West Coast Power Shift?

Good evening, Followers. A Merry New Year to All!

Well, in case you haven’t heard, Urban Meyer shocked the world tonight, announcing his resignation from the University of Florida due to health reasons.

Thankfully, it appears that Mr. Meyer’s health issues are not immediately life threatening.

But, one has to wonder whether the balance of power on the West Coast might be influenced by this shocking announcement?

If you want to know why I think that the folks in Eugene should be real nervous about now, then read on.

Followers, as we all witnessed this year, Oregon has become a bonafide top 10 or 12 program in the country.

But, I think we all know that being in the top 10 or 12 is not nearly the same as being a top 3 program nationally–which is a status that the Florida Gators certainly enjoy.

And, if you look at what has made past Florida teams great is that uncanny mix between BRILLIANT athletes and innovative, college-focused offensive schemes.

One would have to think that the players that Meyer has brought into Florida would be PERFECT for Kelly’s spread/read option offense.

On top of that, Kelly has shown that he can lead a team to a major conference championship and can do so under the bright lights of national scrutiny. Further, when you factor in the way that Kelly handled the Blount ordeal, then you have THE PERFECT guy who can run bandit central without losing control of the program.

Finally, one has to wonder whether or not Bellotti’s antics of standing on the sidelines during games or participating in “in-game” analysis on the Oregon Duck TV network, might have rubbed Kelly a bit thin?

So, with that all in mind, I’m going to make the call that Chip Kelly will be the next coach at Florida.

When that happens, Chris Peterson will become the next Oregon coach. Then, the Boise State job will become open (Koetter returns?).

May not seem like much of a radical change to you, but for me, I think its significant. BSU will lose a lot of its staying power without Peterson–which I think helps the Cougs. And while you have to think that Peterson would do well in Eugene, I’m not sure they become the power that I think they might become under Kelly who I think has a Pete Carrol like specialness to him right now.

Any way you cut it, the next couple of weeks might create a whole bunch of uncertainty on the recruiting trail.   Let us know your thoughts on whether you think a Pac-10 coach might be implicated in the Florida coaching search.