ESPN on Urban Meyer's Florida

An excellent read, if only because it documents something many of us knew. Meyer remains one of the best strategic and recruiting coaches there is. It remains to be seen if his approach to getting his teams ready, and his willingness to tolerate...activities...that other programs won't, has changed at Ohio State.

The one thing that stood out to me is the Legend of Tebow being a bit debunked, in that

The quarterback's presence as the team's leader was stronger on television than in reality. On TV, he was the alpha dog. In the locker room, he was one of several players in leadership roles.Tebow's famed "Promise" speech after the Ole Miss loss is now celebrated with a plaque outside The Swamp. What went untold: wide receiver Louis Murphyconsoling a sobbing Tebow minutes before that speech, assuring him Florida would win out.

There is no doubt that Florida team was stacked with talent and was the best coached/prepared team in the nation. That is the part of Urban Meyer's genius that makes him one of the best college coaches of all time. The article does a great job or lifting the carpet to show the dirt that Agent Muschamp was tasked with cleaning up.

And after reading the article, I think you'll find there is no wonder Urban Meyer wanted out. He created a monster and would have probably consumed him, and his career, if he'd stayed on that course.

Meyer stressed core values -- respect women, no stealing, no drugs, no weapons -- and even sent graduate assistants to clubs to monitor players. Eventually, though, some players said they sensed a strategy of damage control from Meyer. "Get guys to Saturday," Brown said.
"Keep guys out of the press."Too often, Gators players acted "too big-headed" and had problems with locals at nightclubs, Haden said. That led to fights and brushes with the law.Influences were everywhere when players left the facility. Gators received perks and meals here and there in Gainesville, some players say. Agents would stalk the dorm rooms of top players.

Compelling read.
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