Couch: USC likely regrets failing to hire Urban Meyer two years ago



USC could have had Urban Meyer two years ago. He was there for the taking. But a new school president, trying to clean up the school's sudden Hollywood-tabloid image, passed on the chance. Fans wanted him, and the buzz was always that he was coming. USC never said this so bluntly, but here's what happened: The school didn't want anything to do with Meyer's character issues.

Instead, USC stuck by the ultimate good guy, student mentor, character builder, and father figure Clay Helton as its football coach despite coming off a losing season. So what happened in the two years that ended up with Helton being fired Monday?

That had to do with college football's excessive and growing greed, which has exploded the past few months, legally. Alabama's quarterback is making a million dollars in endorsements, ESPN and the SEC have collaborated on a power play and cash-grab — stealing Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12 — to corner the sport and its billions of dollars.

As Gordon Gekko said in "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," now greed is not only good, it's legal.

USC was looking at all of that, studying the landscape two years after it started to clean things up, and thought this: Count us in. We want some. Don't leave us behind.

That's not to say Helton shouldn't have been fired. The program was dwindling under him. But why did USC stick with him after last season, only to fire him two games into this one?

Nothing had changed at USC, not even after the Trojans, who were 17.5-point favorites Saturday, fell behind Stanford by 29 in the fourth quarter before losing 42-28.

What changed is college football. When the SEC stole Texas and Oklahoma, panic went through the sport. The SEC was hoarding all of the sport's power and money,

So the Big Ten, ACC, and Pac 12 forged an alliance out of survival. And the Big 12, left out of that alliance to die, gobbled up Houston, BYU, Cincinnati, and Central Florida. The College Football Playoff is figuring out how to expand and in what way the new billions of dollars will fall.

USC simply does not want to be left out. Remember that stuff about Meyer and his character? Well, USC doesn't.

In 2019, when USC hired Carol Folt — who had worked to clean up North Carolina after its scandals — and athletic director Mike Bohn, Meyer had already been cleaning up his own image by working at Fox Sports.

Remember, he had been known as Urban Liar for bringing in criminals as Florida's coach and then for sticking by an assistant coach at Ohio State who had been accused of domestic violence. He had been suspended at Ohio State.

Already this week, there are rumors that USC is interested now in Meyer. Meyer had to say publicly there is "no chance" he'll take that job and that he's committed to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Two years ago, USC was part of the Varsity Blues scandal, in which rich people were bribing their kids' way into schools. More people connected to USC were hit with criminal charges than at any other college. Also, a campus gynecologist was accused of sexual assaults covering decades. And a former assistant basketball coach pleaded guilty to accepting bribes.

That's why Folt and Bohn were brought in. And maybe their mission is still the same. Winning and integrity don't have to be mutually exclusive. But the focus now seems to be on making sure USC is able to keep its hands on college football's money and keep its spot at the table.

There are just a handful of national bluebloods left out there who aren't in the SEC. It's just Ohio State and Michigan in the Big Ten, Clemson and Florida State in the ACC, Notre Dame and USC.

Florida State is dropping fast from that group. And you don't have to look too hard to see that this week the sport is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the game of the century, Nebraska's win over Oklahoma. Those teams will play each other on Saturday with one problem.

Nebraska is no longer a blueblood.

USC doesn't want to be Nebraska.

So Helton is gone, taking with him a $10 million buyout. He still gets his. Other coaches who will be rumored for the job will have no interest, but will have the savvy to go back to their bosses and hit them up for big raises to keep them. They'll get theirs, too.

USC still needs to replace Pete Carroll, who left in 2009 after building the Trojans into one of the nation's superstar programs, but doing it with scandals.

That's the new direction now for USC. Big names will come up in the rumor mill. Maybe even Carroll's.

With more and more money pumped into the bubble of college football, the sport becomes more and more cutthroat.

A headline in the Los Angeles Times on Nov. 1, 2019, read: "Mike Bohn brings USC integrity, which means he can't hire Urban Meyer."

I wouldn't be surprised if Bohn is begging Meyer today.

