Urban Meyer: The BC Fan Rorschach Test

As I was watching the Rose Bowl and Urban Meyer retired (again), I first thought "he'll coach again." Next my thoughts drifted to the ultimate "what if" of would I want him coaching my team. Despite thinking he embodies so many of the consistent flaws in some college coaches -- he's myopic, he's hypocritical, he's a bully, he's thin-skinned, -- I still admitted that I would welcome him to BC in a minute. The guy might be the best game manager in the last 30 years, certainly knows how to build a program and has won everywhere.

As for it ever happening, it won't. I know that. But Meyer's connection to Jarmond and the slight chance that he'd want to comeback and do it differently and the "right way" means that there is the slightest of slight chance. Like getting struck by lightning. Meyer's snakey history of picking his spots where he can win big and quickly, and the fact that taking the BC job would mean undercutting one of his former assistants probably more than offsets Jarmond's history with him.

But I am willing to admit my hypocrisy even on the hypothetical. I want BC to win and he's proven he can do it. But to give you a sense of how BC fans see ourselves, all you have to do is look at the replies to my tweet about Meyer.

Twitter poll for BC fans: if Martin Jarmond could talk Urban Meyer out of retirement, would you want him coaching BC?

— Bill Maloney (@bcatleagle) January 2, 2019

Some would never want Meyer and some would be over the moon. Very few are in the middle. It shows that BC fans value what BC stands for and that we are different. I think we could still be BC regardless of our coach.

I just hope that one day we get a coach at Meyer's level and he stays around long enough to win something big.

Addazio keeping company with his old friends

The coaching community is often referred to as the "Coaching Fraternity." That's pretty accurate, as the network takes care of itself and they often protect guys within the business. For as much as coaches are critical of one another, rarely will they say things publicly. Instead coaches provide empty platitudes towards their peers. "He's a great coach..." Within the fraternity there are cliques of friends and colleagues that take those relationships a bit deeper. As you can see from this upcoming Ohio State Coaches Clinic, Addazio remains part of Urban Meyer's clique.

If you're going to be tight with someone, Meyer is not a bad guy to associate with. He seems to have a good mix of consistency in work ethic combined with an openness to new football ideas and trends. When Bill Belichick takes the time to help out Meyer, you know he is doing something right.

My frustration with the Meyer-Addazio relationship is that Addazio hasn't adopted Meyer's game management techniques. Meyer is not perfect, but he is much more aggressive with his pace of offense. He also has a good handle on timeouts. Addazio hasn't incorporated those same game management nuances while at BC. However, Addazio does seem to emulate his old boss in player evaluations and work ethic.

The relationship with Meyer should benefit BC again this summer when Addazio and BC join Ohio State on their satellite camp tour.

To be great Addazio can't just be a Meyer imitator. He has do be himself. But even at this stage in his career, Addazio can learn something from guys like Meyer and Belichick.

More recruiting help from Ohio State

Urban Meyer must really like Addazio. We knew about BC joining Ohio State on various satellite camps. Now BC will be part of Ohio State's on-campus camps in Columbus. These series of one day Mega Camps will also include some other friends of Meyer as well as many MAC schools.

This works for BC on a few levels. There will be hundreds of Ohio kids going through there and Meyer can't take them all. BC might be able to build relationships with the B list guys. We've been recruiting Ohio for years, so this will also allow us to encourage Ohio targets who can't make it to Boston to go to these Meyer camps.

This might seem like a lot of effort for just a few relevant kids, but I am glad Addazio is doing this. We need to turn over every rock we can find.

Campaniles on two sides of the Camp Wars

As Jim Harbough and Urban Meyer create new satellite camps for every day of the summer, things are starting to get testy. Upset by Harbough's move into New Jersey, Meyer decided to hold a New Jersey camp on the same day. The dueling camps will force prospects and high school coaches to pick one over the other. One of the coaches upset by this schedule is Bergen Catholic's Nunzio Campanile. He will take his team to the Meyer camp.

BC remains committed to the Michigan camp, including new DBs coach Anthony Campanile. Nunzio Campanile even mentioned his brother's commitment:

"I love my brother more than anything in the world. I just don't want anything to do with my kids going to a camp at Paramus Catholic."

Fortunately, Campanile has enough pull in New Jersey and with his brother that BC won't miss out on any Garden State recruits who don't attend the Harbaugh camp.

