Urban Meyer’s not even coaching well any more

Meyer’s managerial shortcomings were already laid plain. He’s now doing a poorer job coaching football, too.

Ohio State lost to Purdue on Saturday. The Buckeyes actually got routed.

Going undefeated is difficult for anybody, Purdue was clearly a dangerous team, and Ohio State has recently struggled badly in West Lafayette. Road upsets happen, and one disappointing game wouldn’t normally be anything to get too worked up over.

But the way Ohio State lost to Purdue wasn’t a fluke or a blip. You don’t have to look very hard to see some problems at Ohio State that extend beyond just this one game, that there aren’t any easy solutions, and that they’re all tied to Urban Meyer.

Ohio State has a bunch of on-field problems.

The Buckeyes, a team with two NFL-caliber running backs and one of the best quarterbacks in college football, have become incapable of running the ball.

Ohio State rushed for 3 yards per carry against Purdue, a slight jump up from 2.9 the week before. Until now, the average had declined each game after Week 1’s game, which was against the Pac-12’s worst team. Struggling to run against Penn State or another solid front in the Big Ten East is one thing, but the Buckeyes couldn’t convert regularly against Indiana or Minnesota, either.

If you can’t run the ball at all, you run into red zone issues. Ohio State had four red zone trips against Purdue, amounting to six points. Finishing drives inside the 10 has been a recurring issue all season, against defenses good and bad.

A big reason for all of that? The decline in quality from the offensive line. The Buckeyes have linemen playing out of position, linemen playing after injuries, and linemen just struggling. For a unit that starts three seniors and is the product of Ohio State’s blue-chip recruiting, there is no excuse for the line to be the weak point of the team.

The running issue is a new one at Ohio State. But struggles on offense, especially in big moments, are not new. The Buckeyes have had issues, building over the last three seasons, around over-conservative play-calling and a lack of execution. Until Dwayne Haskins came along, they hadn’t been able to develop a consistent downfield passing game.

It’s not a coincidence that Meyer’s three worst losses as a head coach have all happened in the last three seasons.

These problems exist because the program hasn’t developed players well enough, despite recruiting at an elite level.

Ohio State has not lacked for raw talent, though its recruiting is tracking in the wrong direction for 2019. For now, the Buckeyes one of the best rosters in the country and easily the best in the Big Ten, going by recruiting rankings.

But at positions of need, like the offensive line or secondary, not all of the younger players have been able to get meaningful playing time.

If O-lineman Michael Jordan, a productive guard, had to slide over to center, what does that say about players like high-four-star signee Josh Myers or the rest of Ohio State’s centers?

If the Buckeyes can’t open holes in the running game and a guy like Wyatt Davis, the top guard prospect in the country in 2017, can’t push for playing time, was he mis-evaluated or not developed enough?

If Ohio State signed top talent all over the field, and those players aren’t ready to push weaker performers at safety, cornerback, or elsewhere, what’s happening?

This is on Ohio State’s coaching staff. Meyer hired that staff.

One of the biggest causes of Meyer’s decline at Florida was his inability to adequately replace excellent assistant coaches who left for other jobs. Replacing Dan Mullen with Steve Addazio is the move most frequently cited by Florida fans as an example of a poor choice.

That might have happened again. There’s plenty of experience on staff, including ex-FBS head coaches Greg Schiano and Kevin Wilson. But both coordinators’ units have declined, especially Schiano’s defense. He’s been badly out-coached numerous times this year and famously allowed a big day by Iowa the year before.

When the Buckeyes needed a new linebackers coach, Meyer tabbed Billy Davis, a close personal friend who hasn’t managed to get enough production from his players.

Meyer’s managerial ability was already in doubt, to say the absolute least.

Among all of the things you could take away from the Zach Smith story that came into public view this summer, the school’s investigative report is clear: Meyer let a personal relationship interfere with his ability to discipline a clearly ineffective assistant coach, who should have been fired even before considering multiple accusations of domestic abuse against him.

And when Meyer was on suspension, the team’s other offensive coordinator, Ryan Day, filled in for him — because obvious choices Schiano and Wilson were unfit due to their own pasts.

Smith’s case was far more serious than linebackers not playing well. But there’s now a boatload of evidence that Meyer shouldn’t be trusted to make the managerial decisions a program needs its leader to make.

These problems don’t feel like ones that a bye week can fix.

Meyer is one of the most successful coaches in college football history. But Ohio State’s issues require the humility to make wholesale changes, especially with personnel, and that’s never been Meyer’s strength.

The best solution, for many reasons, might be for Meyer to retire after the end of the season.

That would allow Ohio State to either elevate Day, whom they reportedly have considered making the official head coach-in-waiting. Or they could look for a replacement on the open market.

If the school and coach stand pat, things might get worse before they get better.