Urban Meyer would have still been coaching regardless.

Two trials captivated the news this week. Paul Manafort, the former campaign manager for President Trump, was charged with 18 felonies and convicted of eight. He faces a prison term and second trial after a historic day in politics.

But the Urban Meyer hearing at Ohio State shared the headlines with Manafort. Of course, it wasn’t a trial in a court of law, but Meyer’s future with the Buckeyes was clearly at stake. To some, the tension in that closed hearing of the Board of Trustees rivaled the deliberations of the Manafort jury.

Meyer was only fighting for his job with THE Ohio State University. Had the faction of Trustees who favored integrity won over those who voted to slap the coach on the wrist, Meyer would have taken the rest of this season off and had plenty of offers from other schools and to keep coaching.

Some coaches get extra chances. USC fired Steve Sarkisian for being drunk in public, but Sark wound up calling plays for Alabama in the national championship game and is now offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons. Lane Kiffin is on the third or fourth of his nine lives as a football coach.

Meyer apologized, sort of, after receiving a suspension for the first three games the Big Ten-favored Buckeyes will win easily without him. Athletic Director Gene Smith, who did not manage the situation well, also got suspended without pay.

When you look at all the facts surrounding former assistant coach Zach Smith, Meyer basically got a hall pass. He used the excuse that friendship with and respect for Smith’s grandfather and former Ohio State coach Earl Bruce clouded his judgment on Smith’s abusive behavior toward his ex-wife.

Smith had two such incidents, the first as an assistant under Meyer at Florida and the second when he was on the Ohio State staff. Meyer’s reputation takes a temporary hit.

But by season’s end, his suspension will be old news and a distant memory, as you will find Ohio State in the national championship hunt.

That’s the place really big-time football plays in today’s Americana. It doesn’t look as bad as politics, but pretty close.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Related Stories
‹
Chansky's Notebook: Bailing Out
Roy Williams probably had reasons for the soft statements. Carolina fans reacted strongly to the video of a team party after the win over Duke. Only Armando Bacot and Day’Ron Sharpe were in the video, but a statement from players and managers said it was supposed to be a closed event that other students and […]
Chansky's Notebook: Please, Go In!
UNC men's basketball faces what is an early season must-win at Georgia Tech. Art Chansky says a look at the statistics is painful, but not terminal.
Chansky's Notebook: Leaky Steps Up
Dean Smith used to say he’ll be happy with a one-point win. The legendary UNC basketball coach struggled spiritually between playing well according to his teachings, regardless of outcome, and winning no matter how poorly you play. Since his job was to win and he was so competitive, he chose the latter. If he was […]
Chansky's Notebook: Rock(et) Star
Ben Kiernan was UNC’s MVP of the Notre Dame game. When Mack Brown went over the 31-17 loss, he gave mixed reviews to the two main branches of his Tar Heels’ play. He said the offense was good in the first half and then “went dead” in a scoreless second half. He praised the Tar […]
Chansky's Notebook: Goals and Ambitions
Garrison Brooks has both opportunity and pressure. On paper, the ACC looks as weak as it has been in some time due to widespread losses to graduation and early departures to the NBA, and no sure-shot superstars in the incoming recruiting classes. A beneficiary of this development is Brooks, the Carolina senior who was second-team All-ACC last year and earned the league’s […]
Chansky's Notebook: A COVID Debate
Clemson was livid that Florida State wouldn’t play the game. Let’s be lawyers, and make a case for each of the teams that did not play its scheduled game over the weekend. Clemson had traveled to Florida State when it learned a player with mild symptoms who had practiced with the team all week tested […]
Chansky's Notebook: Draft Dodgers
Carolina and Duke players have lost ground in the NBA draft. Like everything else with sports in the COVID era, the NBA draft goes off tonight after being postponed for five months. And if you look at the various mock draft boards, certain things jump off your screen. First of all, about half the names […]
Chansky's Notebook: A Two-Thirds Bet?
What if Phil Mickelson and Mack Brown amended their bet? With the Masters being moved back to this weekend due to COVID, perhaps the three-time champion should revisit the fun bet he made with Carolina’s football coach back in 2003. The famed lefthander was still seeking his first Green Jacket when he partnered with the Texas football coach at the […]
Chansky's Notebook: Kudos To Carolina
UNC teams did a commendable job beating the odds. Who among us thought the ACC would be playing football and other fall sports last summer? With the pandemic upon us and the medical experts still learning, the seasons looked like a long shot. While other conferences pumped the breaks and/or called off football, the ACC […]
Chansky's Notebook: Extra Motivation
Carolina’s schedule could be working to its advantage. When the COVID-revised list of games came out, it looked troublesome for the Tar Heels with Virginia Tech and Florida State basically bookending Notre Dame and Miami with four rivalry games in a row right in the middle. Coaches usually don’t like that because it takes a […]
›