Following the shocking announcement that he would retire at the age of 45, Urban Meyer’s name quickly rose to the forefront of possible replacements once head coach Joe Paterno walks away from Happy Valley.
Of course, Paterno is coming back for another season, but after 2011, who knows what the future holds for him.
Meyer left the University of Florida with two national championship titles, and he led one of the most dominant football programs in this decade; however, his health became an issue, and it resulted in him deciding to step away from the game.
But not forever.
He’s too young to call it quits for good. He’s in his mid-40’s, and he is one of the best in the nation at recruiting.
However, it is still a rumor, so don’t read too much into it.
“I have no idea when Joe will retire. I don’t think Joe even knows. And Urban Meyer has only been retired for less than two weeks. I doubt he is already lining up his next coaching gig. I would hardly call it rumor. More like wishful thinking by some people,” said Mike Hubbell, manager of Black Shoe Diaries.
The idea of seeing Meyer walking out of the tunnel in Beaver Stadium is very intriguing. He transformed Utah into what they are today and put Florida in position to win the big game year after year. Meyer is among the best coaches in America, and if Penn State can find a way to bring him out of retirement once Joe Pa hangs it up, the program would continue to bring in top recruits and be among the contenders in the Big Ten year in and year out.
“Of course all Penn State fans would love that, but I will not get my hopes up,” said Wade VanLandingham, owner of Penn State Central.
If Meyer is not the coach of the future, then who will take over the program?
That’s hard to predict, especially since it’s nearly impossible to put an expiration date on Paterno’s coaching legacy.
Originally, many thought Al Golden, then-head coach of Temple University, would take over for Paterno. But that quickly went down the drain when he accepted the job at Miami (FL).
Then there’s Greg Schiano, head coach at Rutgers. He would accept the Penn State job without any second guessing, but his salary could scare off Penn State. He ranks 25th among coaches in salary ($2.1M), and he would most likely seek between $2.5-$3 million with Penn State.
But I’m not going to predict who the next coach at Penn State will be because Paterno still reigns in Happy Valley, and I don’t have any clue when he will walk away from the sidelines.
However, Meyer will remain in the rumors throughout the year, but most likely will die down during the season. When the 2011 season concludes, though, the Meyer to Penn State rumors will spread through the media outlets like a Californian wildfire.
