Gators’ Meyer facing first stretch of adversity in young coaching career

Urban Meyer’s vocabulary has had to expand a bit this season. As one of the nation’s most successful coaches at age 46, the Florida boss already has two national titles in six seasons leading the Gators.

What’s Next

Outback Bowl
Penn State vs. Florida
1 p.m., Jan. 1, ABC

So with his team finishing the regular season at 7-5 – his worst record in nine years as a head coach – Meyer finds himself using some very unfamiliar words.

“There’s certainly a lot of frustration, a lot of disappointment,” Meyer said Monday on a teleconference with Penn State’s Joe Paterno, his opponent in the upcoming Outback Bowl on Jan. 1. “But that’s part of college athletics. That’s really all I can go with at this time.”

Meyer is facing some new obstacles with the Gators, as he has had to deal with injuries, ineffectiveness and some off-field distractions as well.

The issues began shortly after the Gators’ bid for a third national title was ended last December with a loss to Alabama in the SEC championship.

Hours after the defeat, Meyer was admitted to the hospital for chest pains, and lingering stress-related health problems caused him to briefly step down from the program.

Though he returned in full capacity for the 2010 season with the Gators ranked No. 3 in the country in the preseason coaches’ poll, Meyer faced his first stretch of prolonged adversity.

Replacing Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tim Tebow has not been easy, as Meyer and embattled offensive coordinator Steve Addazio have rotated as many as three quarterbacks in some games as the offense has struggled.

“We have a plan for success, and this is the first time in many, many years we did not follow that plan,” Meyer said. “We have to get back to that.”

Turnovers haunted the Gators on the field. Off of it, they dealt with nagging injuries to players like leading rusher Jeff Demps and also much stranger situations, like Chris Rainey’s arrest for aggravated stalking.

Through it all, Addazio has come under heavy scrutiny from Gators fans. The heat was turned up this week after another high-profile assistant – Texas offensive coordinator Mike Davis – resigned following a 5-7 finish for the Longhorns.

As the losses mounted for Florida, so did the questions about Addazio’s future. For now, the plan is for Addazio, who served as the Gators’ interim coach during Meyer’s hiatus, to return for 2011.

“I’m expecting that to happen,” Meyer said. “I’ll have further updates closer to the bowl.”

Florida is just 78th in the country in yards per game – trailing Penn State – including 84th in passing, with John Brantley, Jordan Reed and Trey Burton all taking turns under center.

The Gators were also one of the worst red-zone teams in the nation this season, scoring on less than 70 percent of their trips inside the 20.

Meyer said the Gators will tinker with the offense and come up with some wrinkles for the Nittany Lions.
“Anytime you have time (off), you’re going to come up with something,” Meyer said. “You’ll certainly see some changes.”

While Addazio will be with the team for the bowl, assistant head coach and defensive line coach Dan McCarney will not be, having taken the head job at North Texas last week.

It’s another hurdle for Florida to clear. But Meyer said he is confident his players will be able to overcome playing on a smaller stage than they’ve been used to.

“In this day and age of BCS and national championship games and high draft picks, (it) kind of consumes everybody’s appetite,” Meyer said. “But for certain players that doesn’t matter. They just love the game of football and an opportunity to play.”