Couch: Cam Newton, unvaccinated players should focus their ire on NFL players’ union



I can save the NFL Players Association a lot of time in its investigation into Urban Meyer and his comments that he factored players' COVID vaccination status into his final player cuts.

The NFLPA sounded awfully strong and indignant. But here is my three-part advice to the NFLPA on how to get its investigation done in mere seconds:

Look in a mirror.
Point.
Say "Guilty."
Investigation over.

The NFLPA created this mess. At the very least, it could have stopped it. And now it claims to want to know whether teams across the NFL were dumping players for not having taken the jab? Well, they were. All of them were.

"Everyone was considered," said Meyer, coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. "That was part of it — production, let's start talking about this. And also is he vaccinated or not? Can I say that that was a decision-maker? It was certainly in consideration."

Meyer is new to the NFL and hasn't yet grasped the concept of going along and getting along. So he keeps doing things such as trying out Tim Tebow at tight end when there might be hundreds of union dues-paying failed tight ends who would've liked the chance.

If the NFLPA is upset with Meyer, it's only because he didn't offer the savvy that New England coach Bill Belichick did when he was asked if Cam Newton's vaccination status played a role in his release.

"No," Belichick fibbed.

Of course it did.

The league's protocols are much more stringent for players who haven't been vaccinated than for those who have.

For one, unvaccinated players have to be tested at a team site every day. Vaccinated players have to be tested just once a week. There are all sorts of protocols like that, including that unvaccinated players are more likely to have to skip playing time or be put on the COVID list and made to sit out.

That makes unvaccinated players worth less than vaccinated ones.

The NFL wanted these rules, but the league is in this for the league's best interest. It is a PR benefit to be proactive on COVID, and also owners have legit concerns about losing players to COVID. Lose too many and you can't play a game, or maybe can't make the playoffs. If you can't play because too many unvaccinated players get COVID, then your team might forfeit. If it's because vaccinated players get it? The game is likely rescheduled.

But the NFLPA is there to represent the players, not the league's interests. Yet the NFLPA went along with the NFL's suggested rules and protocols.

Without data, I'd say it's safe to guess that at least 50% of the players didn't want the vaccine. In agreeing to the NFL's plan, the NFLPA set up a lower class of NFL citizens.

It's hard to know what the NFLPA and executive director DeMaurice Smith stand for. A union is supposed to stand firmly against a strong-arming boss. Personally, I like the NFL's COVID rules because the players retain their rights while being pressured into getting the jab.

But I can't see any way possible that a union would like this.

Is the NFLPA trying to get everyone vaccinated? I don't think so, as it rejected that plan from the NFL. Is it trying to say that it knows better than the players about COVID? How are the players' desires reflected?

Coaches would have to consider vaccination status. If a vaccinated player is found to have COVID, he'd be subjected to less time away than an unvaccinated one.

Coaches are just trying to win football games. That requires as much continuity and reliability as possible.

The Jaguars tried to clean up Meyer's mess by denying that vaccination status was a factor. Then they winked and said it was.

"Availability is one of the many factors taken into account when making roster decisions."

Yes, and vaccinated players have much more availability than unvaccinated ones. Cam Newton had to sit out from the Patriots for five days because he got his test at the wrong place. Had he been vaccinated, he wouldn't have needed a daily test and presumably would have been available.

No matter how the Jaguars phrase it, one plus one still equals two.

Vaccination is considered, like experience or speed, or whether a player is injury-prone.

"I would just point out that I don't know what the number is — you guys can look it up, you have the access to a lot of information — but the number of players, coaches, and staff members that have been infected by COVID in this training camp who have been vaccinated is a pretty high number," Belichick said. "So I wouldn't lose sight of that."

Well, ESPN reported that the league's numbers say 68 of 7,190 tests among players and staff were positive in the first three weeks of August. And the rate of positive tests among the unvaccinated was seven times higher than among the vaccinated.

But this isn't an argument about the vaccine. It's about the extra time on what's basically a COVID injury list that an unvaccinated player is subject to.

Even an anti-vaxxer coach would have to consider that.

A team might overlook that to keep a star player. But the players fighting for a roster spot at all, the ones who need their union's help the most?

They're the ones most likely to lose their jobs. The NFLPA made sure of that.

