So, somehow, people still don’t see a problem with hiring Urban Meyer to coach ND. Despite the numerous articles outlining all the issues, on and off the field at UF, some people just don’t see any issues with considering him as a potential hire for ND (now, later, whenever). So these Urban supporters say that we just want ‘a bunch of choirboys’ and we should ‘get with the times’ – implying that we just don’t know any better, that this is just how it IS today. Sorry folks, on this issue, we will disagree time and again.
ND is held to (or should be held to) a higher standard – by the school administration, by the students, by the fans, and by the media (big time). I don’t mind that one bit. If Notre Dame isn’t going to stand for something better than the lowest common denominator, who’s going to? And anyway, can you just IMAGINE if an ND player was arrested for wielding an AK-47, and that player was let back on the team? The headlines of “Tarnished Dome” would go on for infinity on the interwebs. Can you IMAGINE if an ND player was caught using a dead person’s credit card for fun and games??? It would hurt the program, but more importantly it would hurt the school. It would change what we stand for, what we aim to be. It would fundamentally injure the strong, faith-based morality upon which the Dome was built. But these criminal acts are the things that happen under Urban Meyer. Not could happen, or might happen, these things HAVE happened. And they’re okay at a place like Florida, and at most schools (which is just sad). But they’re not okay at ND, which is why Urban Liar is not okay for ND. So without further ado, here are the files on Meyer. I am 100% sure I don’t get it all here, but feel free to add links in the comments with any additions, and we’ll edit accordingly.
The Relatively Benign
Somewhat shady things that make Urban look to be kind of a jerk, but really aren’t as big as all the bajillion arrests. (Just a note that I realize that some of these are small, that lots of coaches negative recruit, etc, so please don’t comment about how ‘all coaches do that’ and use that to refute the litany of other things that will accompany this section. Thanks.)
1) Meyer Lies to Recruits. Meyer lies to Trattou and Hunter about ND, and gets them to keep their switch to UF silent as long as possible. I hate linking to Bleacher Report, but it was the only article I found that covered both of these situations. The best part was when Meyer just promised Omar Hunter that his DL coach would still be there, no matter what. Then, the day after signing day, he’s gone to the NFL. Just great. Stand up guy there.
2) Meyer Breaks NCAA Rules. Even ESPN was calling Urban out on potential recruiting violations in the recent past. In this instance, Urban was illegally recruiting WR Carl Moore and his girlfriend as a package deal to UF.
“I used to talk to him every day back in November when he was recruiting Carl,” Smith told the Gainesville Sun. “He kept asking how Carl was doing, and [he] wanted me to come here and do gymnastics.”
The ‘calling everyday’ thing is also a no-no. Course, it was shrugged off and largely ignored by the NCAA.
3) Meyer Lies to Another Recruit. In the same article, a UM commit talked about how Meyer told him that his own future coaches were saying that he should go to Florida. Shockingly, this turned out to be false.
“He told me that he talked to Coach [Lloyd] Carr and Coach Soup [Erik Campbell] and that they told him that I would be a much better fit in the Florida offense than I would be in the one at Michigan. I thought, wow, my coaches are selling me out? I confronted them about it. I asked Coach Carr and Coach Soup about it and they said they never talked to that guy and that there was no way they ever said anything like that and that they think I should be a Wolverine. I believed them. Right then, I knew just how Florida rolled.”
Yep, that’s how Urban rolls.
4) Meyer Skirts NCAA Rules on Recruiting. Again. Same article. Urban uses Tebow to recruit during the Heisman ceremony.
Meyer was at the Heisman Trophy presentation in New York with Tebow and dialed up Moore right after his QB won the trophy.
According to the Bee story, Meyer handed the cell phone to Tebow. “Carl!” the Florida quarterback practically yelled to the Sierra College receiver planted on his mother’s couch near Placerville, “I just won the Heisman! Come on down here, and let’s win a national championship!”
Again, nothing big, but we’re just getting warmed up here.
