For those that haven't noticed, I often like to take an opposing viewpoint for no other purpose than instigating dialogue...stirring the stew, so to speak, which is the very purpose of a forum of this nature. With that in mind, I fell upon a rather long tread this morning on one of the many sites I visit and thought I would pose the same question here. Its a rather interesting twist on the oddity that is Urban Meyers retirement turned indefinite leave of absence, with some insight provided by none other that Mrs. Shelley Meyer..............
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\"Shelley, a psychiatric nurse, spoke then of just how damaging coaching was both to her husband and family; any loss, much less the one to Alabama that helped send him to the hospital early this month, always left Meyer devastated.
\"He's miserable,\" Shelley said then. \"He can't sleep, and he can't eat: He's in the tank. The 2004 Utah season was the best ever, because we didn't lose a game. Last year we lost to Ole Miss, and he went into the depths as he always does: The game ends and I'm like, 'Oh, I know what it's going to be.' And so do my kids: 'Oh, great, dad's going to be in a terrible mood.' He sits alone, and the worst thing is if we have people over. Because we have people every
week for games and the worst part is if we lose, what do you do with your company? They don't want to sit around and cry.
\"And you can't ask them to leave -- even though we all want to leave. He just wants to sit all by himself. He goes in the den, he doesn't want to talk to anybody, doesn't want to see anybody. He usually puts the TV on and he usually just wants me to come sit with him. He can't sleep that night. Terrible, terrible. And he's up by 5 a.m. the next morning and in (his office) watching that film: What went wrong? It's the most distraught thing you've ever seen, because it's all his fault -- in his mind: It's my fault. What did I do? I didn't put the players in the position to win.\"
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With those quotes posted numerous canine posters opinned on the following questions.........
* Is this the type of coach we want at UGA?
* Would you willing trade a coach like CMR for a coach like CUM?
* Is winning everything, or is character part of the equation?
Clearly, the differences between CMR and CUM are as vast as polararity. Yet, CUM's investment has translated into success the likes most only dream about and apparently have cost him his health. One could equally argue does short term success translate to long term tenure?...Time will only tell...
I distinctly remember a certain head coach that developed sideline chest pain during a difficult season. Flanked by some institutional turmoil and subsequent investigation, said coach ultimately found himself on the receiving end of a successful angioplasty secondary to a cardiac cath...I believe a year or so later said coach left the side lines to become AD...His name?? ....Vince Dooley....What the stresses of HC didn't rob from Vince, the Jan Kemp investigation and subsequent sanctions finalized. Now I'm NOT saying that there are impending sanctions at UF, I make this comparison solely to compare and constrast the similarities of stress and ones health. An issue I am personally all to familiar with!
There has been a not so subtle shift in coaching persona. The \"win at all cost\" mentality has become more of a means to an end than outlier. More coaches are adopting this persona, should we?
UGA is at a crossroad. We've had a difficult and disappointing season that ended with the dismissal of several coaches, many questioning the abitlity of those remaining, including CMR. Mark's decisions in the next few days/weeks could set the stage for future success, or begin the first few stanza's of his requiem.
So,....if given the keys to the kingdom, which road would you take?........
GO DAWGS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"My advice to you is to start drinking heavily." - Bluto