Urban Meyer reveals conversation he had with Billy Gonzales about interim status

On Sunday, Urban Meyer was out on the golf course, having a nice round and winning “a couple bucks” when he got a phone call. He picked up, and a voice was almost whispering at the other end. It was Billy Gonzales.

Gonzales was a former player and assistant coach under Meyer at various stops in college football, including Florida. In hushed tones, Gonzales pleaded for help. He had just been named the interim coach at Florida following Billy Napier‘s firing.

And he needed help. Who better to get it from than Meyer, the former coach of the Gators who won two national titles in Gainesville?

“He said, ‘I’m the interim coach now at Florida,'” Meyer relayed on The Triple Option podcast. “I was like, ‘Whoa,’ and he said, ‘Please don’t tell anybody,’ which I didn’t. He said, ‘Can we talk about — I have a staff meeting coming up. I have a team meeting coming up.’ I was taking a deep breath, saying I’ve got to help my guy here, and this is not easy.”

Gonzales inherits a roster loaded with talent, but one that has underperformed considerably this season. He’s tasked with trying to turn things around or, at the very least, stabilize the ship.

Meyer couldn’t speak enough about his credentials for the job. He also had some immediate advice.

“He’s a heck of a coach,” Meyer said. “He’s been at Florida, I think three different occasions. He was there with me, Dan Mullen and now Billy Napier. I said the first thing, and most importantly, don’t you dare take a shot at the previous (coach). Stay completely away from that.”

At this point in the week, Billy Gonzales has already taken over. He’s had his first press conference. He’s had his first practice. The challenge, of course, will be trying to build momentum and then keep it rolling. Florida will be fighting for bowl eligibility the rest of the way, and it’ll likely be an uphill battle.

Meyer underscored the importance of one thing to Gonzales. Forget everything else, but remember this.

“Both of us just having conversation, which colleagues and friends would do, is that the most important thing are these darned players,” Meyer told his co-host on the podcast, former Alabama running back Mark Ingram. “And everything, Mark, is going to be on film. A player can ruin his draft stock or his career by screwing around right now. Or not getting coached. So all these coaches, which I mean it’s stressful, they’re all looking for jobs now, but you have to be loyal to those dudes that wear the helmet and the shoulder pads.”

If there was one message Meyer hoped Billy Gonzales heard loud and clear, it was that. Keep coaching hard.

Motivating the players and keeping them working might not be easy, but it’s downright essential if Gonzales hopes to have any success. And Meyer gave an easy pitch for Gonzales to use with his players.

“Say you’re not Mark Ingram, but say you’re that guy that’s that second-, third- or fourth-rounder,” Meyer said. “All the sudden you screw around for the next six games, you go free agent, pal. And it’s not just on him. He better be coached, so I said, ‘We all have a job to do, we’re being paid by the University of Florida, but most importantly,’ I don’t know, I wasn’t in the room, but the message is, ‘These players got to get coached and coached hard for the next six weeks,’ because that’s unfair for that (not to happen).”