Meyer Rips NCAA And Outlaw Coaches

Meyer did plenty for Florida, but he is out of football because the stress of trying to stay on top took its toll on him, not to mention getting beat soundly toward the end. He did not leave over agents and recruiting although recruiting is a stressful part of the job. Meyer is trying to portray himself as some saint and protector of NCAA FB integrity. This is what the writer is calling him on the carpet for and rightly so. He is not saying Meyer cheated, but when he throws stones at other schools he better make sure his own house is in order. Given Meyer can justify all the player run ins with the law many will wonder what else can this guy justify that MIGHT be against NCAA rules. This is a legit question. He knows popping off as an X-HC his competitors are less motivated to probe and possibly expose his activities.

War Eagle !

Meyer comments on Pearl are off base. The NCAA has not ruled on pearl yet. How does a former coach not know the differents in a SEC ruling and a NCAA ruling?

Hostesses? Strippers? Money, cars, clothes? Promising or catering anything material? If calling a recruits girlfriend is the most extreme violation you can come up with than I will have to praise Meyer for keeping his "leg up" recruiting far below the median. If these comments were looked at objectively, knowing what we know about Meyers views, it would seem as though he resents the fact that such actions are even necessary to maintain elite recruiting status. Other coaches go as far as catering material and sexual influence in their process. I also believe that a call to a recruits girlfriend in an attempt to sway the recruit to a school where they will have an exceptional opportunity to prepare for their future is admirable in comparison to student athletes falling victim to negatively life altering scandal. For example, ruled ineligible for accepting money, speaking to agents, etc. These are instances Meyer is talking about because it cuts an athletes career short, leaving their future in question. Also, the unknowing school is held liable if a player consults an agent before playing, while the agent and player go unscathed and makes millions in the NFL,
Urban Meyer is a disciplinarian. Anyone who payed close attention to the program throughout his era knows that about him. The most lenient punishment Meyer ever served was the NCAA minimum per the specific incident. People overlook actions he took such as kicking the dominant anchor of the defensive line, Marcus Thomas, off of the championship team for smoking weed. He didn't have to expel him from the team, but he felt it was what was necessary. There are rules in place that prevent the head coach of engaging the team beyond a limit, depending on the time of year. These coaches can only do so much to control the behavior of an entire roster of young kids. You can only try your hardest to mold kids and implement good decision making skills, but in the end it all comes down to the individuals decision. And when that individual makes a bad decision it is up to you (one of a few that know the entire situation... not some media name) to dole out a proper punishment that you truly see fits.

There are many programs that work hand in hand with law enforcement to "protect the interest of the hometown football team". I can imagine that skews the numbers. This is obviously not the case in Gainesville, FL!

By all of the above standards, Urban Meyer was a poster child... but, damn, he has a lot of haters!

BTW, where did Meyer claim that he never broke any rules? Come on, you sounded so sure of it in this article! Idiot!

You sideways "journalist" throw a quote at people and then tell us what it means (usually in a malicious way, like this article) and then use the cop out "all we did was quote the guy". If all you did was quote Meyer than this article would be NOTHING BUT QUOTES, azz!! Congratulations, you came up with two examples of minor violations. Can you show me where any money was involved? Ever? Didn't think so. You crooked "journalists" need to just shut the hell up and leave good people like Meyer alone! Just like you all made a huge deal about Meyer defending his player from a journalist that "just quoted what he said". Oh yeah, and then continued to explain to everyone what he meant by what he said in a malicious way toward the player, turning his comments into a shot at his own team. That makes no sense. All because the guy that Urban had beef with was a fellow "journalist". You people are f'n ridiculous.

I also like how you used meyer's quotes out of order to make him seem bitter or whatever the hell you were going for, good job. your a joke

I really see the comparison between the "breaking the law" student athletes, and the breaking the rules argument. Personally I love what he is talking about. The cheating on the recruiting front is the only thing the coaches can control and with that the NCAA. These 18-23 year olds could choose to break the law, regardless of what the coaches/NCAA does. The coaches breaking the rules are paramount in this discussion. They control that, every aspect of it. The NCAA is a joke, along with Slive and the SEC. I don't even see Auburn as the national champion. Thats the point. Other coaches are told to shut up and take it. I hope more step up like Meyer. They are going to be yelled at like Dan Mullen, and all he has had to take on because of Cam Newton, but I have heard the negativity on ESPN about our program, when we did everything right. That is what the good coaches have to deal with.

Thanks to the above poster. Perfect response. No wonder Meyer kept his mouth shut while he was coaching. Responses like Pennington's are just over the top and out of place. Address the issue not the messenger. At least Meyer is man enough to say something.

Way to go. Ad hominem attacks on Meyer are much better than addressing the point of contention of possible rampant rule breaking in college football and the SEC. I feel much better now after your attempt to deflect the actual issue of NCAA violations by comparing them to campus arrests. Those are the same thing aren't they? Comparing individual transgressions of college students is the same thing as a systemic culture of rule-breaking and cheating by 30-50 year old highly paid University employees for a competitive advantage is spot on. Apples and apples. Your defense of cheating in college athletics is to be commended. You'd make an excellent attorney.

Its hard to imagine where the rest of the country gets the impression that cheating is an accepted way of life in the SEC when we have an SEC-only website like this one attacking the whistleblower. A guy who has no credibility. Meyer only has an 82% winning percentage, went 7-1 in bowl games, 3-0 in BCS bowls, won 4 conference championships (2 SEC), was the first coach to ever take a non BCS school to a BCS bowl and won 2 National Championships. What a hack, what the hell would he know about college football. Sheesh, he's nothing but a sore winner.