Urban Meyer
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Urban Frank Meyer III (born July 10, 1964) is a college football TV commentator and former
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
coach. He spent most of his coaching career at the collegiate level, having served as the head coach of the
Bowling Green Falcons The Bowling Green Falcons are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Bowling Green State University (BGSU), in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The Falcons compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Div ...
from 2001 to 2002, the
Utah Utes The Utah Utes are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Utah, located in Salt Lake City. The athletic department is named after the Ute tribe of Native Americans. The men's basketball team is known as the Runnin' ...
from 2003 to 2004, the Florida Gators from 2005 to 2010,Urban Meyer stepping down at Florida
" ESPN (December 8, 2010. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
and the
Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tre ...
from 2012 to 2018. He retired from coaching in 2019 at the end of the Rose Bowl, and stayed at Ohio State as an assistant athletic director and was also an analyst for
Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...
, appearing weekly on their ''
Big Noon Kickoff ''Big Noon Kickoff'' is a college football studio show broadcast by Fox, and simulcast on sister network Fox Sports 1 (FS1). Premiering on August 31, 2019, it serves as the pre-game show for ''Fox College Football'', and in particular, ''Big Noon ...
'' pre-game show. In 2021, Meyer came out of retirement to take his first
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) job as head coach of the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...
, but was fired 13 games into his first and only season, after going 2-11 and being involved in both on and off field controversies. He then went back to Fox Sports to resume his broadcasting career. Meyer was born in
Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...
, grew up in
Ashtabula, Ohio Ashtabula ( ) is a city in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States, and the center of the Ashtabula micropolitan area. It is located at the mouth of the Ashtabula River on Lake Erie, northeast of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city ha ...
, and attended the
University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...
, where he played football as a defensive back. During his time at the
University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
, he coached the Gators to two
BCS National Championship Game The BCS National Championship Game, or BCS National Championship, was a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), first played in the 1998 college fo ...
victories, during the 2006 and 2008 seasons. Meyer's winning percentage through the conclusion of the 2009 season (.842) was the highest among all active coaches with a minimum of five full seasons at a
Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...
(FBS) program. Following his temporary retirement in 2011, he worked as a college football analyst for the television sports network
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
before joining Ohio State to become their head coach. In 2014, he led the Buckeyes to their first
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
title under his tenure as well as the program's eighth
national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...
. Meyer is one of four coaches, along with
Pop Warner Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...
, Howard Jones, and
Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins ...
, to win a major college football national championship at two universities.


Early life

Meyer was born on July 10, 1964, in
Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...
, and grew up in
Ashtabula, Ohio Ashtabula ( ) is a city in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States, and the center of the Ashtabula micropolitan area. It is located at the mouth of the Ashtabula River on Lake Erie, northeast of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city ha ...
. He graduated from Ashtabula's
Saint John High School Saint John High School is a high school located in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. It was founded in 1805 and is the oldest publicly funded school in Canada. History On March 5, 1805, the New Brunswick Legislature passed, "An Act for enc ...
in 1982. Meyer was selected in the 13th round of the
1982 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players * David Wells†, 2nd round, 30th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays * Allan Anderson, 2nd ro ...
by the
Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...
as a shortstop, where he spent two seasons playing minor league baseball in the Braves organization. He concurrently played defensive back at the
University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...
before earning his
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...
in 1986. During his undergraduate studies, Meyer was a member of
Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more t ...
Fraternity (
Zeta Psi Zeta Psi () is a collegiate fraternity. It was founded in June 1, 1847 at New York University. The organization now comprises fifty-three active chapters and thirty-four inactive chapters, encompassing roughly fifty thousand members, and is a ...
Chapter).Raymond Hines III,
Denise Meyer Chat Transcript
," ''Gator Country'' (October 25, 2006). Retrieved September 1, 2009.
Meyer went on to earn his master's degree in
sports administration The Sports Administration (SA; ) is a branch of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of China (Taiwan). History The Sport Administration was initially established in 1932 as the Sports Council (體育委員會). On 12 January 1998, the Sp ...
in 1988 from
Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
.


