10 Reasons Why Urban Meyer Could Replace Jim Tressel

By Tim Beilik - BlockONation Featured Contributor


Admittedly, I have been very critical of Urban Meyer in the past as evidenced here.

But considering the scandal surrounding Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, there is a chance the Vest will be forced out of his job.

Although he might not be considering resigning, the NCAA might force a show-cause ruling on Ohio State, all but forcing the university to let him go.

While Urban Meyer resigned his position as head coach at Florida due to health issues, he will almost certainly coach again, possibly at Ohio State.

Here's why:

10—Coaching in the Big 10 is less stressful than coaching in the SEC

Big Ten football fans don't want to admit it, but the amount of quality teams in the SEC is just higher than the Big Ten at this point, even with Nebraska.

For Meyer, most of his stress had to come with playing against a gauntlet week in and week out in the SEC schedule.

If he came to Ohio State, he would at least get a couple of cupcakes with Purdue and Indiana both in the Leaders Division with the Buckeyes.

While he will have to deal with the most volatile fanbase in college sports, the fact that Ohio State plays an overall lighter conference schedule than Florida might be appealing to Meyer if he's looking for a little less stressful October and November.

9—Ohio State can afford to pay him

It's no secret that Ohio State is quite the revenue powerhouse, annually finishing in the top three in athletic revenue in the NCAA.

In this case, whatever money Meyer might want, he might get as long as it's somewhat reasonable.

But for Ohio State, which has a nine-figure revenue, money is not exactly an object.

Jim Tressel already makes over $3.5 million. It's possible that when his career's over, Urban could get around $4 million as his replacement.

8—Meyer can recruit as well as Tressel

When Jim Tressel came to Ohio State, the first thing he did was build an iron fence around the state of Ohio making sure that he had his first choice of high school prospects.

Meyer is a more aggressive recruiter than Tressel in many different ways, but both men produce great results.

The difference between the two is that Meyer is better at getting guys at the end of the process, while Tress gets who he wants at the outset of recruiting.

But if Meyer gets the Buckeye coaching job eventually, there is no doubt they will still be bringing in the talent Buckeye Nation is accustomed to receiving year in and year out.

7—Surely, Meyer will coach again

Even though Meyer has stepped away from the game, he won't be gone forever.

At 46, Meyer may take some time to get his health back in check and be able to figure out how to manage his esophageal spasms.

Eventually, he will find a way back to the sidelines.

With Tressel's long-term Ohio State future in doubt, if and when Meyer is ready to to come back, Ohio State could be calling his name very soon.

6—Like Tressel, Meyer has been part of a winning culture

One thing Ohio State football does and does well is win games, both conference games and BCS games, especially in the previous two seasons.

Both Urban Meyer and Jim Tressel have been big winners in the past 10 seasons, with Tressel recording 106 victories and Meyer right behind at 104.

Meyer, like Tressel, knows how to win big games and has done that consistently as he rose through the ranks from BGSU, to Utah, to eventually top man at the University of Florida.

That type of personality and career would fit in beautifully with the culture of Ohio State football.

5—Meyer has a championship pedigree

Two SEC championships and two BCS national championships in his first four seasons as Florida head coach is a good start to anyone's career at a power conference school.

Meyer, like Jim Tressel, came in and replaced a coach underperforming with great talent, and led their teams to a national championship in their second season.

Tressel has not been able to win another one since, but Meyer did and came within one game from a third in four seasons.

Although Meyer will not have Tim Tebow in Columbus, he certainly has the ability to win a couple more national championships, especially with an easier road to get to the BCS each season.

4—Ohio State's cupboard is far from bare

Even with the Suspended Tat-Five out for most of the first half of the season, the Ohio State roster is still one of the more loaded groups in the country.

Ohio State has pulled in top five recruiting classes in three of the past four years, and could get another one this season with the home state full of blue-chip prospects, especially at defensive end and wide receiver.

The Buckeyes are one of the few programs that doesn't rebuild, but reloads year in and year out.

Urban Meyer in his first season, despite a schematic change from a pro-style attack to more of a spread look, could still be very good.

Which leads to the biggest difference between the Senator and Meyer...

3—More flash, same results

From a philosophical standpoint, Urban Meyer and Jim Tressel could not be any more different.

While we all know about the pros and most especially the cons of Tresselball, Meyer's gameplan is all about explosive plays and making big plays with frequency on both sides of the ball.

The only problem with that idea is that Meyer has been accused quite a bit of running up the score at certain times.

It may feel like the Cooper days if Meyer is hired at least from an offensive standpoint, but that would work best if he carried on the Tressel mentality when it comes to the Michigan games every year.

