A lot of people don't like Urban Meyer, fair or not.
There's probably some fairness to it. But there's probably some unfairness to it as well.
One of the mistakes we make as followers of popular sports, or just popular people in general, is thinking we know these people based on the increasingly limited glimpses we see of them in public.
We can have excessively rosy perceptions of people if that's the image they work hard to portray. We can have excessively negative perceptions of people if they choose to keep more endearing parts of their personality private.
But I'd be surprised if even Meyer's biggest detractors did not have a more favorable impression of the guy after reading this splendid article by Wright Thompson.
Thompson is an exceptional writer and reporter, and he always seems to find a way to make, oh, every other sportswriter on the planet feel inferior when he produces a gem like this. Thompson was given unlimited access to Meyer, and he unearthed quite a bit of insight into the struggles Meyer has faced.
Anyone who has struggled to balance the passion for work with the passion for family will find that this story tugs on the heartstrings a bit. Meyer has been more maniacal than most about his career, to the point of a truly heartbreaking public moment with his daughter:
Eighty or so people filed into the school cafeteria. Urban and his wife, Shelley, joined their daughter at the front table, watching as Gigi stood and spoke. She'd been nervous all day, and with a room of eyes on her, she thanked her mother for being there season after season, year after year.
Then she turned to her father.
He'd missed almost everything. You weren't there, she told him.
Shelley Meyer winced. Her heart broke for Urban, who sat with a thin smile, crushed. Moments later, Gigi high-fived her dad without making eye contact, then hugged her coach. Urban dragged himself back to the car. Then -- and this arrives at the guts of his conflict -- Urban Meyer went back to work, pulled by some biological imperative. His daughter's words ran through his mind, troubling him, and yet he returned to the shifting pixels on his television, studying for a game he'd either win or lose. The conflict slipped away. Nothing mattered but winning. Both of these people are in him -- are him: the guilty father who feels regret, the obsessed coach who ignores it. He doesn't like either one. He doesn't like himself, which is why he wants to change.
Pretty powerful stuff.
A few links:
-- Interesting developments at Auburn's quarterback position. Still a lot of questions there, for sure.
Here's more from Jay Tate:
PAIN GAME: Quarterback Clint Moseley, who ostensibly is competing for the starting job, said he attempted only a few passes Wednesday and played sparingly overall.
The shoulder pain that slowed him throughout spring practice remains an issue. He insinuated Wednesday night that he's pushing for a re-examination of what's causing the discomfort.
"I had an MRI (in July). I had an x-ray and everything," Moseley said. "The big man himself, Dr. (James) Andrews, came in there and looked at it and said I was good. I felt really good about it. It's aggravating. It'll come around."
Moseley completed only one pass. It was a screen play.
Jonathan Wallace earned most of the snaps that would have been allocated to Moseley and apparently made the most of it. The freshman completed long throws to both Sammy Coates and Jaylon Denson.
FRAZIER'S DAY A MYSTERY: Observers said Frazier completed some nice passes during the opening moments of the scrimmage, but also missed some open receivers.
Loeffler and Chizik were asked directly about the sophomore and provided equally vague assessments.
"We've got some things we've got to clean up - not just with executing plays, but taking command of the huddle, personnel groupings," Chizik said. "Very inconsistent."
Loeffler added: "We need to improve across the board."
-- Jim Young of The ACC Sports Journal gives his thoughts on the retirement of Terry Don Phillips.
Phillips’ critics will call this a force-out. His backers will likely call this a walkout, thanks to the aforementioned critics. There are pluses and minuses in both columns for the Clemson AD.
Certainly Phillips drew his share of detractors, particularly when the football program went through so many hiccups in its fight to get back to the top of the ACC. But the Tigers did get there, eventually. And while Phillips detractors felt like he didn’t show enough commitment to making Clemson football big time, the Tigers have certainly shown a recent willingness to open up the vault to hire/retain top assistants.
-- In Atlanta, Paul Johnson didn't seem to be in the mood for talking after yesterday's practice.
Georgia Tech went through its first double-practice day Wednesday. Apparently, it was O.K.
Backup nose tackle Shawn Green “practiced [Wednesday]. He did O.K.,” coach Paul Johnson said.
Inside linebacker Jabari Hunt-Days, who had missed time with a muscle tweak, “was out there. He was O.K.,” Johnson said. “Didn’t notice him.”
Backup quarterback Vad Lee?
“He’s done O.K.,” Johnson said.
LW
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