Urban Meyer to Ohio State: 5 Pros and Cons of Ohio State's New Coach

The sports world erupted at about 7:30 a.m. ET this morning when Urban Meyer's agent confirmed the rumors that the former Florida Gators coach will accept his dream job as head football coach of Ohio State.

After taking a year off of coaching due to missing his family and dealing with esophageal spasms, Meyer is expected to have a huge impact as arguably the most decorated man to take Ohio State's head coaching position.

Going back through history, only John Cooper had even close to the resume that Meyer had before being hired as head coach of Ohio State. Woody Hayes and Jim Tressel made their own names at the FBS level.

But what makes this hire so spectacular, and how should Buckeyes fans react?

Here are the pros and cons about the Meyer hire.

Pro 1. Explosive Offensive System

To say Ohio State's offense was anemic and nearly unwatchable would be an understatement.

OSU's passing offense finished the season ranked 118th, only ahead of Navy and Army—two teams that barely pass at all to begin with.

The Meyer hire means that longtime OSU offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Jim Bollman is finally gone. That news alone is enough to celebrate.

Meyer's spread offense will be very interesting to see in a Big Ten, where a good portion of teams also run a variant of the spread.

Look for the Buckeyes to start putting up big offensive numbers almost from the get-go.

Con 1. How Long Will He Be There?

Obviously, Urban Meyer is among the best coaches in all of college football.

But this is the same guy who retired twice from Florida over a 12-month period.

On the surface, this hire may come across to some as looking like a hired gun, a guy whose job is to be in Ohio State for the duration of his seven-year contract and then he would move on.

Longevity is a concern, especially considering Ohio State has only had five head coaches since Woody Hayes arrived in 1950.

Pro 2. He Is a True Buckeye

When Michigan looked for their new head coach before hiring Brady Hoke, they needed a "Michigan Man" or a guy who understood what it meant to coach at Michigan.

At Ohio State, this should be no different.

Meyer was born in Northeast Ohio, and coached as a graduate assistant at Ohio State.

He understands what it means to be a Buckeye, and that should come out very soon in the way he starts to represent the program.

Any coach that has a picture of Woody Hayes hanging in his home office understands what the Scarlet and Gray are all about.

Con 2. Life as a Leader Is Tough

One of Urban Meyer's challenges at Ohio State will be to extinguish the thorn in their side that is the Wisconsin Badgers.

The Badgers of course derailed OSU's 2009 season by upsetting the Buckeyes in Camp Randall 31-18 and eliminating them from national championship contention.

The Badgers, along with most of the rest of the Leaders' Division, seem like they have high ceilings, especially if the rumors of Dan Mullen coaching at Penn State come to fruition.

Every other year, Meyer will have to find ways to win at both Camp Randall and Happy Valley in order to win the division, which is never an easy thing to do.

Pro 3. Braxton Miller

Ohio State QB Braxton Miller may have been the most exciting freshman player in the country not named Sammy Watkins.

The Huber Heights Wayne product had quite an interesting freshman season, highlighted by a final-minute TD pass to Devin Smith which helped OSU stun Wisconsin at home.

Now just think of what Miller can do under the tutelage of a spread guru like Meyer.

Even though Miller might not be as good as Tim Tebow was, he can certainly be good enough to be a dominant force and take over the Big Ten.

He's already shown the ability to run well on anyone, now it's up to Meyer to make him a better passer.

Con 3. Dominating Michigan Will Not Be Very Easy

No matter what Buckeye fans think of Michigan coach Brady Hoke, they have to understand that The Game is now a rivalry once again after Michigan's thrilling 40-34 win.

Obviously, having Michigan being at least good if not elite is only good for the Big Ten.

But the days of Ohio State winning six straight over Michigan might not happen, even with Meyer in tow.

We will have to see how Meyer's Buckeyes play against Hoke's Wolverines, but this rivalry could be on a level that we haven't seen since the Ten-Year War.

Pro 4. Meyer Can Put the Fence Up Around Ohio Again

Everyone around college football knows that Meyer is one of the best recruiters in all of college football.

Meyer, like Jim Tressel before him, likely understands that to succeed at Ohio State, he will need to put a fence up around the state of Ohio and keep the best recruits in-state.

He obviously has great connections inside the state of Florida and through most of the southern part of the country.

But he should also keep stocking the program with Ohio State kids who genuinely love the program and would give their heart for the program. Those kids have been among some of the best Buckeyes in the past decade.

Meyer can get all the flashy talent as well as anybody, but he should have the ability to keep all the good Ohio players in Ohio.

Con 4. Hardly Changes the Image of Ohio State

As much as Buckeye fans aren't ready to admit it, Meyer has had the image of being an arrogant, sneaky head coach.

And for a program that needs an image facelift after a major NCAA scandal forced the firing of Jim Tressel, getting Meyer really only is a lateral move in perception.

They can cure a lot of what ails them by simply winning once again and hopefully starting to do things the right way once again.

And in that sense, Ohio State is like the New York Yankees of college football, where they will always be hated by everyone else not in Ohio.

This was not a move based on perception and image, but with NCAA penalties coming hopefully very shortly, Meyer not only has to revitalize a program that has had a terrible 12 months, but must clean up its image as well.

Pro 5. Meyer Likely to Assemble an Incredible Coaching Staff

Since the rumors of Urban Meyer have started to swirl, so have the rumors that Meyer will assemble one of the best coaching staffs in the country, and one that could blow the rest of the Big Ten away.

Among the names that have been tossed out in rumors include LSU offensive coordinator Greg Studrawa, Florida defensive coach D.J. Durkin, former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta and Temple WR coach Zach Smith, the grandson of former OSU coach Earle Bruce.

The name that has popped up most lately is former Arizona head coach and former Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops, who could become the defensive coordinator under Meyer.

Meyer is also supposed to meet with interim head coach Luke Fickell and he could come back as an assistant if he doesn't decide to take a head coaching job elsewhere.

Whatever this coaching staff looks like when all is said and done, it will be among the best staffs in the country.

Con 5. Are Expectations Already Too High?

When Buckeye fans heard the news of Meyer officially coming this morning, some may have already started to count up how many national championships he will win at OSU.

But it's time to slow that down a little bit.

Ohio State did struggle to finish the season 6-6 and needed a huge late touchdown over Wisconsin just to become bowl eligible.

The team has quite a lot of holes that need to be fixed and the road to a national title will be slowed somewhat by NCAA sanctions.

That's not to say Meyer won't win one or even two national championships at Ohio State.

But anyone who says he will win it this season needs to step back and look at things realistically.

The program needs a year or two to bounce back and get back on top. But when they do, Ohio State should be able to get back to where they were just one year ago, among the elite programs in the country.

Follow me on Twitter @bielik_tim for the latest college football news, updates and opinions.