5) Meyer Lies to Jevan Snead. The infamous Urban Liar original, where Meyer told Jevan Snead that he was recruiting Tim Tebow as a linebacker. HA. Hilarious. Detailed in Bruce Feldman’s “Meat Market”, it’s a pretty funny story actually. But he’s a liar.
6) Meyer Loses out on Recruit, Tries to Sabotage the Recruit’s Admission to LSU. NCAA secondary violations, negative recruiting, etc. “Eh, everyone does that” right? Well, do all coaches try to screw a kid over with admissions when he picks another school?
Johnson said Florida had no problem with his academic eligibility when he first scored his ACT. It wasn’t until after he decided to attend LSU that Urban Meyer had one of his assistant coaches contact the NCAA. ACT officials subsequently reviewed his test results at their request and “flagged” his October score.
“I’m not upset, Urban is” Johnson said. “Florida made an issue about the ACT score. They’re cowards. He had to go behind my back when things didn’t go his way. But that’s OK. What goes around comes around.”
The Serious, But Not Completely Insane
So all of the following comes from a bunch of sources, but I’m just going to link to this one here because it’s a nice concise run-down. I’ll group them a bit differently, but it’s a good run-down of all 24 (AGAIN, 24!) arrests since Meyer took over at UF. (Note: We did a similar run-down in 2007, comparing UF to the Cincy Bengals and all their off-field troubles at the time. That is here.)
The following are all arrests (okay, technically they weren’t all put in cuffs but they were all served papers and charged with some form of crime so we’re going with this as the definition of arrest okay?), but these are not the really crazy ones. Urban’s handling of these is questionable in some cases, and the arrests themselves say something about his leadership, the culture he creates within a program and recruiting scruples (or lack thereof). These aren’t the big dogs though – it’s not all that shocking in CFB today (again, sad) that these occur. Maybe more just the absolute VOLUME of them. It’s pretty ridiculous. Note that this is largely a summary of the linked article above with a few notes and caveats from the HLS perspective. Also note that I’m numbering by people, not events, so you’ll see mutliple arrests within a number. (In other words, don’t count the numbers and wonder why it doesnt add up to 24…)
7) Tony Joiner is arrested for felony theft for deciding to go get his girlfriend’s car out of a tow lot without anyone’s permission at 4 am. Joiner was a captain when it happened, but Meyer stripped him of that (oooooooh, take that! all you’re gonna do is steal back your GF’s car? that’s not the kind of leadership we need here!). He didn’t miss any playing time.
8 ) Torrey Davis is arrested for a misdemeanor driving with a suspended license. Repeatedly. Was considered to be ‘in the dog house’ and ended up in jail.
9) Riley Cooper got cited for a misdemeanor resisting arrest and failure to comply with cops’ requests. No one knows if Cooper got punished at all. You know my guess.
10) Carl Johnson got on a bus with his ex-girlfriend, who had a restraining order out against the dude. Misdemeanor violation there, as he had been accused of 3 counts of date rape. He never missed time, as the case was dropped.
11) Dawayne Grace faced charges of misdemeanor battery and theft. The first time. The second time he got busted for midemeanor violation of a city ordinance and disorderly conduct, and he did community service. SHOCKING HEADLINE OF THE YEAR: Urban actually suspended him. For the year. (Hmmmm, wonder why he gets the book thrown at him, while other guys don’t….could it be, maybe, playing time? I mean, Brandon Spikes got a half game right? Hmmmmm….)
12) Jon Demps drove with a suspended license as well. Then he got busted for possession of the Weed. Booted from the team after the second violation.
13) Louis Murphy liked the happy weed too, and got busted for having it on his person. He was suspended for 3 games.
14) Brandon James got busted while buying the happy weed, which is a felony. And of course he had some on him, so he got the misdemeanor possession too. Meyer suspended James for a, SHOCKING, single entire game. Against Western Kentucky.
15) John Curtis violated his probation by skipping out on community service. This is a misdemeanor as well. Curtis didn’t play much, but had been hurt anyway.
