What if Steve Spurrier Never Left the Florida Gators?

Jan 24, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer with the Coaches Trophy during the national championship celebration at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

What would Urban Meyer’s career look like now?

Urban Meyer’s first year as a head coach was Spurrier’s last at Florida. But obviously, his decision to go to Florida came out of the decision to fire Ron Zook in 2004. None of that would have happened had Spurrier, who never would be fired, stayed.

What most likely would have happened is Meyer’s career would have gone the way it did through 2004, and he would have been hired as head coach at Notre Dame in 2005, who tried to hire him along with Florida during that time. The trick is whether he would have had the same success.

Meyer’s spread worked to perfection in a place like Florida, where it was easy to recruit and there were lots of track stars, he did not have to worry about the defense with Charlie Strong, and Tim Tebow fell into his lap.

All of that would be in question at Notre Dame, but the biggest question would be how he could handle Notre Dame’s refusal to relax its academic standards in 2005. That consistently held the Irish back in recruiting.

Simply put, it was not as easy to win at Notre Dame, so if this did happen, he would have a good bit of success. But he would not have the high-profile he has now, and there is a strong chance he would not have been hired away at Ohio State.

Our call? He would  not do enough to get fired from Notre Dame but not have enough success to get hired elsewhere. So he would still be at Notre Dame as a successful looking for a first national championship. It is just too hard to win a title at Notre Dame.

Next: Where would Will Muschamp and Jim McElwain be?