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Meyer can leave for ND without buyout
Notre Dame officials will meet with Utah coach Urban Meyer on Thursday, a source with knowledge of the discussions told the New York Times.
<!-- END INLINE UNIT -->According to the newspaper's story, Notre Dame contacted Meyer on Wednesday, one day after it fired Tyrone Willingham. The source said that if the Notre Dame were to hire Meyer, he would still like to coach Utah in its bowl game, which is expected to be the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1. That decision would be made by Utah officials.
Notre Dame is one of the three schools listed in Meyer's contract that would allow the coach to leave Utah without a buyout.
"I have great respect for that university. That's the reason it's in my contract," Meyer, a former Irish assistant, said after Tuesday's practice. "I think a lot of people look into it more than what it is. I'm sure that this is going to spark a lot of discussion, but I'm just trying to get a team ready to play in a bowl game."
That day, he declined to say whether he would be interested in replacing Willingham.
"It's hard to avoid it. I guess I'm one of those guys, I try to avoid it. You can only avoid it for so long," Meyer said. "I'm not going to have a team meeting to discuss it. I think our guys are still focused."
With an 11-0 team that's about to become the first from a mid-major conference to crack the Bowl Championship Series, Meyer has been widely mentioned as a contender for some of the top coaching jobs as they've opened recently.
Utah athletic director Chris Hill told The Associated Press he wouldn't comment specifically on the report, but he said that Utah would make its own push to retain Meyer.
"There's a lot of things we can do, and we'll do everything we can to make this right for Urban, Shelley and their family," he said.
Utah defensive coordinator Kyle Whittingham, a candidate for the job when Meyer was hired two years ago and a possible replacement, said Meyer had not mentioned a Notre Dame meeting to his assistants, many of whom were on the road recruiting.
"I just know Urban Meyer is one of the hottest coaching prospects in the country right now. We'll see where he is when the dust settles," said Whittingham, who could also be a candidate for the coaching vacancy at BYU.
Whittingham said as far as he knew, Meyer would be at Thursday afternoon's practice.
Messages left for Meyer were not immediately returned.
Meyer has been asked and declined comment on the Florida opening ever since Ron Zook's firing last month. Meyer has only said he and his family are happy in Utah and he plans on coaching here a long time.
But Meyer has no ties to Florida other than university president Bernie Machen, who was Utah's president when Meyer was hired two years ago.
Meyer has much more history with Notre Dame, where he was an assistant from 1996-2000 before getting his first head coaching job at Bowling Green. He quickly turned around the Falcons, whose 8-3 record in 2001 was their first since 1994. Bowling Green followed that with a 9-3 season in 2002 and Utah quickly hired him after Ron McBride was fired.
John Heisler, Notre Dame's associate athletic director, would not comment to The Associated Press or say if athletic director Kevin White was in South Bend.
Utah went 10-2 in Meyer's first season with the Utes, winning the school's first outright conference title since 1957. He got a contract extension last summer that included a clause allowing Meyer to leave Utah without penalty if he is named head coach at Michigan, Ohio State or Notre Dame.
That's a big three to list for someone whose only head coaching jobs have been in the Mid-American and Mountain West conferences in four seasons, but Meyer may have the credentials to take over one of the top jobs in the country.
Meyer, 40, is 21-2 at Utah, coaching the Utes to their first unbeaten and untied season since 1941.
URL: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1936781
Notre Dame officials will meet with Utah coach Urban Meyer on Thursday, a source with knowledge of the discussions told the New York Times.
<!-- END INLINE UNIT -->According to the newspaper's story, Notre Dame contacted Meyer on Wednesday, one day after it fired Tyrone Willingham. The source said that if the Notre Dame were to hire Meyer, he would still like to coach Utah in its bowl game, which is expected to be the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1. That decision would be made by Utah officials.
Notre Dame is one of the three schools listed in Meyer's contract that would allow the coach to leave Utah without a buyout.
"I have great respect for that university. That's the reason it's in my contract," Meyer, a former Irish assistant, said after Tuesday's practice. "I think a lot of people look into it more than what it is. I'm sure that this is going to spark a lot of discussion, but I'm just trying to get a team ready to play in a bowl game."
That day, he declined to say whether he would be interested in replacing Willingham.
"It's hard to avoid it. I guess I'm one of those guys, I try to avoid it. You can only avoid it for so long," Meyer said. "I'm not going to have a team meeting to discuss it. I think our guys are still focused."
With an 11-0 team that's about to become the first from a mid-major conference to crack the Bowl Championship Series, Meyer has been widely mentioned as a contender for some of the top coaching jobs as they've opened recently.
Utah athletic director Chris Hill told The Associated Press he wouldn't comment specifically on the report, but he said that Utah would make its own push to retain Meyer.
"There's a lot of things we can do, and we'll do everything we can to make this right for Urban, Shelley and their family," he said.
Utah defensive coordinator Kyle Whittingham, a candidate for the job when Meyer was hired two years ago and a possible replacement, said Meyer had not mentioned a Notre Dame meeting to his assistants, many of whom were on the road recruiting.
"I just know Urban Meyer is one of the hottest coaching prospects in the country right now. We'll see where he is when the dust settles," said Whittingham, who could also be a candidate for the coaching vacancy at BYU.
Whittingham said as far as he knew, Meyer would be at Thursday afternoon's practice.
Messages left for Meyer were not immediately returned.
Meyer has been asked and declined comment on the Florida opening ever since Ron Zook's firing last month. Meyer has only said he and his family are happy in Utah and he plans on coaching here a long time.
But Meyer has no ties to Florida other than university president Bernie Machen, who was Utah's president when Meyer was hired two years ago.
Meyer has much more history with Notre Dame, where he was an assistant from 1996-2000 before getting his first head coaching job at Bowling Green. He quickly turned around the Falcons, whose 8-3 record in 2001 was their first since 1994. Bowling Green followed that with a 9-3 season in 2002 and Utah quickly hired him after Ron McBride was fired.
John Heisler, Notre Dame's associate athletic director, would not comment to The Associated Press or say if athletic director Kevin White was in South Bend.
Utah went 10-2 in Meyer's first season with the Utes, winning the school's first outright conference title since 1957. He got a contract extension last summer that included a clause allowing Meyer to leave Utah without penalty if he is named head coach at Michigan, Ohio State or Notre Dame.
That's a big three to list for someone whose only head coaching jobs have been in the Mid-American and Mountain West conferences in four seasons, but Meyer may have the credentials to take over one of the top jobs in the country.
Meyer, 40, is 21-2 at Utah, coaching the Utes to their first unbeaten and untied season since 1941.
URL: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1936781
