One or two dominoes fall this way, you suck and get fired. One or two dominos fall that way, you stack up trophies. So many variables, and no way to predict the future.
I don't think the two points are mutually exclusive. Urban really was as much of a slam dunk at that point as we were likely to see AND his success wasn't assured in his own mind until that second recruiting class (still early on). Even slam dunks can miss. And every single coach, no matter the pedigree, could be unsuccessful at a different place/different time/different circumstance. For example, I think Urban could have still succeeded here had Tebow gone to Bama with Shula, but it would have looked very different and probably wouldn't have been as overwhelming as it was. Game of inches, both on and off the field. Finding the ones who seem so eminently qualified is really just trying to mitigate that risk as much as possible.
Succeeded? yes, He was 9-3, 5-3 his first year, which is successful, but he acknowledged that in order to get to the top, he needed to recruit better. A lot of his players followed Tebow here and may have been our Mark Richt w/o TT.
Urban knows what it takes to win in college football. It’s not a coin flip when the coin is weighted.
Meyer had Jevan Snead committed before it became apparent Tebow was going to be Tebow. Snead went 9-4 in back-to-back seasons at Ole Miss. The Rebs went 3-9 the year before and 4-8 the year after he left. He was good. He wasn't Tebow good, but the Gators would have been good with him.
So what???? How many coaches could say the same thing? You think Saban won with no talent? Dumb post.
No argument from me that Tebow's class changed everything and brought the pieces together for our run to the top. But my post was simply suggesting that it wasn't revisionist history to call Urban's hire a slam dunk. Even the best of candidates always bring risk and all of them take at least some amount of time to demonstrate if they will actually pan out or not, no matter how likely it may look upfront. I think that both your point about Meyer's uncertainly until his second recruiting class and the post you were responding to calling him a slam dunk hire can both be true simultaneously. As far as his success without Tebow is concerned, I think Urban could have succeeded without him and his effect on that signing class, but it probably would have taken longer, looked very different, and not been as overwhelming as that 06-09 stretch. Urban, after all, built Utah into a undefeated team and won a title at OSU, both without Tim. I sure am glad he was and is a Gator, but Tebow wasn't the only way to skin a cat. Just the fastest, funnest, and maybe best way.
Do not bring back U.M. It would be a mistake! There is zero chance his heart would be into the project and if you don’t want it bad, it won’t succeed.
And Ohio State stockpiling the same talent still hasn’t won a National Championship after Urban left.
Think the difference is Urb and his teams showed up for big games more often. Ryan Day is great at demolishing the mediocre and bad teams. He's 1-7 in games he's the underdog in though. For whatever reason, dude just can't win big games.
Urban’s a winner. He takes calculated risks in crucial situations that results in wins. The fake punt he pulled off in our own territory on that championship run was ballsy.
This, and Meyer won a MNC in 2006 with Tim as a backup wildcat option. Meyer definitely had the ability to adapt.
One of my favorite Urban characteristics was his unbelievable record with more than 1 week to prepare. Whether it was a season opener, bowl game, or even just a bye week, he and his staff focused so hard on that one opponent they won nearly ever single time. Back in the the day you just knew if they had the time that staff was going to plan, prepare, and scheme whatever they needed to in order to win. Period.