"I did not* have sex with that woman."

"I am committed to ESPN and will not pursue* any coaching opportunities this fall.”


Ugh. Something about Urban Meyer that has always seemed shifty, and fundamentally untrustworthy to me. He's a man, obviously cut from the worst of his generation, can we say that much at least?

But if he does become an Ohio State employee as soon as the paint dries on this season?

It'll bring into legitimate question Meyer's sincerity about the reasons he cited for quitting his Florida gig after last season. He mentioned concerns about his health and a desire to spend more time with his wife and children, remember? But if he lands with the Buckeyes only a year later - even though he'd be an Ashtabula-born boy going home to fulfill a career dream - Meyer still will come off as more manipulative than honest regarding how he ended things with the Gators.

He said he was exhausted and in need of the comfort of a family embrace.

"Six years at Florida," Meyer said of his tenure at the school, "equals 40 years of your life."

That was last New Year's Day after an Outback Bowl win against Penn State in his final game with the Gators. And now, having worked extensively for ESPN as a college football analyst this season, Meyer is rejuvenated? Already?
...
Because of what Meyer's wife, Shelley, told the same cynic on that Outback Bowl field.

"There's sadness," she said of her husband's decision to quit at Florida, "but there's a lot of relief, too, because I know Urban needs this. He needs something less intense."

Ohio State is not a "less intense" place by any measure. And the pressure to bring the Buckeyes back to prominence from penalties resulting from the Tattoo-gate scandal will be monumental despite whatever short grace period might be allowed. It now seems as though Meyer was just buying himself some time when, upon the forced resignation of Ohio State coach Jim Tressel last spring, he indicated he would "not pursue any coaching opportunities this fall."

But "this fall" is drawing to a close and the Buckeyes are 6-5 and the contract of Tressel's replacement, Luke Fickell, runs out after the season.

It's all being framed so ... conveniently.
...
But if he does end up on the Buckeyes' sideline as early as next season, Meyer's resignation at Florida is going to look less like a decision related to health and family issues and more like a calculated escape from difficult times.

*Rodney Dangerfield voice*
"Hey, she/they pursued me... I mean: what can you do? No respect, I tells ya... "