Coaching career

In 2004, Meyer was recognized as the college football coach of the year by both sportswriters (
Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year The Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award is given annually to a college football coach by the Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members i ...
) and television commentators ( Home Depot Coach of the Year Award).Gatorzone.com, Football
Urban Meyer
. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
He then had twenty years of college coaching experience, including nine as a head coach. His overall record as a head coach through the end of the 2009 season was 96–18, and he was 49–14 in conference play.College Football Data Warehouse, All-Time Coaching Records
Urban Meyer Records by Year
. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
His winning percentage (.842) through the end of the 2009 season ranked first nationally among active college football head coaches. By winning the 2009 BCS Championship game on January 8, 2009, Meyer moved past Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops into second place on the list of active Division I coaches ranked by winning percentage. Meyer is Catholic, and on several occasions has referred to the head coaching position at the
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
as his "dream job", leading to speculation that he would someday wish to coach there. However, according to a July 2009 newspaper report, Meyer insisted he would never leave Florida for Notre Dame. And when the employment status of Irish coach
Charlie Weis Charles Joseph Weis Sr. (born March 30, 1956) is a former American football coach. He was the head coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 2005 to 2009 and the Kansas Jayhawks from 2012 to 2014. He also served as an offensive coordinator ...
came into question in November 2009, Meyer held a press conference to dispel rumors linking him to the possible opening, stating that he would remain at Florida for "as long as they'll have me". The University of Cincinnati's Brian Kelly was eventually hired for the job. On December 26, 2009, Meyer announced he would resign following the team's
bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivi ...
against Cincinnati, citing health concerns.Gatorzone.com,
UF's Urban Meyer Steps Down as Head Football Coach
", (December 27, 2009). Retrieved March 19, 2010.
However, the following day Meyer announced that he would instead take an indefinite
leave of absence The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they are ...
,Andy Staples,
Change of mind: Meyer won't quit, will take indefinite leave instead
, ''Sports Illustrated'' (December 27, 2009). Retrieved December 16, 2021.
and he resumed his coaching duties in time for the beginning of the Gators' spring practice on March 17, 2010. Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley announced Meyer's resignation on December 8, 2010, but stated that Meyer would remain as the head coach through the Gators' appearance in the
Outback Bowl The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, usually on New Year's Day. The event has been formerly called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to ...
on January 1, 2011. On November 28, 2011, Meyer accepted the head coach position at Ohio State University.


Early coaching career

After playing as a defensive back and placeholder for the University of Cincinnati, Meyer spent one season interning as a defensive back coach at Saint Xavier High School in
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...
, in 1985 under the mentorship of legendary St. Xavier head coach Steve Rasso, where he met members of the Ohio State coaching staff. His first collegiate coaching position was a two-year stint as a graduate assistant coaching tight ends at Ohio State under head coach
Earle Bruce Earle Bruce (March 8, 1931 – April 20, 2018) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Tampa (1972), Iowa State University (1973–1978), Ohio State University (1979–1987), the University of N ...
. He spent the next thirteen years as an assistant—two at
Illinois State Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...
, six at Colorado State, and five at Notre Dame. One of the talents he coached at Colorado State was WR
Greg Primus Greg Primus (born October 20, 1970) is a former American football player for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). Primus attended George Washington High School in Denver as well as Colorado State University Colorado St ...
(3,096 yards and 17 TD in 3 years). He put up over 1,000 yards receiving from 1990 to 1992 under Meyer's tutelage. At Notre Dame, he coached WR Bobby Brown who would finish his career with 1,521 yards and 12 TD receiving. At Notre Dame in 2000, he coached WR
David Givens David Lamar Givens (born August 16, 1980) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the seventh round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre ...
who would later be drafted by the New England Patriots. In 1990, while still the linebacker coach at Illinois State, he called Toledo head coach
Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins ...
's home and spoke to Saban's wife to inquire if a position was available. Saban, however, never returned the call. Saban later said "I was so kind of caught up and busy with what I was doing, I never really followed up on that. Obviously, that was a huge mistake on my part because the guy's a fantastic coach."


