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Paul Finebaum has advice for Urban Meyer as the former Ohio State head man mulls the Dallas Cowboys‘ soon-to-be coaching vacancy: Don’t.
Finebaum, a former columnist-turned-commentator known for his coverage of Alabama, appeared on ESPN’s Get Up on Wednesday to deliver a pointed message to Meyer, who’s reportedly interested in succeeding Dallas HC Jason Garrett.
There’s room in this proverbial pond for a lame duck, Finebaum cautions, but not two big fish.
“Urban didn’t like the president of the university telling him what to do last year. He certainly is not going to like Jerry Jones [telling him what to do],” Finebaum said. “You start thinking about the worst possible marriages in history — Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton; go down the list — this would be the worst.”
Why?
“Because Urban Meyer and Jerry Jones would just butt heads from Day 1,” he said. “Urban’s an authoritarian figure. He runs everything. He’s a detail freak. And Jerry Jones talking to the media after his first exhibition loss would drive Urban off the deep end.”
.@finebaum thinks Urban Meyer and Jerry Jones would be the “worst possible” marriage.
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Urban Reveals Interest in Cowboys’ Gig
The feeling is mutual between Dallas and the “retired” Meyer. Amid swirling speculation linking the team to the legendary Buckeyes coach, a source close to the Dan Patrick Show tells its titular host that Meyer is intrigued by the head-coaching position, partly because Meyer may be “too toxic” to return to the college ranks.
The DP Show tweet containing this nugget has since been deleted, but Bleacher Report grabbed a screenshot and others have shared what they heard on Twitter.
Dan Patrick just announced his sources as told him Urban Meyer interested in the Dallas job..
Lane Kiffin just told Dan Patrick that he thinks Urban Meyer will return to coaching. That’ll be a hot button topic later today on the Internet.
Of course, this isn’t the first time that Meyer’s discussed America’s Team. In October, the 55-year-old — speaking for Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley, a reported target of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones — gushed over the prestigious franchise.
“Pure speculation, because I know [Riley], but I don’t know him like that, but that’s the one [job],” Meyer said, via Sports Illustrated. “That’s the New York Yankees, that’s the Dallas Cowboys, that’s the one. Great city, you got Dak Prescott, you got Zeke Elliott, you got a loaded team, and I can’t speak for [Riley] obviously—I hate to even speculate—because I don’t know him, that’s really not fair, but to me, that’s the one job in professional football that you kind of say, ‘I gotta go do that.'”
Meyer, asked point-blank if he’d be interested in the position, didn’t say no: “Absolutely. Absolutely,” he answered, per SI. “That one? Yes.”
Coincidentally, Patrick’s hearsay came on the same day that Jones denied a rumor claiming Cowboys VP Stephen Jones had met with Meyer. But he didn’t say anything about speaking to him.
“I can confirm that it’s absolutely not correct. We have not met with any coach,” were Jones’ exact words during Tuesday’s appearance on 105.3 The Fan.
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