We remember the brilliance. We forget the ridiculousness. This is the story of Urban Meyer, the two time national championship winning coach who has come back to the game of college football to run the program at Ohio State. He’s a master of the college game. Kids make decisions if they here the name Urban Meyer. Maybe it was the dominance of his Florida teams, or maybe it was his relationship with Tim Tebow. But Meyer parallels a certain NFL coach known for shabby hoodies and anti-social tactics. The comparisons between Meyer and Bill Belichick don’t end at their proclivity for winning titles. Both are, shall we say, abrasive. Belichick is well known for his tight lips and curt sessions with the media. Meyer is equally aloof, but with an angry edge to his words. He’s a baby whose genius for the game conceals who he is as a person and the example he sets. Today, he complained about the cost of traveling for high school players looking to come to the coach’s camp. He may have a point, but this is another incident in a long line of irrational anger at the media and anybody associated with it. You may remember his rant in March of 2010 where he scolded a reporter who asked a simple question. The reporter asked about comments made by wide receiver Deonte Thompson about the quarterback battle. Urban snapped and pointed at the journalist while verbally abusing him.
There’s no excuse for this. Enough from the coaches who abuse the media, whether it is insults and strong vernacular or answers so brief that reporters twist uncomfortably in their chairs. It’s unfair. Sure, it’s annoying to hear a stupid question after a loss or in a time of turmoil for your team, but it’s there job to ask you, and it’s your job to answer. The excuse that they signed up to be a coach not a public relations pawn is outdated. Coaches know what there job means. Even worse, there’s a tone with a lot of these coaches that the media is somehow lesser or weaker and not part of the sport. In their mind, if you didn’t play the sport, you’re not part of their isolated little world. Puny, little writers, hacking away at a keyboard, just waiting to overreact and vilify you for the smallest mistake, right? What do you think Urban Meyer reads when he wakes up in the morning? He picks up a paper or reads the news online just like the rest of the world, and it’s about time he acknowledges that dealing with the media isn’t a nuisance; it’s his job. In the end, Meyer’s bullying and bitching will go under the radar, because he’s just that good at coaching. It’s the same way with Belichick. But it’s about time somebody told these coaches that the media isn’t going anywhere, and treating them with respect might be a good idea.
