Urban Meyer, Jaguars close to deal. Will Ohio State staffers join him?
Numerous studies on Thursday indicated that former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer is on the verge of changing into head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
A urgent query for Ohio State: How many members of his former employees may join Meyer?
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith declined to touch upon Thursday, however individuals with data of the scenario advised The Dispatch that head power and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti would stay with the Buckeyes. The individuals requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the scenario.
Marotti, whose official title is assistant athletic director for soccer sports activities efficiency, is taken into account the second-most essential particular person within the Ohio State soccer program behind head coach Ryan Day. Marotti met Meyer whereas each have been college students on the University of Cincinnati, and he was Meyer’s right-hand man throughout his teaching tenures at Florida and Ohio State.
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He stayed beneath Day and it has been a easy transition. A 9% pay increase final yr bumped Marotti’s annual wage to $801,150, amongst the very best amongst power coaches nationally. Marotti did, nevertheless, take a voluntary 5% pay reduce, as did most high-earners within the athletic division, due to the monetary crunch attributable to the coronavirus pandemic.
Ohio State just isn’t anticipating numerous the athletic division employees to join Meyer’s employees, however some key staff are Florida natives who got here to Columbus to work beneath Meyer. For occasion, Ryan Stamper, Ohio State’s assistant athletic director for participant improvement, is a Jacksonville native who performed for Meyer at Florida.
Stamper is well-regarded for his work aiding gamers in non-football points of their lives. He leads the “Real Life Wednesdays” program that started beneath Meyer and helps put together gamers for a post-football enterprise profession.
Mark Pantoni, who leads the Buckeyes’ recruiting division as assistant athletic director for participant personnel, is from Sarasota, Florida, and likewise labored for Meyer at Florida. Pantoni is taken into account one of many high recruiting administrators within the nation and has overseen massive growth within the Buckeyes’ recruiting division in his 9 years with Ohio State.
Marotti, Stamper and Pantoni didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Among Ohio State assistant coaches, solely defensive co-coordinators Kerry Coombs and Greg Mattison have NFL teaching expertise. Coombs coached beneath Mike Vrabel with the Tennessee Titans in 2018-19. Mattison was with the Baltimore Ravens from 2008-10.
Wide receivers coach Brian Hartline is the one assistant who performed within the NFL, principally with the Miami Dolphins. Corey Dennis, Ohio State’s quarterbacks coach, is Meyer’s son-in-law, however he turned a place coach solely final yr.
Meyer, 56, had an 83-9 report in seven seasons at Ohio State, beginning with an undefeated workforce in 2012, when the Buckeyes weren’t eligible for postseason play due to NCAA violations. His 2014 workforce gained the primary College Football Playoff, beating Alabama and Oregon.
Meyer determined to step down as Ohio State coach in 2018. That season started with a university-imposed three-game suspension for his dealing with of the allegations of home abuse by receivers coach Zach Smith, the grandson of Meyer’s mentor Earle Bruce.
During that season, Meyer additionally handled the flareup of the arachnoid cyst, which may trigger complications in occasions of stress. He determined to step down as Ohio State coach in December, with Day named as his successor. His remaining recreation was a victory over Washington within the Rose Bowl.
Meyer then turned an assistant athletic director for athletics initiatives and relations at OSU, with a wage of $100,000. In that position, he helped with fundraising efforts and mentored coaches and captains from Ohio State’s 36 sports activities packages.
“I have a great boss, Gene Smith,” Meyer advised The Dispatch in a 2019 interview. “My genuine love for Ohio State is real. It’s never really been a job.”
He additionally labored for Fox Sports’ faculty soccer pregame present for the previous two seasons.
In the 2019 Dispatch interview, Meyer acknowledged he nonetheless had pangs to coach once more. He stated then that he didn’t consider he would return to teaching, however he wouldn’t rule it out.
“I learned my lesson long ago,” he stated. “All I’m going to say is I believe I’m done (coaching). I think I’m done.”
Email Bill Rabinowitz @[email protected] and observe him on Twitter @brdispatch
Dispatch reporter Joey Kaufman contributed to this story.
