Nick Saban, October December 21, 2007 2006:
“I guess I have to say it. I’m not going to be the Alabama coach. … I don’t control what people say. I don’t control what people put on dot-com or anything else. So I’m just telling you there’s no significance, in my opinion, about this, about me, about any interest that I have in anything other than being the coach here.”
Urban Meyer, July 13, 2009:
“I’m not going to Notre Dame. Ever. I’m going to be the coach at Florida for a long time, as long as they want me.”
I know that Gator Nation will seize upon every syllable of that comment as the equivalent of an etched-in-stone guarantee. And who knows? Maybe it’ll turn out that way.
In the short run, look at the bright side, Gator fans: at least it should keep Matt Elam in the fold.
Get The Picture 
So this story makes Richt a liar, correct? If Uga can’t sell its future under the auspices of a Meyer-less UF, I guess he’s screwed!
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That’s the pot calling the kettle black. Like CUM has lied wow.
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Like Richt did not issue a long lie at SEC Media Days explaining the unsportsman like conduct penalties. Richt is like Bowden, a liar hiding behind a steeple.
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Meyer will be runnoft from the Gators just like Spurrier who commented upon leaving Florida for the Redskins:
“Once you set the standards so high, if you don’t reach that level, it seems like you’re going backward,” Spurrier said in a special edition of The Gainesville Sun. “We’ve hung around near the top.”
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The magnitude of the surprise reminded Foley of a conversation he had with a former Florida athletic director, Bill Carr, who guided the department in the days before the Gators became what they are.
“He told me, ‘Steve will leave when you least expect it,”‘ Foley said. “Boy, I sure thought about Bill Carr this morning after I picked myself up off the floor.”
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To the classy Gator commenters – you’re missing my point here. I take Meyer at his word when he says he’s not going.
But I don’t think Saban was lying in the beginning, either.
My only point is that things change. These guys are hard driven egotists. None of us have a real clue what motivates them over their careers.
To believe that comment settles it for good… well, I’ve got some beachfront property in Hahira for sale that’s perfect for you.
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Never is an awfully long time, but rather than Saban’s in Miami, the better quote comparison would be:
“I am the head coach at LSU. I will be the head coach at LSU. I have no interest in talking to anybody else.”
-Les Miles, Dec. 1, 2007
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Senator, classy Gator fans=one of the best examples of an oxymoron possible. I don’t really care much about UF or whether “Corch Meyers” stays or not. They are just another good SEC team we have to work through every year. No one owns this conference, and never has. There have been several periods where one team gets a mini-streak going and wins 2, 3, or 4 straight SEC titles, but something always humbles them soon after. Florida has now won one in a row. They need to get some perspective.
Pretty much full of themselves these days so let them enjoy their days in the sun, there will be black clouds there again before long. In the meantime, they have shown the difference in how new money acts versus those who have been there before.
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I know Meyer has developed other QB’s (Alex Smith…and we all know how well he turned out), but I will not judge the Meyer era at Florida as a success until he has done it without Tebow and Mullen.
There is no question that Tebow is a once a decade kind of player…though I hate his living guts…and everyone seems to think there will be a smooth transition with Mullen gone. I’m just saying that if Tebow had gone to, say, Florida State…they would have been in the MNC mix the last 3 years. We haven’t really seen the “coaching” of Urban Meyer in a Tebow-less universe.
We will soon know what kind of coach he is and if the Florida faithful are ok with that.
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Senator, with all due respect, the Saban situation was apples and oranges. He was a college coach in the NFL who wanted back in. Just so happened that Bama gave him that opportunity. He has also said that he would not have made the move from LSU to Bama. To my knowledge, Meyer is not similarly frustrated with his current arrangement in G’ville. To the contrary, he and his wife talk about how happy they are at every turn.
Also, I guess we Gator fans were thrown off a little by your suggestion that we look at the “bright side” when to Gator fans, there doesn’t appear to be a dark side. If you take him at his word, and in absence of any substantive evidence of him leaving (ie, an actual job opening for starters), then Richt’s line to recruits is recklessly irresponsible at best and dishonest at worst. Besides, he’s the one reported by some to be on the hot seat. A much stronger argument could be made that UF’s coaching situation is much more stable.
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Please point to me actual proof that Mark Richt ever said that about Urban Meyer that doesn’t include Paul Finebaum on the radio. I’m sorry, but if you believe everything Finebaum says then as the good Senator would say, “I’ve got some beachfront property in Hahira for sale that’s perfect for you.”
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First off, does anyone know for sure that Richt is the one making these statements about Meyer leaving? I’m not saying he’s not, but if he is, it would be completely out of character with the way he has recruited since he came to UGA.
Secondly, I don’t think UF fans want to be pointing any fingers about tall-tales told by coaches on the recruiting front. After all, we all know Tebow wasn’t really being recruited as a linebacker.
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Third, as legitimate as “reported by some” is, I’ll bet you dollars to donuts Richt is on absolutely no version of a hot seat whatsoever.