16) Dorian Munroe got busted for felony theft when he pulled a boot off his car. HA. That one is just funny. Nothing came down from Meyer on this one.
The Serious
These are even more startling – that they happened at all, and that they often didn’t result in much of a punishment from Liar.
17) Avery Atkins was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery of his girlfriend/baby mama. Also charged with felony false imprisonment. Meyer suspended him.
18) Dustin Doe got involved in a big old fight and then got busted for misdemeanor resisting arrest. Charges were eventually dropped, so nothing from Urban.
19) Jermaine Cunningham got busted for misdemeanor battery for beating up a guy behind the counter at a Jimmy John’s. On a personal note, that’s just wrong! How do you go after a dude that serves you such a delicious sandwich? Anyway, Cunningham missed no time, and played in the Capital One bowl. Meyer imposed ‘physical punishment’. “Yeah, man, you can’t beat up sandwich dudes! We’re coming down HARD on you. What? No, of course you’ll play in the bowl game. But you don’t get the free watch, and you gotta run some LAPS! So take that!”
20) Jacques Rickerson got busted for having the weed on him to rack up a nice lil’ misdemeanor. Those charges were dropped, so of course just a 1 game suspension punishment from Meyer. But then the guy got caught for felony domestic violence by strangulation. DUDE STRANGLED HIS GIRL. And, just to top it off, felony obstruction of justice. Meyer booted him from the team, because at that point he just didn’t have a choice. “Sorry kid, I really wish I didn’t have to”.
21) Cam Newton got busted for all kinds of felonies. Burglary. Larceny. Obstruction of justice. He was suspended for the rest of the season. If he had only just gotten the 1 burglary charge, he probably could’ve stuck around, but…
22) Marquis Hannah got busted for felony burglary and misdemeanor battery for busting his way into a home and punching a dude in the face while trying to gank some stuff. No punishment to date.
23) Janoris Jenkins was busted for misdemeanor fighting and resisting arrest for his part in a fight outside a club, late night. This one isn’t as bad as some of the others in terms of what he did, but he’s a pretty big time player for them so I slotted it in here. No punishment so far.
The Ridiculous
These last 2 or 3 completely defy description. And even if I somehow haven’t yet convinced you that Meyer has integrity issues, one of these should just about do it for you. If none of this does, then there is no hope that you’ll ever get ND. Sorry, it’s just a fact.
24) Jamar Hornsby throws a dude onto the hood of a car during a fight and gets a misdemeanor property damage and criminal mischief charge. No punishment for this one from Urban. Later in his UF career, his ‘best friend”s girlfriend dies and he helps him clear her things out of her aparment. Awwww, what a nice guy! Wait, wait….because THEN, Jamar goes around using her credit card for a few months, charging up 70 different things on a dead girl’s credit card. That’s a felony, along with misdemeanor larceny of a credit card. And, really, it’s just cold. Urban brings in guys with great character I tell you, GREAT character. Jamar got booted from the team.
25) Ronnie Wilson. Ronnie Wilson. Wow. Wilson got busted for aggravated assault, battery and use of/display of a concealed weapon during commission of a felony when he busted out his AK-FREAKING-47 in the middle of a fight. Yes, AK-47 folks. Wilson was suspended from the team for the 2007 season. Wow! Urban takes a stand, right? Right? Ah, nope. Because Wilson was ALLOWED BACK ON THE TEAM NEXT SEASON. Seriously. For real. Then, shockingly, he got busted for marijana possession and a count of battery and a count of assault. And after all that, he was finally permanently kicked off the team.
26) The last straw: Just last week, when a blatant attempt to blind a guy got punished by a HALF GAME SUSPENSION.
I mean, c’mon folks. There’s no place for this in football, ever. And the coach essentially condones it. Ridiculous.
In Summary
Wow, I feel sick just reading and writing all of this. Makes me sick to think that people who say the love, understand, and support ND football want a guy like this to lead their team.
