing up in Ashtabula, Ohio
Ashtabula is a city in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States, and the center of the Ashtabula Micropolitan Statistical Area (as defined by the United States Census Bureau in 2003). , how did your father influence your love of sports? MEYER: You had no choice; you were involved in something. There was no such thing as working after school or coming home and watching television. You had to be involved, whether it was academics, music, sports, whatever. And going to watch the Cleveland Browns
COACH: You signed a professional baseball contract with the Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From to the present, the Braves have played in Turner Field. and played in the minor leagues before being injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. and eventually released. How did that experience affect you? MEYER: I didn't really take advantage of that. It was not a positive experience. I was the youngest guy drafted; I was 17. Like a lot of people, I thought I was a great player in high school. I found out I was not as great as I thought. I have great respect for the guys who made it. It's hard, demanding--not a pleasant lifestyle in the minors. COACH: You've also said that playing on a bad football team at the University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati is a coeducational public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ranked as one of America’s top 25 public research universities and in the top 50 of all American research universities,[2] influenced you. How so? MEYER: It was a negative experience. I learned how not to do things. That was a non-committed football team, a team and a program that had no idea how to win. I went to Ohio State and became a graduate assistant, which was fortunate for me. COACH: What made you realize that coaching was what you really wanted to do? MEYER: I was fortunate to be around a great coaching staff in high school. My junior and senior years, to this day, were two of the greatest years of my life. So I wanted to stay in football as long as I could, and few of us can do that as players. I knew coaching was the only way to do that. COACH: Not every assistant coach aspires to become a collegiate head coach. What motivated you in that direction and how did you know you were ready to take over at Bowling Green Bowling Green. 1 City (1990 pop. 40,641), seat of Warren co., S Ky., on the Barren River; inc. 1812. It is a shipping and marketing center for an area producing tobacco, corn, livestock, and dairy items. at age 36? MEYER: Two years before that, while I was at Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame , I was contacted by another Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a college athletic conference with a membership base that stretches from New York to Illinois. Nine of the 12 full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members also located in Illinois, Indiana and New York. school. I didn't feel like I was ready. I certainly didn't want to take on something like that if I wasn't prepared. Two years later, coaches I respect like Bob Davie People named Bob Davie include:
COACH: You worked at Illinois State, Colorado State, and Notre Dame as an assistant coach. What career advice would you give to assistant coaches at various levels who are looking to move up? MEYER: It's disturbing when I've got people who have good jobs calling me for jobs. The best way to get a job is to do a good job where you are. I won't hire someone who calls like that. That's a great failure of college coaches. COACH: What did you learn in your first year at Bowling Green that will stick with you? MEYER: We didn't have the highest-paid coaching staff--far from it. We had guys making $35,000 a year. But it was the best staff I've ever been around, the most unselfish, hardest-working group. So I learned to surround myself with great people. COACH: How will coaching at Florida compare to Bowling Green and Utah? MEYER: Is it a high-pressure job? Yes. I'll be all honest with you, with what happened at Ole Miss and Notre Dame, they're all high-pressure jobs. It is what it is. You'd better be successful. COACH: How will the Gators' players, such as quarterback Chris Leak Christopher Leak (born May 3, 1985 in Charlotte, North Carolina) is an American football quarterback. In 2006, he led the Florida Gators to a 13-1 record, which culminated with a BCS Championship 41-14 victory over the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. , fit into your offensive scheme? MEYER: There is no "offense." The offense is molded around the personnel we have. It's adaptable--and it has to be adaptable. COACH: What kind of player and person are you looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. in a high school recruit? MEYER: The biggest thing you look for is athleticism. Nine times out of 10, the fastest team wins. The other thing is dependability, someone you can count on. That means character. COACH: How do you view the role of a head football coach, as influenced by people you've worked for like Earle Bruce, Sonny Lubick Sonny Lubick is the head football coach at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. In his fourth decade as collegiate football coach, the 2006 season will mark Lubick's 14th year at the helm of a Colorado State program that he built from virtually the ground up. , Lou Holtz This article is about the American football coach; for other people named Lou Holtz, see Lou Holtz (disambiguation). Louis Leo Holtz (born on January 6, 1937 in Follansbee, West Virginia) is an author, television commentator, motivational speaker, and former NCAA football head , and Bob Davie? MEYER: The organizer. You're the man everyone looks to for the schedule and everything. The best way to have your players lose confidence in you is to be disorganized dis·or·gan·ize tr.v. dis·or·gan·ized, dis·or·gan·iz·ing, dis·or·gan·iz·es To destroy the organization, systematic arrangement, or unity of. . Your job is to hire the best, most qualified people. And you're the motivator. COACH: So how do you try to motivate players? