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Meyer, Stoops Took Long Road To Fast Track

Associated Press file photos

Bob Stoops and Urban Meyer are $3 million-a-year CEOs of unmistakable brands - Sooners and Gators – and celebrities in their adopted home states.

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By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 5, 2009

MIAMI - Twenty years ago they were just starting out, soaking up knowledge, working insane hours, doing anything to get ahead, maybe even fetching coffee for other staff members.

Now they are college football's coaching emperors.

Oklahoma's Bob Stoops and Florida's Urban Meyer – as a prelude to Thursday night's BCS Championship Game – were led into Dolphin Stadium on Monday morning, where they each held court for one hour at the event's media day.

"I'm not sure I ever imagined myself in a spot like this,'' said Stoops, surrounded by 100 or so reporters who hung on every word. "But life does change.''

Once, Stoops was an anonymous volunteer coach at his alma mater, Iowa.

Once, Meyer was a faceless graduate assistant at Ohio State.

Now they are arguably the most powerful men in their profession. They are examples of why many high-profile college coaches no longer must join the NFL to reach football's pinnacle. They are $3 million-a-year CEOs of unmistakable brands – Sooners, Gators – and celebrities in their adopted home states.

Neither has celebrated their 50th birthday.

And neither is that far removed from much humbler times.

"When we were at Colorado State, when Urban was an assistant there, I remember counting up the hours Urban put in one week – and it was 118,'' said Meyer's wife, Shelley. "Those were crazy day. I had to have a job, there was no choice, and we were living paycheck to paycheck.

"Have things changed? Oh, my gosh, our life is so different. But when I look at Urban, I see him coaching with the same passion, the same intensity as a young guy who was making $25,000. And I don't think those qualities will ever change with him.''

Nor with Stoops.

Jay Norvell, Oklahoma's assistant offensive coordinator, played in the same Iowa secondary with Stoops. When he sees the head coach's swagger, his unfailing confidence, he remembers a constant scene from the Hawkeyes' locker room.

"I used to like looking around, looking into everyone's eyes,'' Norvell said. "Bob was always straight ahead, never flinching. He had this conviction that just separated him from other people.

"This is a guy who played his whole senior season at Iowa with a fractured foot. He could hardly walk. But he played every Saturday. He was my leader even back then. I looked up to him – and I still do.''

Stoops became Steve Spurrier's defensive coordinator at Florida in 1996, the season when the Gators won the program's first national title.

Almost immediately, Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley knew Stoops was something special.

"There was something about Bobby Stoops, just like there was something about Urban Meyer,'' Foley said. "It's their directness, the way they look you in the face, the way they communicate their vision. It's no surprise that these guys are at the top of their profession. They share a lot of great qualities.''

One obvious similarity – their roots in Ohio, a long-time cradle of coaches.

"Football is important there, and I think Urban and I always had that passion for the game,'' Stoops said. "I think Florida and us, along with six or seven other schools, we've played to a high level each year. We feel fortunate to be in that group, but we're always striving for more.''

Meyer feels the same way.

"For a guy to leave Florida without a degree and without a championship, what a tragedy, what a mistake, what a bad deal,'' Meyer said. "I just don't think that should ever happen because of what we have here.

"What [recruits] are hearing now [from opposing schools] is 'You'll never play there because they have too many [great] players.' Look, when we recruited Percy Harvin, he didn't ask who our receivers were. When we recruited Tim Tebow, he didn't care about the quarterbacks we had. Those are the guys we want, the ones who have that much confidence in their ability.''

When Stoops left UF to take the Oklahoma job, the Sooners were coming off a five-year run of 23-33-1 (with no winning seasons and only one bowl appearance). In his eyes – at OU's traditionally powerful program – that was unthinkable.

"We didn't have a strong self-image,'' Stoops said. "I felt as a program we were shying away from those expectations. I told them, 'This is what we're supposed to be and this is how we're supposed to play. And we're going to work to do it.' ''

By Thursday night, either Stoops or Meyer will become the first coach to win two BCS championships. Seemingly, that would be time for reflection, maybe even celebration.

Not for long. Not with these guys.

"Urban and Bobby have fire in their bellies,'' Foley said. "That has always been there.''

When they were coaching grunts.

And even now, as college football's emperors.

Reporter Joey Johnston can be reached at (813) 259-7353.

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