I understand that a coach can’t be with players 24-7, but can’t we all agree that this is just a TAD egregious? Can’t we agree that you can create a culture of respect? Respect for others, respect for yourself and respect for the University you represent? Let alone respect for the freaking LAW?
Urban doesn’t do that. He recruits any guy, regardless of character. And then he lets them run wild, and issues weak/soft penalties unless he’s forced to do more because a guy gets convicted of a freaking felony. Yes, I think ND would have a tighter reign on him than UF does. But if that’s the only way to get the guy to act like a decent human being and run a decent program, is that good enough for ND? Don’t we want a guy that WINS, but also takes care of the kids? That also teaches them how to be good, strong people? That maybe, just maybe, actually makes them BETTER? I would think yes.
Urban is a great, great football coach. He’s not a great person, he’s certainly not a great leader for young men, and he’s definitely not a fit for Notre Dame.
Case. Freaking. Closed.
As before, I welcome a debate with anyone who STILL thinks hiring Urban is a good idea. I just don’t know how you can get there after reading this litany of horribleness over which he’s presided.
Out.
- (Re)Introducing: DANCING LEPRECHAUNS - August 29, 2019
- Ticket Auction: ND vs USC - August 22, 2019
- No Respect! - December 14, 2018
Joe
2 National Titles in 4 years sums up any argument needed when wanting Urban. You list 26 reasons why Urban should not be hired but gloss over what positives he could bring the University. Those positives are winning football games which Notre Dame fans want more than anything due to them trying to run Weis out of town.
Charlie has run a clean program, works tireless hours, and is a very charitable men. He is a coach I would want my son to play for because of the charity he shows on a constant basis. He represents everything Notre Dame fans say they want in a head coach but yet, nearly all Irish fans are calling for his termination.
So in essence, what coach can combine Urban’s and Charlie’s best characteristics? I don’t think there is one in the country that does.
Burbank Steve
Biscuit – before you go nuclear on Joe, just remember – and I said this last night – you don’t need to argue for/against Meyer. He will never be invited to interview at Notre Dame.
brendan
Also agree about Meyer.
Not sure why Gruden’s name keeps coming up either. Can you imagine the press conferences? “That guy Golden Tate. He is a football. Player. All he does is play football. And catch balls. And run. If I’m a defensive coordinator and I see Golden Tate coming out of the huddle. I’m thinking, ‘We gotta go stop that guy’ because he’s a football player. That’s why I call him the Joker. Because he plays football like that.”
Mark
Burbank Steve is right on. You glossed over reason #1: He will never come to Notre Dame. He says its because of having to recruit the whole nation instead of his home state, but I do think the power to keep a guy on his team who owns an AK-47 has something to do with it.
Brian Kelly is the right call for two reasons.
#1 He can come in with his current system and win. Even if we are starting Crist at QB.
#2 Regardless of his personell, his defenses always play well.
KentAllard
Preach on, Biscuit. I don’t think Meyer will be asked, and wouldn’t come if he were asked (he would use any interest to get a raise) but it would be a terrible day for Notre Dame. Yes, believe it or not, I would rather never win another MNC than have the Jimmy Johnson/Urban Meyer/Rich Rodriguez type of coach. If there isn’t a coach who can win big with ethics, then so be it.
Bad Kermit
Yeah, ND has a longstanding tradition of winning National Championships with squeaky-clean saints like Lou Holtz!
The Biscuit
I’m not saying that Urban will be offered the job, or that he’d take it. I’m just making an argument that our fans should stop pining for him to be offered and take it. And BK, Holtz IS a Saint compared to Meyer. Putting them in the same bucket is ludicrous.
Mark G
Biscuit:
Thanks. You’ve have concisely put into words what any thinking Notre Dame fan has known for awhile. Meyer is not right for us, and ND is not right for him.