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MEYER: You have to be creative nowadays. There are a lot of human elements involved in this thing. The reward factor is very important, whether it's giving out mesh shorts, a "Hit Squad hit squad n. Slang 1. A squad or team of hired executioners, as one organized for carrying out a political assassination. 2. A group of political terrorists. Noun 1. " hat, or a hug in front of your teammates. COACH: How much responsibility do you feel for your players' off-the-field behavior and how do you monitor them? MEYER: A lot of coaches believe it's not their responsibility. I disagree. I think it's 100% our responsibility. Every person has to be accountable. Fear is a great motivator. There have to be consequences. COACH: Along those lines, how concerned are you about the image of teams you coach and how do you try to improve it? MEYER: I'm more concerned than most. Most coaches say they don't read the newspapers. I read the newspapers. I want to know the perception of our team. I talk to faculty and I talk to students. If there's an issue, I'm very proactive. COACH: What do you view as the biggest challenge for any Division I-A head coach? MEYER: It's the monitoring of his team. Just recruiting three bad kids can destroy a program. And it goes back to hiring good people. The staffs I've been able to put together are the best. COACH: Your four-record of 38-8 at Bowling Green and Utah was phenomenal, including an 11-0 regular season with the Utes in 2004. What have you done at those schools that other coaches at any level could apply? MEYER: It's almost comical com·i·cal adj. 1. Provoking mirth or amusement; funny. 2. Of or relating to comedy. com : People think it's just because we run the shovel pass or something. If they want to see what this program's made of, show up in February and see how invested and committed our players are. The games are the reward. The most important time is the off-season. COACH: How does playing in a Bowl Championship Series game help change the perception of Utah and other mid-major football schools? MEYER: The thing about the whole BCS (1) (The British Computer Society, Swindon, Wiltshire, England, www.bcs.org) The chartered body for information technology professionals in the U.K., founded in 1957. is I lost three coaches last year to BCS schools because I couldn't pay them what BCS schools are paying them. When you lose a recruit to someone and you have better facilities, better academics, better location, and they say they're going there because they're BCS, well, I guess we're 'BCS' now. So that's the only negative I have toward the whole BCS. COACH: How do programs at the Mountain West Conference level compare with those playing for the national championship? MEYER: You have a couple elite of the elites ... everyone else can win at any time. If you don't believe that, then you don't understand college football, because every other coach believes that. COACH: You've been at both extremes in this profession. Is it more difficult to coach in a program where losing is expected, or one where winning is expected, even demanded? MEYER: Before this year, I would have said it's much easier to coach in a situation where you're expected to do well. This was a tough year, as far as anxiety and pressure--people thought it was easy, but there was a lot of that. Still, if you're in a place where they pick you last, that means you don't have good players. If I had my druthers druth·ers pl.n. Informal A choice or preference: "Given their druthers, these hell-for-leather free marketeers might sell the post office" George F. Will. , I'd rather be expected to do well, because that means you have good players. COACH: How much energy will it take to be launching your third program in five years? MEYER: A lot. (But) it's over. I'm not doing this again. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] INTERVIEW BY KURT KRAGTHORPE, Columnist, Salt Lake Tribune URBAN'S LEGEND Year School Assignment Bowl Experience 1986 Ohio State Tight ends (Grad. Asst.) Cotton Bowl 1987 Ohio State Receivers (Grad. Asst.) 1988 Illinois State Outside Linebackers 1989 Illinois State Quarterbacks/Wide Receivers 1990 Colorado State Wide Receivers Freedom Bowl 1991 Colorado State Wide Receivers 1992 Colorado State Wide Receivers 1993 Colorado State Wide Receivers 1994 Colorado State Wide Receivers Holiday Bowl 1995 Colorado State Wide Receivers Holiday Bowl 1996 Notre Dame Wide Receivers 1997 Notre Dame Wide Receivers Independence Bowl 1998 Notre Dame Wide Receivers/Special Teams Gator Bowl 1999 Notre Dame Wide Receivers 2000 Notre Dame Wide Receivers Fiesta Bowl 2001 Bowling Green Head Coach 2002 Bowling Green Head Coach 2003 Utah Head Coach Liberty Bowl 2004 Utah Head Head Coach Fiesta Bowl bid Head Coaching Record 2001 Bowling Green: 8-3 overall, 5-3 conference 2002 Bowling Green: 9-3 overall, 6-2 conference 2003 Utah: 10-2 overall, 6-1 conference 2004 Utah: 11-0 overall, 7-0 conference |
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