Couch: Jacksonville Jaguars coach Urban Meyer already in need of a mid-major cupcake



I don't know how to describe the look on Urban Meyer's face. It wasn't anger, exactly, or 4 a.m.-tired. There was too much focus for that. As he watched his new quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, and his new team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, fail Monday night, Meyer's face was somewhere in the family of forlorn, defined as pitifully sad and abandoned or lonely.

The NFL actually had a marquee preseason game, with Meyer/Lawrence facing the New Orleans Saints and their QB combatants Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill.

The big story was Winston. At least that's what everyone's saying. He completed nine of 10 passes in one quarter and had a nearly perfect passer rating. He was hailed for his consistency and his two extremely lucky – my words – deep touchdown passes to Marquez Callaway, who made miracle catches against what could end up being one of history's worst defenses.

I didn't think Winston's play was as exciting as all the analysts thought. He was the first pick in the 2015 draft and should be better by now. His career has been spectacular, as in following a spectacular play with a spectacularly stupid one. And both of his touchdowns Monday went over 40 yards in the air and could have gone either way.

In my view, Meyer was the actual story. Meyer's face, actually, and how he kept shaking his head in disbelief and dismay.

I wonder if he's starting to realize what he has gotten himself into.

The Jaguars lost 23-21 Monday, but it was 23-3 going into the fourth quarter. Jacksonville made a comeback against New Orleans' deepest backups. The Jaguars are now 0-2 in preseason, if anyone's counting.

And Meyer surely is. He is not used to this. In seven seasons at Ohio State, he lost nine games. He'll top that number by Christmas, maybe Thanksgiving. We've seen Meyer's career at Florida and then Ohio State, taking both of them to the top.

But he also left both jobs in bad health. Look it up on YouTube: You can see him taking a knee on the sideline or bent over at the waist trying to catch his breath and get rid of a crushing headache.

The stress showed up in his physical health, usually in the biggest games. Now it might be happening in preseason.

We've seen young quarterbacks, such as Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, come into the NFL lately and be a success quickly. The Jaguars promised to give Meyer new facilities and the support he needs.

Looking at that team Monday, and watching Lawrence, this isn't going to be a quick turnaround.

The Saints came after Lawrence, and they kept pounding him. Jacksonville's offensive line couldn't block for the run or the pass. The Jaguars averaged 2.25 yards per rush and didn't pick up a first down on their first four possessions.

When you have a young quarterback who needs developing, you like to rely on quick passes or the running game for protection. Lawrence will not be protected at all.

Traditionally people say that quarterbacks take a while to adjust to the speed of the NFL. But Lawrence isn't fighting the speed. His offensive line is like a broken dam.

When he was at Clemson, his line could hold back everyone. His receivers were running open downfield, easy for Lawrence to hit.

It's not like that any more. The only time Lawrence had any success Monday was in the two-minute offense, which allowed him to get the ball off fast enough to avoid being hit.

Jacksonville was 1-15 last year, and Meyer and Lawrence aren't going to work miracles immediately.

It's going to be a grind for years. Even then, Lawrence might not pan out any more than Winston has. Meyer might melt down.

"I'm looking for guys who show that spark, show that energy," Meyer said after the game.

Years ago I went to an Ohio State-Purdue game, and the Buckeyes were scoring points about as fast as I could count them. It was so easy for Meyer and not about any genius schemes. He simply had the far better players.

How many games did Meyer win like that? And yet he broke down twice back then and had to leave.

Every game will matter now. Every game will be challenge, and he's the one playing with the Purdue-level roster.

You'd think that two games into his first preseason, Meyer wouldn't already have that look on his face, dropping his head or shaking it in disbelief.

In 17 years as a college coach, Meyer averaged fewer than two losses per season. Two losses in preseason already have him looking like a man desperate to face Middle Tennessee State.

Couch: If loving Tim Tebow is wrong, I don’t want to be right



It takes some sort of cynicism to hate on Tim Tebow. I don't understand it. I don't identify with it. People keep waiting for him to do something wrong, but all he has done in the 15 years since we've known him is try hard, respect others, be a good person, and publicly profess a love of God.