Bad Kermit
Biscuit, I’m just saying that it’s hypocritical to be a big supporter of Holtz if ethics are your biggest concern for a head football coach. I love Lou to death, but don’t be naive. He was shady as all get-out.
domer.mq
Joe, winning football games is just not a good enough reason to go overlooking all the negatives. It’s not at all. And these aren’t rumor or shadows, these are facts.
The Biscuit
BK, I stand by it: Lou’s version of shady and what Meyer is are night and day. If 0 is a saint and 10 is Meyer, Lou was a 4 or a 5. Not squeaky clean, but he didn’t have Ronnie Wilson on his teams either.
Mark
Should we say Willingham is a 0? What is Weis, a 3? I would make Holtz a 5. Meyer would be 10, Bowden would be 15, and Dennis Erickson would be 10,000 (he and Tarkanian.)
david
Mark – You can’t give Willingham a 0 as his lazy attitude had such a destructive affect on the program. His laziness was shady, as well as the willingness to allow ND to be tarnished with untruths he could have stopped. He would definately be behind Holtz, but not closer to Meyer, Bowden, Carroll, etc.
Ska
Damn, you can write and tell it like it is. My personal opinion is Meyer/Liar wants to go pro. Keeping up the thug culture at FL is not sustainable NCAA will be under new leadership soon. Miles B. did not like cheating academics but other cheating (payoffs and thuggery) went unpunished. Payoffs and thugs was not a problem for Brand. Look at USC e.g.
Brand crucified B Knight for chastising a dumb/smart ass student. Yes I know Brand had a good rep, but the NCAA has not been doing their job in regards to all the cheating in college athletics.
RICARDO YGLESIAS
STAND BY CHARLIE W.
Mike
From what I understand, Wilson was kicked off the team immediately when he was arrested for brandishing the AK. When he got back into school the next year, he was allowed to walk on but did not get his scholarship back. Meyer must have learned a lot about his coaching style when he was an assistant at . . . Notre Dame.
The Biscuit
Hmmm, so that’s why his scumbag ways were so apparent at…Utah? Sorry bud, try again.
Gary Forman
Your delusional and libelous comments are almost funny, but your program is absolutely pathetic. 1. Get your facts straight before you print falsities. 2. Join a conference, you cowards. 3. Urban Meyer is now with a program of national prominence.
Used to be’s don’t count anymore, losers.
The Biscuit
1. Libel? Ummmm, I sourced newspaper articles that sourced court records and police reports. Those are the facts, and they’re straight. Gary, you’re clueless. Go ahead and point out the falsities. Do it. Please. Enlighten me. No? You can’t? Because it’s all true, idiot. 2. Why would we ever join a conference when we get double the freedom and double the money as-is? 3. Yes, he is. And we want him to stay there. You forgot 4.
WS
Again, I’m going back to the same argument. Meyer may not be a saint by any means, but show me ONE (just 1) incident from his time at Utah, or even Bowling Green for that matter.
Is he perfect? No. None of the candidates are. But if you think Notre Dame as an institution would ever let in players like Ronnie Wilson then you’re just crazy. You saw how the University (not Charlie Weis, mind you, THE UNIVERSITY) reacted when Yeatman, McAlarney, etc. were suspended for minor infractions.
Player conduct may not be entirely institutional, but a good chunk of it is. If Urban Meyer ever were hired at Notre Dame, I’m confident he would recruit and coach up to Notre Dame’s standards of integrity.
Laurence
What a pathetic “article”. You left out and/or twisted many pertinent facts about the cases you listed. At times you just simply fabricated (ex. Cunningham did not beat up anyone…he threw a paper…that’s right…paper…cup at some dude working in some fast-food joint)
Perhaps the most important aspect you missed in all of this is that most of the guys involved in these incidents were not Meyer’s recruits.
Mark
Hitler didn’t recruit all the SS.
Too soon?
And why is this guy throwing paper cups at anyone? I’ve never thrown anything at a fast food employee and I’ve been on this Earth for more than a few minutes.
