Urban Meyer redefined SEC dominance at Florida, aggressively pursuing victory and leaving an indelible mark on college football. His intense approach ignited a Gator dynasty.
2005 was a great year for Florida in hindsight.
The Gators took a chance on a former wide receivers coach under Lou Holtz at Notre Dame, Urban Meyer. Meyer went 17-6 in two seasons at Bowling Green before making Utah into a serious football program.
In 2004, Meyer's Utes went 12-0, winning the Fiesta Bowl and finishing No. 4 in the final AP poll.
The Gators weren't flashy in 2005, going 9-3. But the season laid the groundwork for 2026, when Meyer's team went 13-1 and won the BCS national championship.
On "Josh Pate's College Football Show" on Sunday, the host remembered the good old Meyer days. He argued Meyer changed the SEC, though many in the conference weren't cheering for him to have success.
“The overwhelming sentiment in the SEC when Urban got hired at Florida is, 'Boy, the SEC is about to teach this dude a lesson.' And it was the exact opposite. Urban Meyer came into the SEC and treated winning like oxygen.
"He fought for it like he was fighting for oxygen. And he was like that. And the best compliment that you can give a coach is you can see his thumbprint on every aspect of the program."
Meyer set the tone when it came to recruiting. He also instilled discipline. (New Florida head coach Jon Sumrall is borrowing some of Meyer's tactics, like taking away Gators logos from players until they earn the right to wear them.)
Meyer stayed at UF through the 2010 season, going 65-15 overall and 36-12 in the SEC. Pate argued that Nick Saban and Alabama killed Meyer's dynasty.
While the Florida dynasty didn't last as long as Saban's at Alabama, Pate believes it was just as significant as the Crimson Tide's.
"He came into the SEC and reshaped the SEC, and they won the title in 06, and they won the title in 08," Pate said. "And, dude, I know it didn't go for 15 or 20 years, but the Urban Florida teams, at their best, like that was a white-hot star.
"And when it burned, and it burned for a little while, it burned as hot as any team had down there in a long, long time."
It'll be interesting to see how the SEC changes without Saban. Alabama seems down.
LSU and Lane Kiffin could be the next big thing. Or, it could be Sumrall with Florida.