Bowling Green

In 2001, Meyer took his first head coaching job at
Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...
. In his first season there, he engineered one of the greatest turnarounds in the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
football history, going 8–3 and capping off the season with a 56–21 victory over Bowling Green's rival, the University of Toledo Rockets.College Football Data Warehouse
Bowling Green Yearly Results: 2000–2004
. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
He also earned Mid-American Conference coach of the year honors. The next year, Bowling Green finished with a 9–3 record. After a 17–6 overall record, Meyer left for the University of Utah. He helped turn around a team that had gone 2–9 in 2000 in large part due to QB Josh Harris, a player tailor-made for Meyer's scheme. In a part-time play in 2001, Harris passed for 1,022 yards with 9 touchdowns and ran for 600 yards and 8 touchdowns. The next year, he passed for 2,425 yards with 19 TD and ran for 737 yards with 20 TD. Meyer would later use such quarterbacks as
Alex Smith Alexander Douglas Smith (born May 7, 1984) is an American former quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He played college football at Utah, where he received first-team All-American honors and won the 2 ...
and Tim Tebow in a fashion similar to the way Meyer used Harris.


Utah

After two seasons at Bowling Green, he took the job at
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
in 2003.Utah Football
Player Bio: Urban Meyer
. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
In his
first year A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ar ...
there, Meyer was named the
Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations ...
's Coach of the Year with a 10–2 record, the best ever for a coach's first season at Utah. He also earned honors as ''
The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...
'' National Coach of the Year, the first Utes coach to do so. They also won the program's first outright conference championship since the 1957 team won the
Skyline Conference The Skyline Conference is a college athletic conference based in the New York City area that competes in the NCAA's Division III. The league was originally chartered on May 16, 1989, as a men's basketball conference and now sponsors 17 sports (ni ...
title. Meyer's success can be attributed to his unique offensive system, which is an offshoot of Bill Walsh's
West Coast Offense In American football, the West Coast offense is an offense that places a greater emphasis on passing than on running. There are two similar but distinct offensive strategic systems that are commonly referred to as "West Coast offenses". Original ...
, relying on short pass routes. Meyer's base offense spreads three receivers and puts the
quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
in
shotgun formation The shotgun formation is a formation used by the offensive team in gridiron football mainly for passing plays, although some teams use it as their base formation. Instead of the quarterback receiving the snap from center at the line of scrimmag ...
.Chris Brown,
The Florida Gator/Urban Meyer Offense
" SmartFootball.com (December 2, 2008). Retrieved September 1, 2009.
Then, he introduces motion in the backfield and turns it into an option attack, adding elements of the traditional run-oriented
option offense An option offense is an American football offensive system in which a key player (usually the quarterback) has several "options" of how each play will proceed based upon the actions of the defense. Traditionally, option-based offenses rely on ru ...
. In 2004, Meyer led the undefeated Utes to a Bowl Championship Series bid, something that had not been done by a team from a non-automatically qualifying BCS conference since the formation of the BCS in 1998. He remained at Utah long enough to coach the team to a
Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been pla ...
win over
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
, capping off the Utes' first perfect season (12–0) since 1930. In 2003, Utes quarterback Alex Smith threw for 2,247 yards and 15 touchdowns and ran for 452 yards with five touchdowns. In 2004, he threw for 2,952 yards with 32 touchdowns and ran for 631 yards and 10 touchdowns. His production in Meyer's offensive scheme was a large reason why Smith was considered a first-round pick entering the
2005 NFL Draft The 2005 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 2005. The league also he ...
.


Florida

In the wake of his accomplishments at Utah, both the
University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
and the University of Notre Dame vied for his services.Ivan Maisel,
Notre Dame football exists only in history books
" ESPN.com (December 6, 2004). Retrieved December 16, 2021.
Meyer chose to become Florida's head coach for the 2005 season, signing a seven-year contract worth $14 million. He later signed a six-year contract extension with the Gators on June 7, 2007; the extended contract paid an average of $3.25 million per year. On August 3, 2009, Meyer received another contract extension that made him the SEC's highest-paid coach during the 2009 season; his 2009 extension was worth $24 million over six years. At the time of the latest contract extension, Meyer was the third highest-paid college football coach, behind only
Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American football coach who is the head coach and executive vice president for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the head football coach at USC from ...
and
Charlie Weis Charles Joseph Weis Sr. (born March 30, 1956) is a former American football coach. He was the head coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 2005 to 2009 and the Kansas Jayhawks from 2012 to 2014. He also served as an offensive coordinator ...
. Meyer has been criticized by some commentators because 31 of his players were arrested during his six years as the Gators' coach.Rachel George,
Chris Rainey 30th player to be arrested or face charges during Urban Meyer's tenure
" ''The Sun-Sentinel'' (September 15, 2010). Retrieved September 15, 2010.
Greg Bishop,