And why is anyone defending any of this? I’m a Notre Dame fan and I’d love for guys to be firing off AK 47’s if it meant a National Championship. If I’m a Florida fan my response to this article would be “I can’t hear you with all of these trophies and big tittied women surrounding my ears.”
Laurence
Did you just compare Meyer to Hitler?
Laurence
I’m not trying to excuse anyone’s behavior (I’ve never thrown a cup..paper or otherwise..at anyone) but the clown that wrote this piece is simply lying…and that’s funny considering that he’s accusing Meyer of being a liar.
The Biscuit
Laurence, I cited newspapers and articles on a variety of web sites. I didn’t ‘lie’. If I got a fact wrong, please point it out, but this ‘clown’ relied on well known public reports. Show me the source that shows that it was a paper-cup-throwing incident, and I’ll edit the article, happily, and admit the error. But you gotta admit, with so many freaking arrests and issues, it’s not that easy to get every single fact straight. Which, in and of itself, proves my point.
cabanvol
If you guys don’t hire Brian Kelly, given the opportunity all hope is lost. People are figuring out how to defend the spread, that’s why Tebow is having to run it 25 times a game… and Michigan is 1-6 in the Big Ten.
Joe Go Gators Haha (laughing at) Notre Dame
Dear all ND fans,
It makes ma laugh at the sense of elitism that ND has. ND is irrelevant and Meyer wants nothing to do with your program. He respects the tradition that ND once had, as do I. Yet be happy with Charlie Weis, because he is the BEST you can ever hope for. Sorry but nobody, including Brain Kelly, wants to be at ND. Do not flatter yourselves thinking you can get anyone to coach at that alumni infested football program you run. Keep Dreaming, while we keep winning.
Go Gators Gentlemen, you just got OWNED.
Brian341
I couldn’t agree with you more. I don’t care for ND but agree that there is more than just winning. I might be a little byass being a Crimson Tide fan but even the often refered to as the “worst coach ever” Nick Saban doesnt want to win at any cost. Urban is a gret coach and I think all the off field drama is glossed over because they are winning. Just wait until they have a down year and it will all come out. Look at what happened to Miami and Florida State.
George Wilson
First, I like the Gators, but they are not my college team. However, if you ever, ever, really had a clue about how the program was run, or any program for that matter, you might be embarrassed at your little rant. ALL programs have kids that get in trouble. Meyer, yes, has his shares. But he believes the kids are HIS kids, and he helps them get through their stupid moves. My apologies for you being PERFECT as a college student. I certainly wasn’t, and most aren’t.
And I know, as a ND Homer, you think that “Oh, ND would never do that! That’s why you’ve had players arrested this year too; one for soliciting a prostitute! SO, before you cast stones, I say a couple of things: 1. Try managing over 100 testosterone-filled 18-20 year olds yourself. Good luck! And 2. You won’t find a more commited guy than Meyer to teach your kids, in football and in life. He IS a great leader, and he IS a great person. The fact that you “research” all the BS online is proof that you don’t even know him or his philosophies.
Sorry your ND sucks, and has for a long time. Join a conference, play with the big boys, and hire a good coach.
The Biscuit
George Wilson. Your argument is laughable. Where did I say that ND was perfect? Nowhere. Where did I say that I was perfect when I was a student? Nowhere (though I was, and am, perfect). We had one kid arrested in the recent past (not this year) for soliciting a prostitute. And there were consequences. Which is exactly the OPPOSITE of Meyer. There are no consequences under Meyer, if you matter to the team. If you don’t matter, sure he’ll boot you. Otherwise? Not so much. My ability to manage 100 players is irrelevant to the argument as well. Way to throw up 20 strawmen. You probably went to UF.
By the way, if I can’t claim to ‘know’ him, which I never claimed BTW, neither can you. How do you know he’s a great leader and a great person? You hang out with him? You in the locker room? What are these philosophies you speak of? Care to expound on them? No? Because you dont know anything about it. You’re just making things up. I sourced articles that show that 25 arrests have occurred under his watch, along with other bad incidents. What proof do you offer for your position? None.