While some don’t, one set of online sportsbook sees Urban Meyer weathering what’s turning into a very tumultuous storm for both the head coach and his employer.
A report surfaced earlier in the day that Meyer had direct knowledge of domestic abuse allegations involving a now-former assistant coach, knowledge Meyer had vehemently denied at the Big Ten Media Days last month. The development led to a reported meeting between Meyer and his boss, athletic director Gene Smith, Wednesday afternoon that led to further speculation about Meyer’s future with the Buckeyes.
According to Diamond Sportsbook International, fans of both Meyer and OSU football could breathe a little easier as the book has Meyer, at -300, as the overwhelming favorite to be the Buckeyes’ head coach on Sept. 1, although those odds were posted prior to the coach being placed on administrative leave as an investigation was launched by the school. As of this posting, those odds haven’t changed.
Should OSU officials do the previously unthinkable, though, and pull the trigger on a dismissal, the book, not so unexpectedly, sees a current Meyer lieutenant taking over.
Defensive coordinator and former Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano, who was nearly the head coach at Tennessee before he wasn’t, is listed at +400, while offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, unceremoniously ousted as the head coach at Indiana amidst his own scandal, is next at +600. Two other current OSU assistants follow -- co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Ryan Day (+800) and co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach Alex Grinch (+1000).
Former OSU head coach and current Youngstown State president Jim Tressel, ousted in a scandal that ultimately opened the door for Meyer, is listed at +3000 (bet $100, win $3,000). Showing it has a sense of humor, the book also lists Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and Alabama head coach Nick Saban at +20000.
Others of note listed include Les Miles (+1200), Rich Rodriguez (+1800), Lane Kiffin (+3000), Hue Jackson (?)(+7500) and Tom Herman (+10000).