‘Everyone Modifications’: City Meyer Breaks Down Why Repeating Is So Laborious

Successful a nationwide championship in back-to-back seasons is hard, simply ask City Meyer. 

The previous Florida and Ohio State head coach fell quick in all three of his title defenses, failing to make it again to the nationwide championship recreation every time.

As Ohio State begins its quest to repeat, Meyer is urging these round Ryan Day’s program to keep away from the pitfalls that tripped up his personal groups.

“Everyone adjustments,” Meyer stated on “The Joel Klatt Present.” “Everyone desires to level the finger on the gamers. I didn’t. The administration is totally different. Your followers are totally different. Your donors are totally different. Your teaching employees is totally different. Everyone walks round like one thing’s modified. We’re a blue-collar workforce. We’re blue-collar folks. We work our ass off, and now we have now the solutions. 

“I used to say that on a regular basis, ‘I get it now, so we have now all of the solutions as a result of we wish it.’ Do you understand we’re now going to be the goal of each workforce within the nation? I’d at all times attempt to push it down, and it’s exhausting to do as a result of everyone adjustments.”

Meyer’s first run at a title protection got here in 2007, in search of to steer Florida to back-to-back titles after profitable all of it in 2006. He admitted that his 2007 workforce wasn’t “prepared for primetime,” but it surely was in 2008, profitable the title that yr. 

When Florida tried to repeat in 2009, Meyer noticed the mindset shift he had warned about — one that exposed itself within the SEC Championship Sport, the place Nick Saban’s Alabama squad dismantled the Gators, 32–13.

“Each coach’s dream is to educate a hungry, pissed-off workforce. Each coach’s nightmare is to educate a happy workforce. It is terrible,” Meyer stated. “I’d do no matter I needed to do to attempt to piss that workforce off, whether or not or not it’s making up articles or no matter, simply to, as a result of the way in which the thoughts works. Consolation isn’t phrase on the planet of athletics. Consolation, I hear that and I cringe as a result of consolation isn’t good. Pissed off is de facto good, particularly within the sport of soccer. So I noticed a pissed off workforce [in Alabama].”

Years later, Meyer realized from his “Massive Midday Kickoff” teammate, Mark Ingram, that Alabama had been “swinging” for Florida all yr in 2009. 

“The Florida Gators weren’t swinging for Alabama,” Meyer stated. “We received each recreation. We had been 12-0. Nevertheless it was a freaking avenue struggle each recreation, from the media, our personal fan help, our gamers and our teaching employees. It was a struggle.”

When Alabama took down Florida in 2009, it avenged its loss from the SEC Championship Sport a yr prior. Ohio State’s opponent on Saturday has an opportunity to do one thing comparable. Texas fell to Ohio State within the School Soccer Playoff semifinal final yr earlier than the Buckeyes went on to win the nationwide title.

Alabama’s win over Florida within the 2009 SEC Championship Sport confirmed the mindset of a workforce being the hunters taking down the hunted, in keeping with City Meyer. (Photograph by Jeff Robinson/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media through Getty Photographs)

In contrast to the 2009 SEC Championship Sport, although, Saturday’s matchup received’t decide the destiny of both workforce. Nonetheless, it’s a tricky take a look at for what shapes as much as be a laborious highway forward for No. 3 Ohio State.

As Day seems to do one thing that his mentor by no means did, Meyer recalled an illuminating dialog that he had with former Chicago Cubs supervisor Joe Maddon a yr after their World Sequence season in 2016 that spoke to how tough it’s to repeat. 

“He was depressing in 2017,” Meyer stated of Maddon. “[The Cubs] had the identical workforce again, nice gamers and I nonetheless suppose they had been in first place. I walked in [to see Maddon] and he stated, ‘That is terrible.’

“He truly confirmed me a bit of paper from NHL, NBA, NCAA basketball, soccer and all the key sports activities and the way exhausting it’s to repeat. It’s low single digits, if I bear in mind proper. It was like 2% or one thing like that of groups ever within the main sports activities repeat. It isn’t since you’re shedding gamers a number of occasions. It’s as a result of the mindset you go from is a prizefighter to a man that you just’re enjoying protection on a regular basis.”

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