Is Urban Meyer Genuine or is He Trying to Pull Another Fast One?
On Tuesday Urban Meyer announced that he is retiring, due to health issues, from coaching football. Again. This isn't the first time we've seen this Urban has retired from coaching due to a health issue. If you remember, he pulled a similar move at Florida in 2010. At that time, there were some serious accusations against the Florida program. Allegations of roster manipulation, drug abuse, numerous player arrests...just all sorts of horrible things. Back then, Urban used the excuse of health issues to get out of his contract and to leave the school.
Fast forward to yesterday and it feels like we are watching history repeating. Urban is retiring from another troubled program due to a health issue. This offseason was also a troubling one for Meyer. He allegedly knew and enabled a domestic violence situation involving one of his coaches, Zach Smith. A coach, by the way, who worked under Meyer at Florida as well.
Due to that situation, Ohio State discussed firing Meyer...but ultimately decided to give him a light, few game suspension. Which, by the way, wasn't a full suspension. He wasn't allowed on the sidelines at games, but he was still working in his office, instructing his coaching staff and running practices.
And these are just the cliff notes on the scandals under Urban Meyer. You can literally Google "Urban Meyer disgrace" and find a laundry list of things allegations against Meyer and his staff. And some of the things that supposedly allegedly covered up and made to go away, are just absolutely horrible.
However, with all that said, I hope we are all wrong about Urban Meyer and this particular situation. I hope that he's really sick. I hope that he's really retiring. I hope that this is it. And not because I wish any ill will towards the man...I'd just like to think he's not the massive scumbag he's been in the past.
I'd like to believe there is a little good left inside his soul. I want to trust that he's no longer a pile of human garbage. I'd like to hold out a little hope that he has turned over a new leaf. That he's not once again manipulating the emotions of his family, friends and everyone else in his life just to get a release from a school and be absolved of all his sins. I'd like to think that. Actually, I REALLY WANT to believe that. But, we've all seen this movie before...and I just don't think there is anyway this is the end.