" ''The New York Times'' (July 6, 2013). Retrieved July 7, 2013.
The seriousness of the charges varied widely, from minor offenses such as possession of alcohol by a minor to the charges of possession of a concealed weapon, "aggravated stalking, domestic violence by strangulation, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and fraudulent use of credit cards". Many of the charges were ultimately dismissed. In September 2010, after Gator receiver Chris Rainey was arrested for sending a threatening text message to a former girlfriend, Meyer stated that he was "real upset about that. After a while, enough's enough. If there's something that we can improve on, we're certainly looking into that. It's like if our graduation rate stinks then we gotta improve that. If there are other issues in a program, that's our job to get it better. It's people making stupid mistakes, that's something we gotta correct."


2005 season

In 2005, his first season at Florida, Meyer's Gators team finished the season 9–3 (5–3 in the
Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
). The season included an undefeated record at home and a bowl victory against
Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...
in the
Outback Bowl The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, usually on New Year's Day. The event has been formerly called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to ...
in
Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
. The Gators would have faced
LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
in the , but they lost to
South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
and former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier in the SEC regular-season finale.


2006 season

In 2006, Meyer coached the Gators to a 13–1 (8–1 in the SEC) record, with the one loss coming to the
Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year coeducational university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...
. After clinching the SEC East, the Gators won the on December 2 over
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
by a score of 38–28. The Gators defeated the
Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tre ...
, 41–14, in the
2007 BCS National Championship Game The 2007 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game was an American football game played at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on January 8, 2007, and featured the top-ranked Big Ten champion Ohio State Buckeyes against the 2nd-r ...
to win the national championship.Associated Press,
Gators attack: Florida gets title with rout of Ohio State
" ESPN.com (January 8, 2007). Retrieved December 16, 2021.
It was the first BCS bowl berth for the Gators since the
Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game ...
that capped off the 2001 campaign, and Florida's first national championship appearance and victory since winning the
1997 Sugar Bowl The 1997 Nokia Sugar Bowl was the 63rd edition to the annual Sugar Bowl game and served as the Bowl Alliance's designated national championship game for the 1996 season. It matched No. 1 Florida State of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) aga ...
. Meyer has been known for winning big games. In addition to his 5–1 record in bowl games at Florida, Meyer compiled a 16–2 record against three of the Gators' biggest opponents—Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida State.


2007 season

The Gators managed a 9–3 regular season record in 2007, including blowout wins over rivals
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
and FSU but once again losing to Auburn. During his tenure at the University of Florida, Coach Meyer never defeated Auburn.College Football Data Warehouse, All-Time Coaching Records
Urban Meyer:2007
. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
Quarterback Tim Tebow also became Coach Meyer's first Heisman Trophy winner. The team led the conference in scoring, but struggles on defense made it difficult for the Gators to reach a
BCS bowl game The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of American college football, including ...
. The Gators lost the to
Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
41–35 on January 1, 2008. Meyer served as a pre-game and halftime analyst for the
2008 BCS National Championship Game The 2008 BCS National Championship Game (branded as the 2008 Allstate BCS National Championship Game for sponsorship reasons) was played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Monday, January 7, 2008, and featured the No. 1 and ...
.


2008 season

In 2008, Meyer led the Gators to a 13–1 overall record and the BCS National Championship over Oklahoma, including wins over six ranked teams. The team's lone defeat came at the hands of Ole Miss on September 27, 2008, a game in which Florida led in time of possession and passing yards, but had three turnovers. Eleven of the Gators' twelve wins in the 2008 regular season were by 20 points or more. On December 6, 2008, Meyer led the Gators to a 31–20 victory over then top-ranked
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
in the SEC title game. Leading in time of possession, rushing yards, and passing yards, the Gators rallied from behind after a third-quarter deficit to score two touchdowns and hold Alabama scoreless in the fourth quarter. The victory would vault Florida to No. 1 in the Associated Press Poll, No. 2 in the USA Today Coaches' Poll, and No. 2 in the BCS rankings, setting up a showdown against Oklahoma in the BCS Championship Game on January 8, 2009, at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Florida. The Gators won 24–14, securing their second national championship under Meyer.


