Meyer coached there when at least some college football teams were trying to play it straight. He has never dealt with what is essentially a constant state of free agency on your own football team.
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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- For the new Ohio State coach, the late Penn State coach was a friend and a leader in how to run a football program.
"I think he is the model of compliance, he is the model for academic performance and demanding achievement by his players, and I don't think those things will ever be matched," OSU coach Urban Meyer told The Plain Dealer on Sunday, after former Penn State coach Joe Paterno died at age 85.
"I was a coach that really admired him and followed him," Meyer said. "Any chance I had to visit with him, I'd wear him out with questions. I was always trying to learn from him."
Meyer and Paterno, as well as their families, became close in recent years during winter outings sponsored by Nike. Asked if they every discussed Meyer succeeding Paterno at Penn State, Meyer said there had been some private conversations between the two.
On the field, they faced each other once, when Meyer's Florida Gators beat Paterno's Nittany Lions, 37-24, in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1, 2011. It was Meyer's last game at Florida and Paterno's last bowl game, and Meyer called the opportunity "a great honor."
"I like being around him, enjoy visiting with him, and spending time with him," Paterno said of Meyer in a conference call before that bowl game. "We have spent some time talking on occasion about coaching philosophy and some of the problems that we have."
At that time, it was known that Meyer was coaching his last game at Florida. But Paterno was planning to continue, and he did into the 2011 season.
"When I was Urban's age, I had a couple opportunities to leave, do some other things," Paterno said at another news conference before the game. "But when I was his age, I was just a short little Italian with a long nose. I didn't have a lot of opportunities. He's a big, good-looking guy. He's a really good family man. He's got a lot of things he can do. He's making some decisions which I'm sure are not easy for him, but he's making them. I admire him and respect him for what he's doing."
Before joining the Buckeyes, Meyer took a year off after six years at Florida -- 13 percent of the 46 seasons Paterno spent as the head coach at Penn State.
"I'm not sure you'll ever see that again. There's so much turnover now and people are in and out of jobs, and the media and fans get tired of you," Meyer said. "I think that's unbelievable, and it will never happen again."
Meyer, who considers former Ohio State coach Earle Bruce as his greatest mentor in the game, called Paterno one of his closest friends. He said his greatest lesson from Paterno was "Always just do right."
"I was brought up that way, following the rules," Meyer said. "I think the reason we got along so well because he knew we had similar beliefs in our respect for college football."
Paterno's reputation and legacy was altered by the last three months of his life, as accusations of child abuse surfaced against former Penn State assistant Jerry Sandusky. Paterno's role in what was or was not reported in the scandal came under scrutiny.
This was Meyer's response to how the Sandusky situation should be placed into the context of Paterno's entire life and legacy: "First thing, your thoughts and prayers are for the families if all that stuff did happen," Meyer said, "and two, he's the greatest college football coach in the history of the game."
Jeff Brohm should be affordable and he has proven success beating top 5 teams.
Only issue his Alma mater and hometown is Louisville.
Truth. All that will change is that it's now called NIL money and can be discussed openly.You don't think Urban knows how to spend money to get guys he wants?
One was fired over the phone by his employer of over 50 years who he put on the map.
The other will be paid $50M to not come to work.
Yes. I see the similarities.
Franklin can quit coaching and work in TV (see him going on GameDay) and make almost 50M from us
16 losses are 17 too many for us (and people who look like us).
LMAO. Did you watch the Minny game last night? Absolutely not interested in hiring Matt “Franklin lite” Rhule.
Did he contact PS? Yup. What will come of it is the question. IMO he wouldn't be a terrible choice and better than some mentioned. But my guess would be that Kraft struck out on all of his top candidates for him to get a shot. I would most certainly take him over Matt Rhule.Why is no one talking Schiano?
The coeds are really hot there so don't be shocked if he doesn't take that job when it opens.
Where are you getting this? I'd love to see that contract because any good attorney can probably get out of that alleged clause.
Meyer is 61...I'd like to think he's sufficiently mature at this stage to conduct himself with propriety.
It's honestly probably the easiest clause to get around assuming it's actually in the language of the deal.
You really want Kirk Ciarocca back as offensive coordinator?Why is no one talking Schiano?
Connecting with previous generation = getting the Paterno people to open their wallets for donations and NIL. They didn't like Franklin from day one for some reason.
We need to take a look at Brent Key of Georgia Tech.