McNulty: Urban planning for Gators' future

Coming off their second national championship in three years, the University of Florida Gators have a real chance to do something they've never done before.

Go undefeated in football -- at least until they get to next year's BCS National Championship Game.

And the return of quarterback Tim Tebow for his senior year is only half the reason.

The other half? Florida's 2009 schedule.

Have you seen it? The Gators can expect to face their toughest opponent in April -- when they play against themselves in the Orange and Blue spring game.

Once the regular season kicks off, however, the talent-laden Gators should roll through their schedule without being seriously challenged by an uncharacteristically weak Southeastern Conference and an even weaker lineup of non-league opponents.

In the SEC, the Gators get Tennessee, Arkansas and Vanderbilt at home. They play at Kentucky, Louisiana State, Mississippi State and South Carolina. And, of course, there's the annual pseudo-home game against Georgia in Jacksonville.

If the Gators stay healthy, they should win each of those games by double-digit margins -- yes, even their Oct. 10 trip to Baton Rouge.

Similarly, their non-conference games, all played in Gainesville, should be gimmes: Florida opens the season with September visits by Charleston Southern and Troy, then closes with Florida International and Florida State in November.

And beyond that? Don't bet against the Gators in the SEC title bout, especially if they're chasing another national championship.

Don't bet against Urban Meyer in the national championship game, especially if he's chasing perfection.

All of which brings us to this: What then? What happens if the Gators go undefeated for the first time, put together back-to-back national championships and, having won three titles in four years, lay claim to a college football dynasty?

More precisely: What happens to Meyer, the coach who made this all possible? Would he be satisfied with staying at Florida and adding to his legacy? Or would he be motivated by ambition to seek new and greater challenges elsewhere? Would he then be interested if his self-admitted "dream job" opens up at Notre Dame? Or might he be tempted by the opportunity to reach the highest levels of his profession -- in status and salary -- as were Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban? Would he consider coaching in the NFL, which surely would come calling? Asked about coaching in the NFL in the festive aftermath of Florida's victory over Oklahoma in last week's national championship game, Meyer replied, "I don't think so."

He said he's a "fan of college football," which he called "the greatest venue going." He also said he's "in awe of Florida" and that his job there isn't nearly finished.

"I have a dream of what Florida should look like, and it's getting real close, but there's still a lot of work to be done," said Meyer, 44, who is 83-17 as a head coach (44-9 with the Gators) and under contract through 2013. "The minute you start worrying about other things, you miss a recruiting class, you miss a recruit. And that's not going to happen.

"I'm committed to Florida. I love Florida."

But does he love Florida enough to forsake all others until death -- or retirement -- do they part? Would a perfect season and another national championship change his thinking? Maybe.

Probably.

Based on what he has shown us as his career as progressed -- from graduate assistant at Ohio State to assistant coach at Illinois State, Colorado State and Notre Dame to head coach at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida -- Meyer is too competitive, too driven, too good and too young for anyone to believe this is his last job.

Not that he's looking to jump now. Not that he's in any hurry to jump anywhere. Not that he'd jump just to take on another challenge.

He's much too smart for that.

"Whenever you make a life-changing decision -- place of employment, having a family, getting married, all those big decisions you have to make -- you put it all on the table and make sure you're doing it for the right reason."

Could there ever be a right reason to leave Florida, which, because of Meyer, has played its way into the conversation with Southern California as the nation's premier programs? There was a time, not too long ago, when nobody in Gainesville thought Spurrier would ever leave for another coaching job. But he did.

He took the Gators to unprecedented football heights, then took his shot at the NFL.

It's not difficult to envision Meyer doing the same, though he'd probably need to leave behind his quirky, spread-option offense, which puts quarterbacks at greater risk than NFL teams would allow.

Heck, it's not unthinkable that Meyer, if he wins another championship and feels he has taken Florida as far as it can go, might someday go to Notre Dame and chase his dream.

But not yet.

Not with the challenge ahead at Florida, where next season he has a real chance to chase something bigger.

Perfection.

(Ray McNulty is sports columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast (Fla.) Newspapers, The Stuart News, Fort Pierce Tribune and Vero Beach Press Journal. Contact him at ray.mcnulty@scripps.com.)

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