2009 season

In 2009, Meyer's Gators began the season ranked No. 1 by the largest margin in the history of the AP preseason poll. Though the team struggled on offense at times, and quarterback Tim Tebow suffered a frightening concussion in a September victory over
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
, Florida finished the regular season 12–0 and still ranked No. 1. The winning streak ended in the
SEC Championship Game The SEC Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the Southeastern Conference's season champion since 1992. The championship game pits the SEC East Division regular season champion against the West Division regula ...
, when they lost 32–13 to
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
. Florida was selected to play the undefeated
Cincinnati Bearcats The Cincinnati Bearcats are the athletic teams that represent the University of Cincinnati. Though they will move to the Big 12 Conference (XII) the teams are currently a part of the American Athletic Conference (The American), which from 1979 ...
in the
2010 Sugar Bowl The 2010 Allstate Sugar Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was part of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) for the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season and was the 76th Sugar Bowl. The Florida Gators defeated the Cincinna ...
. The Gators won 51–24 to finish the season with a 13–1 record for the second consecutive year.


Leave of absence

In the early morning of December 6, 2009, soon after returning home following his team's loss in the 2009 SEC Championship Game, Meyer was quietly admitted into a Gainesville hospital suffering from chest pains and dehydration. He was released later in the day, and the incident was not announced to the public at the time. On December 26, after discussions with his family, Meyer revealed his medical scare and announced that he would resign as Florida's head coach due to health and family concerns following his team's New Year's Day Sugar Bowl appearance. Meyer stated: "I have ignored my health for years, but recent developments have forced me to re-evaluate my priorities of faith and family." He also said: "I'm proud to be a part of the Gainesville community and the Gator Nation and I plan to remain in Gainesville and involved with the University of Florida." Meyer admitted that he had suffered frequent chest pains, later discovered to be caused by
Gastroesophageal reflux disease Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is one of the upper gastrointestinal chronic diseases where stomach content persistently and regularly flows up into the esophagus, resulting in symptoms and/ ...
(GERD), and occasional severe headaches due to an arachnoid cyst for years, and that they were related to stress. On December 27, Meyer announced that he would take an indefinite leave of absence instead of resigning. He was unsure if he would return for the 2010 season but stated that "I do in my gut believe that will happen." Offensive coordinator Steve Addazio would serve as the
interim An interim is a period of temporary pause or change in a sequence of events, or a temporary state, and is often applied to transitional political entities. Interim may also refer to: Temporary organizational arrangements (general concept) *Provis ...
coach in Meyer's absence. On January 1, 2010, Meyer coached the Gators in their 51–24 Sugar Bowl victory over the Cincinnati Bearcats. In a post-game interview, Meyer again suggested that he would return to coach the Gators at some point by saying: "I plan on being the coach of the Gators." Meyer took significant time off from his coaching duties after the bowl game in an attempt to improve his personal health. While he did stay in touch with potential new players during the busy recruiting season, Meyer did much less traveling to visit recruits than usual. Nevertheless, the Gators still signed the consensus No. 1 recruiting class in the nation in February. On March 17, 2010, Meyer returned full-time to his position for the start of the Gators' spring practice and continued in that role into the 2010 season.


2010 season

With his victory over Kentucky on September 25, 2010, Meyer achieved his 100th career win as a coach. With that win, his record was at 100–18 over the course of 10 seasons. He became the sixth fastest NCAA coach to reach that record, following
Gil Dobie Robert Gilmour "Gloomy Gil" Dobie (January 21, 1878 – December 23, 1948) was an American football player and coach. Over a period of 33 years, he served as the head football coach at North Dakota Agricultural College (now North Dakota State ...
(108 games), George Woodruff (109 games), Bud Wilkinson (111 games),
Fielding Yost Fielding Harris Yost (; April 30, 1871 – August 20, 1946) was an American football player, coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at: Ohio Wesleyan University, the University of Nebraska, the University ...
(114 games), and Knute Rockne (117 games). He was also the second-fastest to reach 100 wins since Wilkinson in 1945. Despite reaching this milestone, the season was a difficult one for the Gators, and their 7–5 regular-season record was the worst in Meyer's tenure at Florida. On December 8, 2010, Meyer again announced his retirement from coaching for much the same reasons he mentioned in December 2009: his family and his health. Meyer's last game as Florida's coach was a 37–24 win in the 2011 Outback Bowl on January 1, 2011.


