Let's play a game.
I'll give a description of the current state of one of college football's elite programs and you tell me the program I'm talking about.
It is the end of an era. The old guard is in need of a change.
The fan base is tired of the same offense being trotted out week after week and year after year. It is time for change fans, alumni and boosters can believe in. It is time to bring in a big name coach with a knack for a spread offense and major BCS experience.
At this point Ohio State fans are probably either nodding silently, frantically shoving needles into their very own Joe Bauserman or Luke Fickell voodoo dolls, or openly weeping as they stare blankly into the computer screen but here's the catch, I'm talking about Michigan circa 2007.
The old guard was Lloyd Carr and his pro-style offense. The big name spread offense guru for hire was Rich Rodriguez. How'd that work out for them?
Ohio State fans should take note of their bitter rival's recent debacle before so quickly clamoring for the hiring of Urban Meyer.
Don't get me wrong, Urban Meyer is a great coach. His record speaks for itself. However when it comes to the art of hiring a coach, finding a fit rules supreme.
Yes Urban Meyer is from Ohio and served for two years as an Ohio State assistant in the late 80's and was even the head coach for Bowling Green for another two years but that doesn't necessarily make him an "Ohio" guy. He made his name far from Ohio, kickstarting Utah's ascent from BCS buster to bonafide BCS program and taking Florida to the highest peak Florida has ever been to.
Should Ohio State hire Urban Meyer they would likely face a similar acclimation period that Michigan had to withstand after the hiring of Rodriguez. Their current stable of athletes, particularly on offense, are built for the pro style offense largely put into place by Jim Tressel. Finding the right kind of athletes to fit Meyer's spread-option system may take just as much time as it took Rodriguez and in today's instant-gratification climate, that's simply too long. Look how frustrated and annoyed Buckeye fans are with Luke Fickell and the man hasn't even completed one season!
Then there's the issue of compliance. The NCAA continues to drag their feet on delivering their final punishment for the infractions that took place in the final years of the Tressel era. Could it be that they are waiting to see who the Buckeye's decide to hire? If that's the case, there is yet another reason the Buckeyes should be weary of hiring Meyer.
As the NCAA has shown with the recent extensions of suspensions for seemingly minor infractions committed by Buckeye players they clearly have become targets to be made into examples. With such a large target on their backs it may be unwise to hire a coach who had over 30 players arrested in five years at his last stop.
So as the short and not-so-sweet Luke Fickell era draws to a close and Ohio State begins searching for a new leader, the question is will they realize they are in a strangely familiar situation? Or will they potentially make the same mistake as their rivals up north?
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