Florida coach Urban Meyer continued the tradition of well-connected SEC folks not saying Lane Kiffin’s name in public at last week’s SEC Media Days. But Meyer chose to praise new coach Derek Dooley rather than rip Kiffin, the former Tennessee coach who falsely accused Meyer of cheating in recruiting in February 2009.
Once again, Meyer takes the high road on the man who once pushed him into the fire.
Urban Meyer has held his tongue on potential Lane Kiffin bashings.
“I have a lot of respect for the new coach at Tennessee,” said Meyer of Derek Dooley, who replaces Kiffin. “I spent a lot of time talking to him. You can tell he has everything in order. He’s a high-character guy. That’s nice to see. I have a lot of respect for that coach.
Even usually-veiled SEC Commissioner Mike Slive took a subtle shot at Kiffin, saying this about Dooley’s welcoming into the league: “When I say welcome, I mean welcome.”
AOL Fanhouse’s Clay Travis humorously asked Meyer whether he slapped fives with anyone after Kiffin’s NCAA violations, but Meyer didn’t bite.
“I’ll let the commissioner handle that one. How is that?” Meyer said. “No, no comment. Sorry.”
To this day, Meyer still hasn’t taken any shots at Kiffin that I’ve seen. Pretty impressive. I’m sure it’s tempting.