Somehow, things have gotten so messed up that that message does not sit well with a lot of people on Twitter, on ESPN, or wherever else bogus social justice sells. To me, Tebow is an American hero.

Tebow was cut Tuesday by the Jacksonville Jaguars and his former college coach, Urban Meyer. He will not be a backup tight end earning the NFL league minimum after all.

"Thankful for the highs and even the lows, the opportunities, the setbacks," Tebow wrote on Twitter. "I've never wanted to make decisions out of fear of failure and I'm grateful for the chance to have pursued a dream."

Some of our leading bogus social justice mobsters portrayed him as a gimmick and a fake. When Tebow was given the chance to try out, Stephen A. Smith of ESPN's "First Take" huffed and puffed: "Is this not an example of white privilege? What brother you know is getting this opportunity?"

Jemele Hill of the Atlantic said Tebow was getting an opportunity that Colin Kaepernick never got, with the implication that it was because Tebow is white, Kaepernick black.

And after Tebow was cut, FoxSports1's Shannon Sharpe of "Undisputed" said Meyer had to cut Tebow "to save some credibility and maintain his voice in that locker room … I just hate that somebody missed the opportunity because Urban gave a friend, a former player of his, an opportunity that I don't believe he deserved. Someone else deserved that opportunity but they didn't get it."

Wrong, wrong, and wrong. Tebow did nothing wrong here. No one lost a job because of him. He was an obvious and deserving choice for a tryout.

Meyer did nothing wrong, either. No one got hurt. He did not have to save face.

Social justice was supposed to be a positive thing, standing up for people without the power to stand up for themselves. That has crossed over into making villains out of others, where a white man who believes in and serves God is the devil.

This has such anti-religious overtones, casting someone with open religious and charitable beliefs as phony, weird, and cult-like.

Tebow is a former NFL quarterback and great athlete who proved that he could break a tackle. That in itself was reason enough to justify seeing if he could be a third-string tight end.

He is a high-character, inspirational athlete. As the quarterback for the Denver Broncos years ago, it was clear that he didn't have the traditional quarterback skills, the throwing motion or accuracy. Yet he kept finding a way to win at the end.

Why? Because Tebow believes in faith, believes in miracles. And when his teammates stood next to him in the locker room, or on the line of scrimmage with the Broncos needing a touchdown, he made them believe, too.

White privilege? Tebow was a proven winner, a locker room panacea on a Jacksonville team that needed one, a strong, fine-tuned body.

He was not only an obvious choice, but also he surely helped to set the tone of the team in Meyer's first year in Jacksonville.

And the comparison between Tebow and Kaepernick is preposterous. Kaepernick makes a living by playing up to the bogus social justice mob.

After being blackballed in the NFL for not standing for the national anthem, Kaepernick was given another chance eventually. He sabotaged it by not showing up for his tryout. He does not want to play in the NFL, as it would jeopardize his career as a victim.

By contrast, Tebow was not given another shot at quarterback. He was given a chance to try out as a third-string, minimum-salary tight end. He risked embarrassment and humiliation by trying out, especially with the mob telling him he didn't belong and was taking someone else's spot.

If Kaepernick played in the NFL again, he would be championed endlessly no matter how poorly he played. It would be portrayed as a step forward in society. If Tebow had made the Jaguars, he would have been chastised for working hard and trying to do right.

As for Meyer and the Jaguars, well, there was a business decision in there, too. Tebow was a star at the University of Florida while playing for Meyer, and Jacksonville fans were mad that the Jaguars didn't draft him. They were mad again when the Jaguars let the New York Jets get him from Denver.

So Meyer surely was trying to mend fences with his new fan base. But Meyer knows how cutthroat football is and how slim the margin for victory. He would not waste a valuable roster spot on a gimmick.

He gave Tebow a legitimate look and cut him legitimately. Tebow was thankful for the opportunity. It was as simple as that.

So the cynics can celebrate now. But Tebow had the guts to try. He is the perfect storm for the bogus social justice mobsters: a good person, respecting others, taking a chance, and believing in God.

I guess to some people, that's a bad thing. To me, it's heroic.