Stoops to "The Swamp"? If not him, then who?

With Urban Meyer set to coach his last game (for now) in the Outback Bowl, the search for a replacement is currently the hottest news in the land.

Even before the regular season came to a close, there were a few openings around; Minnesota, Miami, Pittsburgh; but in all honesty, and no disrespect to any of these programs, they all take a back seat to the Florida.  A school that has gone 64-15 and won 2 national championships over the last 6 years has got to be "hot property", at least in my opinion.

As expected, there might be that pitch to Bob Stoops, to try and get him back to The Swamp.  This is after all where Stoops, while running the defense, made a name for himself.  What's not to like about Florida?  The state is a major recruiting hotbed and there's enough talent to go around; inspite of stiff competiton from Miami and Florida State. 

Money won't be an issue either, as the school would be willing pay the going rate for a coach of his calibre.  Considering how fast he was able to turn Oklahoma from an afterthought to contender, what wonders could he do with a team that is 2 seasons removed from it's last championship?

As good as it may seem, I don't think Stoops would be willing to change addresses.  I don't know the guy personally, but I don't see this move happening.  He was approached back in 2001 after Steve Spurrier stepped down, and I'm sure he must have been contacted back in 2004 when the "Ron Zook" experiment didn't work out at all.  During his tenure, he's been wooed by the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and even Notre Dame (after they fired Charlie Weiss).  He's held firm and I've come to believe that he's found a home at Oklahoma.  Of course, I could be wrong, but only time will tell.

So if not Stoops, who else is out there that can take the reins and lead the Gators back to prominence?  Former Meyer assistants Dan Mullen (Mississippi State) and Charlie Strong (Louisville) have also been mentioned.  If it's any credit, both coaches have led their respective programs to a their first bowl games in a while.  That being said, and with all do respect to both coaches, I doubt that either of them are quite ready to take on a bigger job.  Mullen is finishing his second year in Starkville, while this this only Charlie Strong's first year as a head coach.

Then of course you have Bobby Petrino, but he just signed an extension at Arkansas, so I doubt he'll be leaving any time soon.  Then again, after he did an about-turn on the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL, who's to know what's on his mind right now?  He did an amazing job leading Louisville to an Orange Bowl win before leaving for the pro's; and he's got Arkansas playing in their first BCS bowl since............. (I don't even remember).  Well, if you consider how quickly Lane Kiffin jumped ship from Tennessee to USC, nothing is ever certain.

Kirk Ferentz is a name that has also been mentioned here and there.  Rumours have it that he's probably the strongest candidate out there.  You can't always believe what you read or hear now, can you?  Even though he could do really well at Florida, I doubt that he'll leave Iowa.  And even though he's in a conference dominated by Ohio State currently, he's always managed to make the Hawkeyes relevant.

In my opinion, the BEST qualified candidate would be Gary Patterson of TCU.  He's been at the school since 2001 and has led them to a bowl game every season (5-3 record), except in 2004.  He has also led the program to 10+ wins in 7 of the last 10 seasons.  He has consistently produced winning seasons despite the limited resources and talent; and has had TCU a spot away from playing in the national championship game the last 2 seasons.

We do not know who Florida will hire at this time, but what we do know is that they want to win right away.  I guess let's just sit back and see how all this plays out.

Urban Flight.

For the second year in a row, Urban Meyer has decided to step down from coaching.  Last year,  citing health concerns, he retired only to unretire the next day.  This time, he stated that it was a desire to spend more time with his family and interests away from football.  He seems to have his mind made up, but for how long will he stay retired?

There's a lot of speculation that he could unretire, again, and take up the vacant coaching spot for the Denver Broncos.  That would reunite him with Tim Tebow, the man who seemed to make Meyer's life as coach a lot easier.  It would also confirm what I've always believed; that Meyer couldn't seem to contemplate what his life would be without Tim Tebow, hence his decision to retire last year.  Let's be real, he misses the kid.

Tim Tebow was one of the most highly recruited players during his 2005 senior year.  Despite a strong pitch by Alabama, he chose Florida and attained a cult-like status from the day he set foot in Gainesville.  As a back up to Chris Leak during his freshman year, he was a key contributor toward the Gators championship run that season.  As a starting QB, he held a 35-6 record, won the Heisman Trophy and led Florida to the National Championship.  Altogether, Florida had a record of 48-7 during Tebow's 4 years on campus. 

In the year 1 P.T (Post Tebow), Florida has all but vanished from the college football map.  Along with John Brantley, Florida had to use Jordan Reed and Trey Burton in QB shuffle, as they struggled to a 7-5 record this past season.  Believe it or not, they were still in contention for the SEC East crown, but South Carolina quickly took care of that.

It's hard to believe that at one point, Cameron Newton was next in line after Tim Tebow.  Seeing the kind of impact that Newton has had on Auburn, one can only wonder what might have been, had he stuck around at Florida.  Had he stayed, and it was Florida going to the national championship instead of Auburn, would Urban Meyer have made this decision to walk away?  Also considering that Newton is a junior and would likely be back for his senior season (which could possibly be another national title run), would Urban Meyer have wanted to walk away from that too?

Following the 2008 season, Meyer has lost 2 key assistants that have gone on to fill head coaching vacancies; Dan Mullen to Mississippi State and Charlie Strong to Louisville.  After Mullen left, the offense hasn't quite been the same the last 2 years; and you can also see how much their defense misses Charlie Strong.  I guess that's the price you pay when you have a top program.  It is never easy to replace quality assistants, just ask Florida State.

In 10 years as head coach, Urban Meyer has coached at 3 schools while compiling a record of 103-23 (17-6 at Bowling Green, 22-2 at Utah, 64-15 at Florida).  That is as good as any record during that period.  His record in bowl games stands currently stands at 6-1.  His coaching highlights include leading Utah to a 12-0 record and a Fiesta Bowl win in the 2004 season (making Utah the first BCS buster),  and 2 national championships at Florida.  The man has indeed proven his worth as a head coach.

Should Meyer decide to return to coaching at some point, it won't be with Denver though (at least that's what I think).  My best guess is that he'll probably wait until Tressel steps down at Ohio State.  That makes sense to me, as Meyer is from Ohio.  What a homecoming that would be.

The Outback Bowl against Penn State will be Meyer's last game in charge.  Across the field will be Penn State's Joe Paterno, 83 years young.  The irony.