Aftermath

After a three-month investigation, the ''Sporting News'' published an exposé titled "How Urban Meyer broke Florida football", suggesting that Meyer had created a toxic culture in the locker room at Florida and departed just before implosion. The article quoted several Florida players who declared that Meyer developed a "Circle of Trust" that included only star players, and that those players received favorable treatment, including not having to complete workouts, lenient punishment, and hiding the player's positive drug tests from the public. Although Meyer stated: "I've never heard of Circle of Trust before in my life", former players contend it was the foundation of Florida's culture under Meyer.


ESPN career

After resigning as the head football coach of the Florida Gators, Meyer worked as a college football commentator and analyst for the American television sports network
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
.


Ohio State

On November 17, 2011, ''Eleven Warriors'' reported that Meyer would become the head coach of the
Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tre ...
. Meyer denied the report publicly, then asked ESPN to be taken off assignment during the weekend of the Ohio State–Michigan game, adding more to the speculations that he might be named the next head coach of Ohio State. On November 28, WBNS Columbus confirmed that Meyer had accepted the job as Ohio State's head football coach, and was introduced as head coach later that night. The school said Meyer would receive a six-year contract that pays $4 million annually, plus another $2.4 million total in "retention payments". It was reported by CBS Sports on April 13, 2015, that Meyer signed a contract extension with the Buckeyes through 2020.


2012 season

In Meyer's first year of coaching at Ohio State, he helped lead the Buckeyes to an undefeated 12–0 record and a No. 3 AP Poll ranking. The team was ineligible for all other rankings, as well as postseason play, due to NCAA sanctions. He was surrounded by first-year coaches such as offensive coordinator Tom Herman, co-offensive coordinator Ed Warriner, and co-defensive coordinator Everett Withers.


2013 season

Meyer's next year was not as good as the previous one, but Ohio State still finished #12 in the BCS rankings and a 12–2 record. Meyer lost talent at the end of the year to the 2014 NFL Draft, including linebacker Ryan Shazier, cornerback Bradley Roby, and running back Carlos Hyde. Roby and Shazier went in the first round, and Hyde went in the second round.


2014 season

Before the start of the season, Ohio State lost its star quarterback,
Braxton Miller Braxton Marcellus Miller (born November 30, 1992) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes and was their starting quarterback from 2011 to 2013, before moving to the wide receiver posit ...
, when he sustained a right shoulder injury during practice. Redshirt freshman quarterback J. T. Barrett stepped in as his replacement and led Ohio State to an 11–1 record through the first 12 games of the season. However, in the final game of the regular season, he sustained a broken ankle and was lost for the remainder of the year. Cardale Jones replaced Barrett at quarterback and guided Ohio State to a 59–0 blowout win over
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
in the
Big Ten Football Championship Game The Big Ten Football Championship Game is a college football game held by the Big Ten Conference each year to determine the conference's season champion. The game, held after the regular season has been completed, matches the division champions ...
. With the conference championship and the convincing win over Wisconsin, Ohio State moved up to #4 in the
College Football Playoff The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level ...
rankings, jumping the two Big 12 teams in playoff contention, Baylor and TCU, qualifying for the inaugural four-team postseason tournament. They played #1
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
in the semifinal Sugar Bowl. Despite being nine-point underdogs and trailing by as much as 15 points in the first half, Ohio State came back to win, 42–35. The Buckeyes then faced Heisman Trophy winner
Marcus Mariota Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota (born October 30, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted second overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2015 NFL Draft. Mariota pl ...
and the
Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. ...
in the
College Football Playoff National Championship The College Football Playoff National Championship is a post-season college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), which began play in the 2014 college football season. ...
. The Buckeyes were again underdogs as the #2-ranked Ducks were favored by seven points. Despite giving up four turnovers, Ohio State beat Oregon, 42–20, with MVP performances from running back
Ezekiel Elliott Ezekiel Elijah Elliott (born July 22, 1995) is an American football running back for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State, where he earned second-team All-America honors in 2015. Ell ...
and safety Tyvis Powell. The victory marked the eighth
national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...
in Ohio State's history and gave Meyer his third career national title, following his two with Florida.


