Report: Gators offer head coaching job to Meyer
Posted: Friday December 3, 2004 12:43PM; Updated: Friday December 3, 2004 1:16PM
NEW YORK (SI.com) -- Utah's Urban Meyer, a front-runner for the vacant Notre Dame job, has been offered the head coaching job at Florida, the numerous Florida newspapers reported Friday.
The paper also reported Meyer is likely to accept the offer later Friday, two separate sources told the Florida Times-Union.
The Palm Beach Post said Meyer's father, Bud, talked to his son about picking Florida over Notre Dame.
"I told him, if he wants to win, go to Florida." Meyer's father told the Post. "The probability of winning at Florida immediately is higher. Unless he's still drawn to the aura of Notre Dame, the better job is Florida. ... It's just a football coaching job, going wherever he can win. If you go where you can't win, you won't be coaching long."
Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley denied that the school had reached an agreement with Meyer.
"The search is in progress,'' Foley told the Times-Union. "The search is progressing.''
According to the Washington Post, flight tracking data indicated a jet left Gainesville, Fla., around 9 p.m. Thursday night and was one of the last planes scheduled to land at Salt Lake City International, around 3 a.m. Friday morning.
Notre Dame began its pursuit of Meyer on Thursday, spending several hours in town to meet with him.
A private jet with the Notre Dame logo on its tail carrying athletic director Kevin White and other school officials landed in Salt Lake City around 5 p.m. They were taken in a sport-utility vehicle to a downtown hotel.
It was not clear where Meyer met to discuss the opening created by Tuesday's firing of Tyrone Willingham.
The Notre Dame party returned to the airport, in the big, black SUV with tinted windows, went through a security gate and boarded the small jet without comment. Meyer didn't appear to be with the Notre Dame officials when they boarded and he did not immediately return a cell phone call for comment.
It was no surprise Notre Dame was coming after Meyer so quickly.
"I'm sure they're going to be after him," Utah quarterback Alex Smith said. "They'd be dumb if they didn't. Who wouldn't want him?"
Earlier in the day, Meyer would not directly comment on reports that the Fighting Irish were courting him, but players said their coach acknowledged that Notre Dame and other schools were interested.
"It was nice to hear from him and we appreciate it. Whatever happens with him, we're behind him," defensive back Bo Nagahi said. "He's a great coach and he deserves what he's getting."
Utah athletic director Chris Hill told The Associated Press the school would attempt to keep Meyer, who helped make the Utes a high-profile team in just two seasons.
"There's a lot of things we can do, and we'll do everything we can to make this right for Urban, Shelley and their family," he said.
Utah defensive coordinator Kyle Whittingham, a candidate for the job when Meyer was hired two years ago and a possible replacement, said Meyer had not mentioned a Notre Dame meeting to his assistants, many of whom were on the road recruiting.
"I just know Urban Meyer is one of the hottest coaching prospects in the country right now. We'll see where he is when the dust settles," said Whittingham, who could also be a candidate for the coaching vacancy at BYU.
Meyer was the receivers coach at Notre Dame during 1996-00, leaving the school for his first head coaching job at Bowling Green.
He quickly turned around the Falcons, going 8-3 and 9-3 before moving to Utah in 2003. The Utes were 10-2 last season and are 11-0 this season and ranked fifth in the nation.
Meyer received a contract extension last summer that included a clause allowing him to leave Utah without penalty if he is hired as head coach at Michigan, Ohio State or Notre Dame.
Posted: Friday December 3, 2004 12:43PM; Updated: Friday December 3, 2004 1:16PM
NEW YORK (SI.com) -- Utah's Urban Meyer, a front-runner for the vacant Notre Dame job, has been offered the head coaching job at Florida, the numerous Florida newspapers reported Friday.
The paper also reported Meyer is likely to accept the offer later Friday, two separate sources told the Florida Times-Union.
The Palm Beach Post said Meyer's father, Bud, talked to his son about picking Florida over Notre Dame.
"I told him, if he wants to win, go to Florida." Meyer's father told the Post. "The probability of winning at Florida immediately is higher. Unless he's still drawn to the aura of Notre Dame, the better job is Florida. ... It's just a football coaching job, going wherever he can win. If you go where you can't win, you won't be coaching long."
Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley denied that the school had reached an agreement with Meyer.
"The search is in progress,'' Foley told the Times-Union. "The search is progressing.''
According to the Washington Post, flight tracking data indicated a jet left Gainesville, Fla., around 9 p.m. Thursday night and was one of the last planes scheduled to land at Salt Lake City International, around 3 a.m. Friday morning.
Notre Dame began its pursuit of Meyer on Thursday, spending several hours in town to meet with him.
A private jet with the Notre Dame logo on its tail carrying athletic director Kevin White and other school officials landed in Salt Lake City around 5 p.m. They were taken in a sport-utility vehicle to a downtown hotel.
It was not clear where Meyer met to discuss the opening created by Tuesday's firing of Tyrone Willingham.
The Notre Dame party returned to the airport, in the big, black SUV with tinted windows, went through a security gate and boarded the small jet without comment. Meyer didn't appear to be with the Notre Dame officials when they boarded and he did not immediately return a cell phone call for comment.
It was no surprise Notre Dame was coming after Meyer so quickly.
"I'm sure they're going to be after him," Utah quarterback Alex Smith said. "They'd be dumb if they didn't. Who wouldn't want him?"
Earlier in the day, Meyer would not directly comment on reports that the Fighting Irish were courting him, but players said their coach acknowledged that Notre Dame and other schools were interested.
"It was nice to hear from him and we appreciate it. Whatever happens with him, we're behind him," defensive back Bo Nagahi said. "He's a great coach and he deserves what he's getting."
Utah athletic director Chris Hill told The Associated Press the school would attempt to keep Meyer, who helped make the Utes a high-profile team in just two seasons.
"There's a lot of things we can do, and we'll do everything we can to make this right for Urban, Shelley and their family," he said.
Utah defensive coordinator Kyle Whittingham, a candidate for the job when Meyer was hired two years ago and a possible replacement, said Meyer had not mentioned a Notre Dame meeting to his assistants, many of whom were on the road recruiting.
"I just know Urban Meyer is one of the hottest coaching prospects in the country right now. We'll see where he is when the dust settles," said Whittingham, who could also be a candidate for the coaching vacancy at BYU.
Meyer was the receivers coach at Notre Dame during 1996-00, leaving the school for his first head coaching job at Bowling Green.
He quickly turned around the Falcons, going 8-3 and 9-3 before moving to Utah in 2003. The Utes were 10-2 last season and are 11-0 this season and ranked fifth in the nation.
Meyer received a contract extension last summer that included a clause allowing him to leave Utah without penalty if he is hired as head coach at Michigan, Ohio State or Notre Dame.