Braxton Miller and what could have been (but not really)

Everyone waited on Braxton Miller. He kept saying he was staying at Ohio State, but the football world didn't believe. To most it didn't make sense that he would fight for the QB spot with the national champs when he could waltz in as the starting QB at dozens of college programs. One of the recurring speculations was that he would end up at BC. 

It made sense. BC needed a QB and the one-year success of Tyler Murphy was a great selling point. Then there was the Addazio-Meyer connection. BC doesn't run the same exact offense at the Buckeyes, but there are plenty of similarities. BC's current QBs were young and could wait behind Miller. I heard the talk too, but I don't think it ever got far. And now it all makes sense because Miller is staying at OSU and converting to H-Back.

In reading about Miller's decision, I think the reason he didn't transfer is that he couldn't have played QB for anyone. He still has labrum issues and won't be able to throw completely for two more months. A transfer can't be that effective if he cannot practice with his new team. By playing this hybrid position at Ohio State, he can learn routes and practice catching balls. He can also prepare to be an NFL receiver.

It would have been nice to have a healthy 5th year superstar transfer, but I am excited about Wade. He might not be as dynamic as Miller, but now we can hope for multiple very good seasons instead of another stopgap. (At least that is what I am telling myself.)

Meyer's offensive adaptations and what is means for BC

If you like wonky football Xs & Os and the evolution of an offense, read this Grantland piece on Urban Meyer's incorporation of Oregon schemes into his offense. Due to Addazio's ties to Meyer's power/spread/option work at Florida and Ryan Day's ties to the Chip Kelly/Oregon tempo/spread, there are elements of both styles in BC's offense. However, the Addazio/Day hybrid has been very different from both (so far).

As Grantland pointed out, Meyer still uses power, but also added much more zone blocking schemes and attacks the defense outside the tackles. Since leaving Florida and partnering with Day, Addazio has doubled down on power. We between the tackles all the time and even when we throw in a jet sweep to Alston, it still has power elements. BC also runs more than Oregon or Ohio State. The only programs that run more than BC tend to be teams that run variants of the triple option.

But how much of what BC does is by design and how much is necessity? Addazio didn't inherit a roster like Meyer's or spend the past decade recruiting speedsters like Oregon. Other than the power football, the only hallmark of Addazio's first two years is his ability to adapt his offense to the talent available. He's not stubbornly trying to shove a square peg into a round hole.

I expect BC's offense to continue to evolve. Will they follow Meyer's path or will they incorporate Kelly in different ways? It will be interesting to see. But at least Addazio and Day's peers and role models are showing that you have to keep adapting and changing. Hopefully their adaptations lead BC to a championship game like it did for Urban Meyer.

Meyer's mouthpiece subtly points finger at Addazio

A Florida writer who was embedded with the Gators during Urban Meyer's run in Gainesville is now coming to his defense. The post is long and touches on many of the criticisms lobbed at Meyer, but the reason for the defense starts and ends with Aaron Hernandez. What I find interesting is that the writer is now saying Meyer was against recruiting Hernandez and only did so after an assistant persuaded him.

This is what I learned about how Hernandez got to Florida. He was recruited by an assistant coach from Connecticut, who knew of his checkered past.

Meyer balked at recruiting him. Partly because one of his assistant coaches was so passionate about signing Hernandez and partly because he became convinced “the mission” could change him, Meyer recapitulated.

The writer, Buddy Martin, knows that Steve Addazio was the "assistant coach from Connecticut." So would most of the readers and college football fans. You can even look at Hernandez's recruiting profile to see that Addazio was his recruiter. Yet he doesn't name him. Why? Because he knows it is not fair to blame Addazio for Hernandez. But Meyer still wants to shield himself and look innocent. That's been his modus operandi for a long time...even if he points the blame at his loyal and long-time assistant. Nothing is ever Urban Meyer's fault and god forbid he doesn't control every aspect of his image.

I can't speak to how things were run in Florida, but I don't blame Steve Addazio. I also don't blame Addazio  (or even Meyer) for Hernandez's murdering someone now. Hernandez is an adult acting on his own. Do we blame Kraft or Belichick? No one could have predicted things would end this way.

Addazio recruited Hernandez because he was in his territory and he was a great player. BC recruited him too but he didn't give us the time of day (and it was our TOB-Jags transition class).

I don't know if Addazio cares about what Meyer's defenders are doing, but throwing him under the bus even if it is by geography (Connecticut assistant) rather than name is a cowardly move. I hope Martin and/or Meyer apologize to Addazio.