Simulated Gameday Experience

Look, this whole Urban Meyer thing is weird. It walks, talks, and smells like burnout. First, we had a full-blown resignation occurring amidst unsubstantiated speculation this was either cancer or some kind of serious heart condition. (This was also occurring as we got to play everyone’s favorite game – “Let’s Figure Out / Take Wild Guesses on the Next Florida Coach.” The Society of People to Lure Bob Stoops Away from His Cushy Job with Lifetime Security approves.) This would also make the resignation turned sabbatical turned leave of absence understandable; granted, since Meyer seems (so far) like he’s going to be the head coach once the 2010 season rolls around, this may not have a significant effect on the Florida program. This looks like a man going “I have to get away, this is going to kill me” and taking whatever steps he had to before dialing the hyperbole back a bit.

If Meyer thinks this is the best long-term solution, I certainly can’t fault the man for wanting to be around his family, and I certainly can’t fault him for wanting to stop before he dropped dead on the sidelines during a game. If he was pushing himself half as hard as I think he was, it was certainly possible. There’s only so many times you can go to the hospital after a game before things just get too insane and beyond rational understanding; for me, that number’s 0.5 – if I even have to think about going to the hospital because of something that happened at work (that wasn’t a direct workplace injury; if I get nailed by an I-beam as I’m crossing the street to go to a jobsite, I’ll write that off as a fluke), something’s gone wrong. When Meyer’s ready to return, he’ll return; hopefully he’ll know when he’s actually ready, and not just when he’s getting stir-crazy.

In the meantime, Steve Addazzio will be the interim head coach. This likely doesn’t mean much; Addazzio will head up the recruiting process through the 2010 class and handle spring practice, but there won’t be a whole lot different until, say, August. I fully expect Meyer will be back by then. If he’s not? Then things get interesting.

Florida’s in a nasty position right now; their head coach – who, when he comes back, will be the head coach, even if it has to happen like an Angolan coup – can’t physically be the head coach right now, so they have to apply an interim tag to a guy who seemed overmatched at times throughout the year. (And by “throughout the year”, I mean “against any team with a pulse”.) They have no defensive coordinator since Charlie Strong blew out of town before any of this happened*, and the simple process of selecting a DC is strange. Does AD Jeremy Foley make the final call? Does Adazzio? Does Meyer? How much say does Meyer have in it?

*There are a couple of schools of thought here: Charlie knew or Charlie didn’t know. If he didn’t know, then it’s no problem. If he knew, then presumably he also knew Meyer wasn’t leaving permanently, meaning he likely would’ve left. The only benefit Strong would’ve had to staying there was getting interim head coach on his resume, which quite frankly he didn’t need in the slightest.

Let’s add another layer of complexity to this; Steve Addazzio hasn’t even been so much as an offensive coordinator until this past season. Now he’s being given the keys to one of the best-running programs of the last few years; sure, he’s likely only a caretaker, but that’s a dangerous proposition. Again, the guy’s more or less the only man for the job, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s the right man for it. What if Meyer isn’t ready to come back at the beginning of next season? What if he comes back in 2011 and Adazzio leads the Gators to a 4-8 season? Does Addazzio even stick around if that happens? What if other coaches get poached off or leave of their own accord?

This isn’t enviable for Florida; Gator fans more or less expect the next eight months to be a combination of apprehension, fear, timidity, and the kind of dissonance only brought on by minor chords in a horror film. It’s not going to be pretty. The health of the Florida program is burdened on a man who isn’t sure of how he’s going to handle himself, much less the program or expectations of hundreds of thousands of people. And you know what? He shouldn’t be concerned about any of that; Meyer’s got to get his life in order before any of that matters, and it’s not even a question. Until then, pray Addazzio doesn’t steer Gator Nation onto a snowbank.

Tags: coaching by dr. nick riviera, ding dong the witch is dead