There is not really enough data available on Urban Meyer to say he is a great coach in the big time yet. He has only been at UF two years. His accomplishments to date are impressive no doubt, but so were Terry Bowden's after his second season at AU. Les Miles has an identical record when it comes to wins and losses after 2 years at LSU.
There can be no doubt, however that the Gators have had a great year and should be congratulated for being picked for the BCS national championship despite finishing second in a two team race in Auburn, Alabama on October 14, 2006.
From where I sit, Meyer is a superb recruiter and excellent motivator. The defensive side of the ball is extremely well coached. At least one of those coaches, if memory serves correctly, was on the prior staff. But there is room for skepticism. On Saturday night, Meyer was also very lucky. The Arkansas's kick returner's choice to field that punt was one of the dumbest plays I have ever seen in a big time game. And it completely and irreparably altered the outcome in favor of the Gators in my view. And Meyer's strategy and preparation has not one thing to do with it. If that doesn't happen, Arky continues to enjoy the momentum and Meyer is out of timeouts with 18 plus minutes left in the game. Before that play, the Gators looked like a very disorganized team. Urban Meyer looked like a disorganized coach.
The Gators commit quite a few penalties and turnovers, which are not hallmarks of superior coaching. This season, however, the Gator D and special teams have been able to make up for that -- which gets booked on the asset side of the ledger.
He is a good coach and a significant improvement over his immediate predecessor. He may end up being a great coach. Time will tell.
year both here and at the VS when you gave him no credit and scorned my contention that he was a great coach. You were wrong then and you're wrong now. I'll leave it alone now.
