University of Florida head football coach Urban Meyer resigned unexpectedly on Saturday.  His final game as the head of the Gator Nation will be January 1, 2010 against Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl.

According to reports from ESPN, Meyer released the following statement:

“I have given my heart and soul to coaching college football and mentoring young men for the last 24-plus years and I have dedicated most of my waking moments the last five years to the Gator football program.  I have ignored my health for years, but recent developments have forced me to reevaluate my priorities of faith and family.

“After consulting with my family, Dr. Machen, Jeremy Foley and my doctors, I believe it is in my best interest to step aside and focus on my health and family.”

Following the SEC Championship game against the number 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, Meyer was hospitalized briefly for what was called at the time, “dehydration.”  In the light of this report, there is now speculation that the incident in Atlanta may have been more serious than previously reported.

Meyer achieved an .849 winning percentage (56-10) in his five-year run, highest in Florida school history.

UPDATE (12/28/2009): 

Meyer’s resignation was converted into a “leave of absence,” at least on paper.  Meyer said during a Sunday afternoon press conference at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans that he believes in his gut that he will be coaching the Gators in 2010.

Others are not convinced.

There has been speculation that the rapid reversal was at least in part to prevent any wholesale abandonment by Florida recruits.

With Meyer out and most of the “premium” college coaches already installed in their 2010 positions, a Meyer-less Florida program would be far less appealing to incoming recruits than what they believed they signed on for.

After a somewhat lackluster offensive performance in 2009, installing offensive coordinator Steve Addazio as interim head coach would likely have resulted in some premier recruits taking their skills elsewhere, including to SEC rivals Tennessee and Alabama.

Meyer’s Harvin-esque reversal of field on Sunday will do much to allay the concerns of recruits who might be hearing from Lane Kiffin or Nick Saban (after the recruiting dead period, of course).  The idea that Meyer will be involved in the Florida program with an eye toward returning to the sidelines will certainly give recruits some reassurance that the Florida program in which they’ll participate resembles the one they’ve watched Meyer create in five years in Gainesville.  And it will definitely give them more confidence than turning the reins of one of the nation’s premier programs were handed over to career assistant, Addazio.

All indications are that Meyer’s medical issues are real and a serious threat to his long-term health.  There is also little doubt that the first lady of the Gator Nation, Shelley Meyer, has expressed her concern to her husband.  Any married man who has felt pressure from his better half can recognize this in Meyer’s words.

The only question in my mind is not the veracity of the stated reasons for Meyer’s resignation on Saturday.  It’s the motivation for his Sunday change of course.  Was it really due to the inspiriation provided by the Gators’ players and coaches during Sunday morning’s practice, as Meyer indicated, or was it a concession to the Florida program to stem the bleeding of recruits long enough to get a name head coach in place?

Time will tell but it took a helluva bold move by Meyer to turn the attention of football fans in the state of Florida away from Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden’s final game of his illustrious career on Jan 1.

But “bold moves” are exactly what have typified Meyer’s 24-year coaching career.  And he’s got one more game left to coach.

At least.

More to come.

~Smokey Joe

Joe Mayes Florida, SEC

OK, I don’t care who you are, this is funny.

And if you don’t find it funny, take off your Tebow jammies, put down your Gator Crunch! cereal, take a deep breath, and get some fresh air.

Link to source. 

Happy Saturday, football fans!

Joe Mayes Florida

If you’ve been wondering which SEC coach selected Ole Miss QB Jevan Snead as the first team all-SEC quarterback over Florida’s all-world Terrific Timmy Tebow, wonder no more.

It was the ol’ Ball Coach.

But it’s not what you think.  South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier said that one of his staff filled out the ballot before Spurrier rubber-stamped it following a perfunctory look.  Spurrier said:

“I take full responsibility.  I’m embarrassed about it, I feel badly about it … I apologize to Tim Tebow.”

Spurrier went on to say that he believes Tebow is one of the best quarterbacks in Florida history.

Putting his calling card where his mouth is, Spurrier followed up with call to the SEC offices to ask that his ballot be changed to include Tebow as the first-team quarterback, that his first ballot was a mistake.

Giving him the benefit of the doubt and assuming this was, in fact, an innocent mistake, the ol’ Ball Coach still knows how to steal the spotlight.  You gotta love him for that.

~ Smokey Joe

Joe Mayes Florida, General, SEC, South Carolina

College football in the Southeastern Conference has grown to the point where it is now more than simply an assemblage of schools unified in their desire to excel on the field.  No longer is attending an SEC game a quaint, family experience.

The SEC has gone corporate.  Big corporate.

So the conference’s simple, once-dignified designation now seems somehow archaic and inadequate.  In an attempt to reflect the new college football reality in the southeastern United States, the following are suggested as alternatives for The Conference Formerly Known As SEC (TCFKAS):

-          SESPNEC:  Obviously, TCFKAS has sold its collective soul to the monolithic media monster from Bristol, Connecticut.  It only makes sense for the names to be imbedded as a reflection of how deeply the two organizations are in bed together.