2—Braxton Miller

Although Braxton Miller may never reach the level of Tim Tebow, the thought of him being in Meyer's explosive spread offense could be very intriguing.

Miller, who enrolled at OSU in January and could start the first five games of the season, has that type of dual-threat ability that would make him dangerous in a spread-type offense.

While Miller is a very different player from most of the players Meyer has coached, he altered his offense to Tebow's skills. He can certainly work the offense to fit Miller's elusive running game.

If he can throw the ball well, the OSU offense under Meyer with Braxton operating out of the shotgun might be quite a dangerous thought for anyone to imagine.

1—Like Tressel, Meyer is a Buckeye at heart

In the same idea that Michigan had when they were looking for a "Michigan Man" to become head coach with Brady Hoke for this season, OSU would be considering something along those lines.

And oddly enough, Urban Meyer fits the model of an "Ohio State Man" almost to a T.

A native of Ashtabula, Ohio, Meyer was a lifetime OSU fan, a graduate student at the university and was a graduate assistant in the mid-80's under Earle Bruce.

Much like Brian Kelly at Notre Dame, Ohio State's coaching job is one of Meyer's dream jobs along with the Irish gig.

Whether or not Meyer opts to take the job whenever Tressel leaves Columbus remains to be seen (pending the outcome of the NCAA investigation).

But if he is able to overcome his health and personal problems, there may be a headset back in Ohio, at Ohio State, with his name on it very soon.


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How Does Jim Tressel Compare to Other Top Coaches?

by Tim Bielik
BlockONation Analyst



Any fan of college football cannot deny that Jim Tressel has returned Ohio State football to the powerhouse program status that has not been there since the Woody Hayes era.

He brought the Buckeyes their first national title since the Hayes era.

He made Ohio State the most dominant team in the Big Ten consistently during his tenure.

He has brought excitement back to Columbus and even created a cult following.

He has even popularized the sweater vest, something thought to be impossible in this fashion era.

But where does he rank among the best coaches in the country? Based on his record, some will argue that he belongs in the class of Pete Carroll and Nick Saban among others.

Others feel that the talent he has recruited has made him look better than he is.

But some factors contribute to making him one of the most talented and respected coaches.

One thing he does very well is managing egos. Except for Maurice Clarett, not many people get into off-field altercations in Columbus.

Tressel is well-recognized as a class act and often takes players to help give back to the community that supports the football program so much.

And in the state of Ohio, where football is most important, that means a lot to the fans.

Another thing he does well is recruit. Being the best football team in a state with an abundance of talented high school teams means that Tressel usually gets his first choice of in-state recruits.

Lately, he has made his strongest pushes out of state, challenging for big recruits from other states including Pennsylvania and Florida.

As a result, Tressel has pieced together such a talented group of young players that the Buckeyes reload constantly. This year could very well prove to be no exception.

Something else he has been able to do is adjust his style to his personnel, rather than the other way around.

A perfect example is differentiating 2006 with 2007.

In 2006, The Vest had Troy Smith at the helm, along with a slew of talented receivers including Ted Ginn Jr. That year, they had one of the more prolific offenses in the country for 12 of their 13 games of the season (obviously excluding Florida).

2007 was much different. Todd Boeckman took control of the huddle, and OSU had super sophomore RB Chris Wells ready to light up the Big Ten—and he did.

That year, OSU went back to their running roots, although they did air out deep bombs with some consistency.

Even defensively, he has made adjustments within the season. The beginning of 2008 saw a very passive defensive unit which did very little blitzing.

Midway through, the switch flipped and the defense changed personalities, become way more aggressive with the improved play of the defensive line.

Obviously, Tressel has not performed all that well in games against BCS teams in recent years. However, one can argue that Ohio State did not have the personnel to compete with those better teams.

Other coaches have cemented their reputations on winning countless titles and having dynasties.

Tressel has lost his last three BCS games. The only other coach that has lost more in a row among the recognized elites is Bob Stoops.

Meanwhile, for example, Pete Carroll has lost only one BCS game, and Urban Meyer remains undefeated in BCS games during his total coaching career at Utah and Florida.

But still, no one can deny that since Tressel has come to Columbus, Ohio State has been one of the best teams in the country in the past decade.

In the mind of this observer, coach Tressel clearly belongs in this elite tier of coaches in college football, right up there with the Pete Carroll's and Mack Brown's and Nick Saban's of the world.

His recent run in big games has hurt his reputation slightly, but he still among the best because of his image and how he has consistently turned out stellar teams.

One thing is for sure—He has already cemented his legacy in Ohio State football lore and might one day have a street named after him just like Woody Hayes.

Who knows, maybe there already is one...

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