Signing Day Will Be Happy For Urban Meyers' Florida Gators. Then What?

On college footballs' national signing day there will be rowdy cheering across UF's campus almost as loud as the sigh of relief gator fans let out when Urban Meyer decided not to retire one month ago. The next time you here such a noise in Gainesville might be a collective scratching of the head next October while Gator nation is wondering what went wrong.

To understand the brewing storm you need to know one fact. The fact is, Florida fans don't think Meyer has done a great job, they don't think he's a great coach. As a matter of fact, Gator fans don't think anything about Urban Meyer...THEY KNOW! They know hes the best coach in the country. They know he's one of the greatest ever! And they will tell you this. Over the summer the Orlando Sentinel published an article (ironically enough, making fun of how silly Alabama fans are) declaring that Bear Bryant had been resurrected and resides in Gainesville. This comes of course from a fan base that just a decade ago said the same thing about Steve Spurrier, a coach with 10 years on the job, Meyer has just 5. Can you imagine what would happen if UF ever had a coach who stuck around for 20 years? The churches in Florida would declare that the Holy Trinity had been made a quartet. Plenty of pressure for a guy with heart problems.

Even though its been beaten into the ground its still worth remembering that little more than a month ago Meyer felt his health was bad enough that he should leave coaching. Meyer has a brain growth that's inflamed by stress and now has heart problems. Then the day after this decision he feels fine. Either hes not planning to coach again and this was all about recruiting or Jeremy Foley the Florida AD pulled the greatest coup since communism fell. Knowing that if he could keep Meyer close to the program he would just instinctively keep doing what he's always done.

Putting all that aside though, the truth is that Urban Meyer didn't create questions about Florida football with his (in)decision, he merely added to them ("Is a pacemaker...iconic" may not top the list). The questions about his health and commitment may make for fun fodder on talk radio but by next fall honest questions about his offense and, yes his place a the top of the coaching hierarchy  will come to the forefront.

Meyers been in the league for five years now, but without Tim Tebow the question is once again poignant. "Can the spread option win a SEC title." He had great success with the it at Utah but when he was hired at Florida some wondered if it would work in the sec. Why? Two words "spread" and "option." To this day no team has won an SEC title running the spread without a quarterback named Tebow. As for the option, running the quarterback is not an attractive  proposition in a conference known for its big, fast, hard hitting defenses (see Colt McCoy in the national title game).

                                                 TIM TEBOW

If you think the average fan has Tebow-fatigue then talk to a Gator fan. No one has it worse. Why would the fans of a team be tired of hearing about one of thier heroes. Because they know that Tim Tebow was born to play quarterback in the spread option and the spread option was created with dreams of a quarterback like him to run it... and now its over. The perfect marriage done.

His heir to the throne, John Brantley, is by all accounts a great talent, but facing Tebow in that offense is a matchup nightmare that can never be replicated. The absolute basics of defense is of course getting off the field no one has made that tougher the last three years than superman. The gators have ranked in the top 10 in 3rd down conversions every year since he became the starter. That is due in large part to the unique physical/skill set that only he brings. When defenses get to 3rd and 6 they generally feel good about their chances of getting the stop. Against Florida the last 3 years it's been anything but good feelings. Defensive coordinators have had to pick their poison. With time to stand in the pocket Tebow will pick you apart (see 2008 SEC title game). If you decide to blitz, well that's just the point you don't want to blitz Tebow. Hes probably the all time college blitz buster. If someone actually gets to him the chances of them bringing him down are very small and once you lose containment on him...well (not to be redundant)you don't want to lose contain...you get the idea. Superman in the open field...Gary Danielson of CBS Sports said it best during the 2009 SEC title game (talking about Rolando McClain) "Its one thing to have the speed to get there but its another to have the strength to bring him down." With all the publicity it may sound funny but I believe Tim Tebow has been under-rated. He has truly carried this gators team many times during his career. Without him its hard to say how good Florida can be.

Its been  common in the sports world of late to question Tim Tebow's quarterbacking ability for the next level saying that he want be the same without the spread option that he ran in college and I have no problem with that statement. Then it should also be fair to turn the statement around. "Will the spread option be as good without Tebow?"

               This is a good time for some simple linear thinking

      -Tim Tebow is one of the greatest players to ever play the game.

      -He has physical attributes that no other quarterback ever has.

      -He is perfectly fitted to run Florida's offense.

      -With him as quarterback UF won 2 national titles both with 1 loss.

      -How many wins is Tebow worth a year?

                                       URBAN MEYER

Do I think Florida's  place as a title contender is over? Do I think Urban Meyer is over rated as a coach? Absolutely not and only if you rate him as the resurrection of Bear Bryant (sorry Orlando Sentinel).  Meyer has proven himself a great coach and as far as Florida's place. They will stay in the mix (after a tough rebuilding year) without a doubt, way too much talent to completely fade away but starting with the offense there are plenty of questions:

College football is an unforgiving landscape. If you want to win the national title you have to play for absolute perfection. You may or may not get in with one loss. There is no room for a lapse (see USC just about every year in the last half decade). It is for this exact reason that (even though they are popular) spread offenses remain questionable in some peoples mind. Like the Run and Shoot before it the, heavy on the pass offenses leave too much that can go wrong. Bad weather, nagging injuries, or just an off day from your quarterback and suddenly you could be praying for help to get your title game bid. If you like to throw that's fine but you better have a physical presence in you arsenal somewhere. This is why Nick Saban has taken two average teams and built them into powerhouses. He knows that physically dominating you opponent is the surest way to win with the smallest margin for error.

Urban Meyer has adjusted his offense before. When he arrived from Utah The O relied heavily on no-back sets. After almost getting Chris Leak killed in his first trip to Tuscaloosa, Ala. he changed that to keep more protection in. With Wednesday's loaded signing class and lots of left over skill Urban will have toys to play with but its hard to say how long, if ever, it will take his offense to become consistently dominant in the ultra-tough SEC.

Which bring us back to Gator nation. How patient will the fans be? How much time will they give to rebuild? Do they expect to rebuild? Probably not. This is a coach who has been crowned but at the same time tried to retire (then said he would stay on the job but "take it easy"). There could be ugly rumblings if things get tough early next year and it could(check the schedule). The SEC was actually down last year and with the exception of Ole Miss and Vandy, the rest of the league should be improved  (yes that includes Bama, did no one mention how young that team is). Even if the team holds this year, how long will Florida fans be OK with being perennial 10-2 non-title BCS every year? That is a very real possibility with the aforementioned inconsistencies in spread offense and the level of competition.

   A QUICK LOOK AT THE REBUILDING JOB AHEAD FOR URBAN MEYER

Along with losing a certain quarterback UF lost any player who could be considered a star. Last years less than spectacular showing on the offense was due in large part to no new faces stepping up in the absence of Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy. No one showed they were ready to be a big time player. Did I mention that that certain quarterback was also responsible for every inch of tough yardage the Gators have picked up in the running game over the last four years. (one of 2010 subplots might come in Week 3 in Knoxville. Late in the game. 3rd and two. Who do the gators go to for the dirty work?). These problems for an offense that already needs to be retooled for a new quarterback and all this work for a coach that needs his R & R

Meyer has lots of work to do. Is he physically able to do it? He's skilled enough to do it but there are many coaches who could have done there jobs but never got to hang around long enough. These are weird questions for a coach who heads into his 6th season but everything around the University of Florida's football program has been weird since Meyers (in)decision. Something else that's weird is Urban's first decision, to retire may have been the right one. If it was you can be sure the Gator nation will help him rectify that mistake.