College Football: Why Urban Meyer Owes Auburn an Apology

Last week, the head coach of the defending national champion Florida Gators was asked a question regarding Auburn's most recent recruiting strategy.

It's been well publicized, but Auburn used a stretch Hummer to take all seven coaches around the state of Alabama and introduce themselves to the state's high school coaches.

So when Urban Meyer was asked by Gainesville Sun reporter Pat Dooley last week whether the NCAA should look into Auburn's actions, Meyer responded: "I think it should. We're trying to sell graduation rates and academics and trying the sing and dance routine...The Florida coaching staff will not be riding around in limos or ripping off our shirts." (Does Meyer think he's the only school selling graduation rates and academics? Saying Auburn doesn't? Anyway...)

Now let's clarify one thing, Pat Dooley carries much of the blame for this incident. Dooley was either extremely misinformed as to what exactly Auburn's purpose was with the Hummer, or he was trying to be funny or cute with his question.

Either one is unacceptable. Dooley had no business even asking Meyer if Auburn broke NCAA rules, because if he had done his homework, he would have realized they clearly hadn't.

Dooley issued this correction after he got angry emails from Auburn fans about Meyer's response: "When you make a mistake, you're going to hear it. Last week I had an item about Auburn coaches parading recruits around in limos. I obviously misread the story because it was Auburn coaches in the limos going from school to school."

So some blame goes to Dooley for not getting his facts straight and embarrassing himself and the Florida coach.

But that doesn't excuse Urban Meyer for what he said either.

Meyer is the head coach of a major football program, he should know better than to speak on a subject that he doesn't know anything about.

When Lane Kiffin called Florida out his first week on the job for supposedly breaking NCAA rules, I know Meyer wasn't very happy, and Florida's athletic director Jeremy Foley even demanded an apology publicly.

The SEC agreed, and Kiffin had to publically apologize for his comments.

See, Kiffin had his facts wrong when accusing Florida of breaking NCAA rules, and he was forced to, and did the right thing in apologizing for his actions.

So Meyer publicly says that a school should be looked into by the NCAA, without having the proper facts and knowledge, so why is he any different than Kiffin?

Does winning a national championship make you above admitting when you were wrong?

Is Meyer that arrogant?

Maybe he's still upset from being zero and two versus Auburn, who knows.

Really, Meyer has had a reputation as a bit of a complainer since he entered the league.

In 2006, after a loss in Jordan Hare Stadium in Auburn, Meyer complained that the music coming out of the speakers was too loud, and his quarterback couldn't hear. He used that as an excuse for some poor play from his offense.

Did that music effect his punter from dropping the ball and getting it blocked and returned for a go ahead touchdown?

Alabama coach Nick Saban was asked a very similar question regarding Auburn's caravan a few days earlier. His response was what a coach's should be. He said he didn't know much about it, and he only worries about what his team does.

Now I'm sure a coach like Nick Saban knew what Auburn was up to, but you don't publicly comment on it, positive or negative. You say exactly what Saban said.

Instead, Meyer decided to take a writer's word as fact, and then make a very accusational statement by stating that the NCAA should look into Auburn's actions.

This coming from Urban "textual harassment" Meyer, the man who single handedly helped institute the rule on the amount of texts you can send to recruits.

So my advice to Meyer, and Dooley, is get your facts straight next time you decide to publicly comment that another school be looked into for cheating.

For Urban Meyer, how about you act like a man, admit you were wrong, and apologize for throwing a fellow conference school under the bus for no reason.

Surely you aren't going to make Lane Kiffin look like the bigger man, right?