-          NFDL:  College degrees?  Really?  That’s what elite athletes are looking for when they to matriculate at a TCFKAS institution?  C’mon…let’s call this conference what it really is.  The National Football Developmental League.

-          CSCI (Collection of Southeastern Correctional Institutions):  Given the rate of criminal activity among players in TCFKAS football programs, some recognition of the special needs of these troubled yoots is in order.  The fundamental question about these programs has changed from “education or athletics” to “rehabilitation or punishment.”

-          The TAA (Tebow Athletic Association):  Was there any doubt this was going to show up at some point?  Changing to this name will require a unanimous vote of TCFKAS coaches, meaning this change will not occur until/unless the head coach is replaced in Columbia, SC.

Of course, work is still in the developmental stages.  Nominations are still being accepted.  Drop a comment or an email with your suggestion.

See you ‘round campus.

~ Smokey Joe

Joe Mayes SEC

By now, we all know that Tim Tebow was a near unanimous selection as first-team All-SEC quarterback.  Ole Miss signal caller Jevan Snead received two coaches’ votes, one from Florida coach Urban Meyer and one from…

Well, that’s the question, isn’t it?

Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players so 11 of 12 votes is considered unanimous.  Meyer’s vote for Snead wasn’t a big surprise.  But which other coach thought Ole Miss was in better hands than the Gators?

Lane Kiffin immediately jumps to mind but he insisted on Tuesday that his ballot was for Tebow.

Below (in alphabetical order) are the SEC coaches’ votes for preseason All-SEC first-team quarterback:

1.      Rich Brooks (Kentucky):  Tebow

2.      Gene Chizik (Auburn):  UNKNOWN

3.      Bobby Johnson (Vanderbilt):  Tebow

4.      Lane Kiffin (Tennessee):  Tebow

5.      Urban Meyer (Florida):  Snead

6.      Les Miles (LSU):  Tebow

7.      Dan Mullen (Mississippi State):  Tebow

8.      Houston Nutt (Mississippi):  Tebow

9.      Bobby Petrino (Arkansas):  Tebow

10.  Mark Richt (Georga):  Tebow

11.  Nick Saban (Alabama):  Tebow

Hmmm…who’d I miss?

Oh, yeah:

12.  Steve Spurrier (South Carolina):  UNKNOWN

You don’t suppose the ol’ ball coach took this as an opportunity to poke his former employer in the metaphorical eye, do you?

Which SEC coach do you think was the culprit?

~ Smokey Joe

Joe Mayes Florida, General, SEC

Auburn is trying desperately to improve their image in the state of Alabama, in order to increase recruiting efficiency in their own back yard - a tall order, considering one of the best college recruiters in the country lives just around the corner in Tuscaloosa. Well, the first idea you ought to have to increase visibility around the ‘hood? Quite simple:

That’s right! A stretch freaking limo! Auburn assistant coaches have been cruising Mobile lately - long an Auburn stronghold that Alabama has recently been pulling significant amounts of talent from - to attempt to regain their dominance in the area. The coaches have been cruising in the stretch, adorned with AU logos and AU flags, to high schools in Mobile, and will be spending the rest of this week and next week rolling it into other towns in the southern portion of the state.

Ya know, they could always take a hint from Florida State and Colorado - half nekked women and booze for everybo…… oh, that’s so wrong.

-rb

Rob Brown Auburn, SEC

Alabama locked up another star recruit yesterday with the addition of Phillip Sims from Chesapeake, Virginia. The 6′1″, 215 pounder is the eighth recruit for Nick Saban’s 2010 class, and had also garnered scholarship offers from Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Florida State, and Clemson.

You can read about him and get some of his statistics here.

Rob Brown Alabama, SEC

The University of Auburn announced yesterday that they will not participate in a proposed “made for TV” match-up with the UCLA Bruins pitched by ABC/ESPN.

While AD Jay Jacobs did say that Auburn would “love to play” UCLA in 2012, he stated the Auburn did not want to give up a home game, break any existing contracts, and did not want to start a home and home with UCLA while it has one with Clemson coming up as well.

I don’t have a problem with the logic. If the game would’ve taken place, Auburn would’ve had to play Clemson and UCLA both within three weeks. That in and of itself is bad news.

However, I think this may have been a missed opportunity for the Auburn War Eagle Tigers. The fact is, they could have gained another national game, been on a major network once again, and upped their respect from other conferences - TWO out of conference games against BCS power teams would’ve been a huge upgrade from yet another SEC style AU/Tenn-Chatt game.

Oh well. Nothing gained, nothing lost.

-rb

Rob Brown Auburn, SEC

The Mississippi State Bulldogs rolled out their new uni’s today, and contrary to most other “new” uniforms .. I don’t really have much to make fun of about these. They’re a nice mix of classic and new edge. I dig ‘em. Nicely done, ‘Dogs.

I must say, I'm a fan of the all reds...

Easy, ladies.

But, I think the happiest of the Bulldogs had to be Coach Mullen. Look how smiley he is - he LOVES the new unis!

Coach Mullen looks happy

All photos borrowed from www.espn.com

Rob Brown Mississippi State, SEC