Football

Enough Reading Between the Sidelines on Meyer

by James Vogel

Urban Meyer is an emotional man. He always has been.

When something goes wrong, like any coach, he can react in the most absurd way possible.

When something goes well, he celebrates with the occasional double victory punch or throwing his hands in the air.

A game is a roller coaster of emotion for Meyer, and this isn’t new. He has always coached this way. With passion and emotion. And yes, sometimes to a fault.

Over the last few months, Meyer’s reactions and body language have been put under a microscope for numerous reasons. Covered in scandal and controversy, many are proclaiming that his time in Columbus may be coming to an end over.

They use the past as prologue.

At the end of his Florida run, Meyer had a health scare resulting in his departure from college football after the 2010 season.

At least for a moment.

We all know the story. People said that Meyer left because things got too difficult, causing him to run away from the big, bad Nick Saban and the rise of the dominant SEC. Arguably Urban Meyer’s own creation.

Now, people are saying the same thing. Urban Meyer is going to leave Ohio State because the Big Ten is becoming tough to compete in. Again, Meyer’s own creation.

During the matchup this year against Indiana, in the 4th quarter, Meyer fell to his knees due to pain from a brain cyst. This is something Meyer has been struggling with for over two decades, but the health scare is used as evidence that he is going to “fake another health issue to get out because things are getting too hard.”

Along with the cyst, people are pointing at his reactions and body language during games as further proof.

This all came to a peak this past Saturday against Maryland where seemingly in between every play the camera was on Meyer looking for his reactions. A Truman Show-type experience. He looked, at times, in pain, confused, stressed, with the occasional celebration.

And Twitter took notice.

People like to diagnose Meyer’s reactions, but keep in mind he has been doing the “hands on his knees” and looking dejected since he arrived at Ohio State. It is more pronounced this year, there is no denying that, but it is nothing new.

For example, Twitter used a moment during the Maryland game when during a timeout in the fourth quarter in the red zone, Meyer had his hands on his knees looking down outside the huddle where his players and coaches were planning the next play.

People used that as an example of Meyer not being well. If you have been to a few Ohio State games since his arrival, you would have seen that he has done this for years. This isn’t new. He is talking to assistants up in the booth, gathering his thoughts. It’s just microscope talk.

When Meyer reacted in a similar manner in 2014 as he watched Ohio State lose at home to Virginia Tech – the Buckeyes’ third loss in four games — no one cared.

When Meyer couldn’t stop touching his head in a loss to Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship in 2013, no one reacted because there were no known health issues.

When Meyer threw his headset during the Alabama game like he did against Maryland, no one reacted because his team wasn’t underperforming all season long.

I don’t know what will happen with Meyer after this season.

I have my theories on why he will be back.

But I know right now it doesn’t help diagnosing Urban’s body language under a microscope because this is how he has always reacted.

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7 Responses

  1. Meyers problems with his assistants under-performing is of his own doing. Rather than get young assistants and developing them as he used to do, he is now get hired guns, ie ex-head coaches. They are EX-head coaches for a reason. I hope this is his last year here, as I think he would be doing the university and himself a disservice otherwise. Go Bucks!

  2. Timely article, Urban is a man who wants to win, but his less than outstanding assistants have put him in a bad spot, so he’s carrying far more than his load. He also knows that this team is capable of far more, hence the sideline stress. Our rant against our D is justifiable, but like a broken record, our D did what it needed to do to make this a much different game. However, Dobbin’s fumble, Haskins ill advised pass and fumble and a botched Punt D that Urban knew he blew was really a 28 point swing; Walk through a key 20 minutes of Saturday’s nail biter.
    OUR D GOT THE BALL BACK WITH 1:30+ BEFORE HALF
    So, No Dobbin’s fumble, it’s 24-24 at half.
    OUR D SLAMMED THE DOOR.
    No pick 6, we’re not down 31-24, but our next score it’s OSU 31-24.
    OUR D SLAMMED THE DOOR
    Haskins fumble at midfield and that drive could of made it 38 to 24 or at least 34-24.
    OUR D SLAMMED THE DOOR and the O tied the game.
    The next MD drive, we didn’t stop that punt as Urban blew it and knew he blew it as immediately on the sidle line, he admitted it, “It’s on me!” OSU’s O caught fire could have made it 45 to 24.
    Maryland passing game then became a remake of Joe Montana to Jerry Rice.
    Our D did have a terrific goal line stance and that pass interference was more a phantom then reality, after holding them for basically 6 plays, MD FUMBLED THE BALL, and RECOVERED in the end zone.

    OSU does have stretches when the D catches fire and the O can dump on 21-35 pts. or so that flips leads and turns the game. OSU has not done that this year! That is what we have been missing and that can be documented back to the PUR. loss and we can document many games over the years since Urban and been here and we did just that! Mark my words that WILL BE A KEY against MI.

  3. Reminds me of Thad mattes last two years! Team is not well coached! Worst Ohio state defense I’ve ever seen!

  4. if he loses this Saturday…???…

    1. That would make him 6-1 against TSUN and terrific and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

  5. I look like this as I watch every game, and I don’t even have headaches!

  6. Good article. Urban is under the microscope right now due to the gift that keeps on giving aka Zach Smith. If this team doesn’t make you cuss and throw things then nothing will. It makes me cuss and throw things and none of us are anywhere near as vested in this thing as Urban is. Figure out how to make the defense be somewhere close to decent for JUST ONE GAME this Saturday if that’s even possible and turn Haskins loose and we have a chance to extend the streak. Hopefully we see good weather Saturday which won’t impact the passing game and that both Gary and Goldilocks are out due to the beating Indiana put on them last Saturday.

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