Richt has a #2 finish and a #3 finish….you gotta catch some breaks (like USC losing to UCLA or OSU) and Richt hasn’t yet.
He’s increasing the profile of the program without any “1% of 1%” bullshit and without the undying love of the 4 letter.
It took Bowden forever to win a title, then he won another one. It took Paterno forever, then he won two. It took Tom Osborne forever, then he won 3.
When he gets the right team, the right schedule, and the right breaks, he’ll win one–then all the d-bag opponents’ fans will move on to something else.
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Wouldn’t it be great if the comments came from Mullen trying to generate some heat at MSU.
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Also, I’m sorry, but the idea that anyone overwhelmed with pressure at their current coaching stop would look to fly under the radar at ND, like it’s some sleepy little college town with modest expectations of the team, is laughable.
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On the Bright Side, no need to apologize before rebutting someone else’s idea. Say it with conviction!
While I would love to see Meyer leave Florida of his own accord, it simply is not happening. Not now and not anywhere in the near future. He’s on top of the college football world right now. He’s got Florida at the top of the game again. He’d be out of his mind to leave for a slow, stagnant program that’s stuck in the past worse than the good folks of Alabama. What can he prove/accomplish there that he cannot at Florida? Nothing. No, I see the end of Corch Meyers’ Florida tenure as something less than that. He doesn’t want to pull a Steve Spurrier, so the NFL is out. I see him more likely to pull Phil Fulmer. With expectations now so high, somewhere down the line, he’s bound to hit bottom. But, again, not for the forseeable future, unfortunately (Although I do predict a UGA win in Jax this year).
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“Just wait until Meyer / Tebow / Spikes / Wuerrfel / Spurrier / Strong / Doering leaves! Then we’ll show those Gators who’s boss!”
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Fair enough, but Tebow leaving Florida is like Herschel leaving Georgia. He is so far and above those others you mention that its likely to have a significant impact.
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Just wait until Pete Hermann leaves! Then I’ll show those Dawgs who’s boss!
(I might even make the NCAAs again!)
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Someone insulted the Precious on the internet! Waaaah!
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I have no dog in this fight, but I think it’s interesting that all the Dawg fans put no stock in the rumor that Richt has been feeding recruits this story but are just as happy to buy into/perpetuate the rumor that Meyer is going to leave. And they come from the same source, no less. Meyer comes out with a pretty unequivocal statement today, much stronger than anything Saban ever offered, and the spin is that he’s just playing coy. Perhaps I’m mistaken, but the point of the Senator’s original post appears to be that since Saban lied (despite reports agents were simultaneously working behind the scenes), Meyer might be too. Not that compelling.
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You are, in fact, mistaken. As the Senator just stated above, his point was that Saban believed he would not be the coach at Alabama. However, something changed and he decided to coach Alabama. The same could happen with Meyer. A simple change of heart.
Don’t take one guy’s comment as speaking for the whole Bulldog Nation. I for one, have no problem believing that Mark Richt may use a rumor as a selling point. I’d be mad if he didn’t. That’s just the way the recruiting game works.
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Ben in Georgia, the rub with the Saban thing is that reporters kept forcing the issue because it was discovered his agents were negotiating behind the scenes. It may be the case that he wasn’t sure, I suppose, but he got flat out indignant at the mere question when in fact there was good reasons to be asking. The only crime Meyer seems to have committed was being overly flattering of ND.
I agree with you on the recruiting angle. Richt should be doing it – it’s obviously working. As a Cane fan, I hope Shannon is taking notes.
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You’ve misread my post, MP. I take Meyer at his word. I just find it interesting that anyone can believe that he means it forever.
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Well, if that’s the standard, then every coach in the country has to be considered a one-and-done possibility. I’m sure Richt has said some nice things about Miami and FSU. What makes him any less likely to move than Meyer?
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Richt’s two possible “dream job” options have had an opening since he became coach at UGA (Miami) or already have a head coach in waiting (FSU).
Whether Notre Dame is the ultimate destination for Meyer or not, you have to believe that if Weis doesn’t work out they’ll be trying to back a Brinks truck into Gainesville based on his previous statements.
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My point exactly.
Ultimately these coaches are going to do what’s in their best interests – not that I blame them for that, necessarily. It’s foolish for any fan base to take what they say as gospel.
And let’s face it, the real reason Meyer is being so forceful about this right now isn’t because he feels some need to proclaim his love to the Florida folks. It’s because the Notre Dame rumor is impacting recruiting.
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By the way, Senator, I love the site. I’m relatively new to it, but have quickly made it a regular stop. Good lord, the season can’t get here quick enough.
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Thanks for the praise. I share your impatience about the season, too.
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Pissy bunch, aren’t they?
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Maybe my timeline is off, but wasn’t Nick Saban already the head coach at Alabama on October 21, 2007 or was he not the coach when we played them on September 22nd, 2007?
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My bad. Thanks for catching that.
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Still seems a little off because Shula wasn’t fired until November/December ’06.
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My brain deserted me on that date, what can I say?
Thanks for the correction.
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