2018 season

On August 1, 2018, Meyer was placed on paid
administrative leave Administrative leave is a temporary leave from a job assignment, with pay and benefits intact. Generally, the term is reserved for employees of non-business institutions such as schools, police, and hospitals. The definition of administrative leav ...
by Ohio State after reports surfaced that Meyer knew about spousal abuse allegations against assistant coach Zach Smith prior to Smith's firing the week prior. After an independent investigative panel reviewed the evidence, the Ohio State Board of Trustees found that Meyer and Ohio State University Athletic Director Gene Smith did not uphold the values of the university. On August 22, the board voted to suspend Meyer for the opening three games of the season for the Buckeyes. He missed the team's games against Oregon State, Rutgers, and TCU. Ohio State finished the year with a 12–1 record, including winning the Big Ten conference, but was not selected for the College Football Playoff, instead receiving a spot in the
2019 Rose Bowl The 2019 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2019 at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California. It was the 105th edition of the Rose Bowl Game, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS footb ...
. On December 4, 2018, Meyer announced that he would retire from coaching following the team's Rose Bowl game due to health reasons. It was announced that Ryan Day would take over the head coaching position immediately after the Rose Bowl.


Jacksonville Jaguars

On January 14, 2021, Meyer was hired to become the head coach of the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...
. On July 1, 2021, the NFL fined Meyer $100,000 for violating practice rules during organized team activities. In early October, a video appeared to show Meyer inappropriately touching a woman who was not his wife while he was at his Columbus-area restaurant, Urban Meyer's Pint House. Meyer apologized to the team and personnel. Jaguars owner Shahid Khan said that Meyer's behavior had been "inexcusable" and that Meyer "must regain our trust and respect". The Jaguars won their first regular season game on October 17 against the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
by a score of 23–20. The Jaguars won their second regular season game when they defeated the heavily favored Buffalo Bills by a score of 9–6 on November 7. Toward the end of the 2021 season, Jaguars players and coaches were critical of Meyer's treatment of them, to which the team officially responded with assertions of Meyer's job security. On December 15, former Jaguars
kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...
Josh Lambo Joshua Gregory Lambo (born November 19, 1990) is an American football placekicker who is a free agent. He was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2015 and then signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars on October 17, 2017. H ...
publicly accused Meyer of physical abuse, saying that Meyer repeatedly kicked Lambo's leg during warmups prior to the team's final preseason game. Lambo said it was inexcusable for any boss at any workplace to strike an employee. After Lambo told Meyer never to kick him again, Lambo said Meyer responded, "I'm the head ball coach. I'll kick you whenever the fuck I want." Later that day, Lambo reported the incident to his agent, who then reported it to the Jaguars team. Within hours of these new revelations from Lambo, Jaguars owner Shahid Khan made the decision to fire Meyer from his position and informed him of this in the early hours of December 16, 2021. Meyer recorded a 2–11 (.154) record during his brief tenure. His thirteen-game tenure is tied with Lou Holtz and
Bobby Petrino Robert Patrick Petrino (born March 10, 1961) is an American football coach. He currently serves as the Offensive Coordinator for the Texas A&M Aggies. He is the former head coach for the Missouri State Bears. Previously, he served as the head co ...
for fourth-shortest coaching tenures in NFL history. Holtz and Petrino also were making their NFL head coaching debuts after previously being a head coach in college. His .154 winning percentage is the worst of any non-interim head coach since
Cam Cameron Malcolm "Cam" Cameron (born February 6, 1961) is an American football coach. He is the former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the LSU Tigers football program. Cameron attended Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and playe ...
's .063 winning percentage with the Miami Dolphins in 2007. On January 26, 2022, Meyer spoke publicly for the first time about his tenure with the Jaguars on
Dan Dakich Daniel John Dakich (born August 17, 1962) is an American basketball sportscaster. He is a former player, assistant coach, interim head coach for the Indiana University Hoosiers and former head coach at Bowling Green State University. He current ...
's podcast ''Don't @ Me'', calling it "the worst experience I've had in my professional lifetime", citing the five-game losing streak and the differences in practice time compared to college football. Meyer added that he experienced "depression", and said, "I'd stare at the ceilings and hink'are we doing everything possible' because I really believed we had a roster that was good enough to win games. I just don't think we did a great job."


Spread offense

When Meyer got his first head coaching position at Bowling Green, he took trips to visit John L. Smith and
Scott Linehan Scott Thomas Linehan (born September 17, 1963) is an American football coach who currently works as an offensive analyst for Missouri. He was most recently the passing game coordinator for LSU. He was previously the head coach of the St. Louis ...
at Louisville, Randy Walker and Kevin Wilson at Northwestern,
Bill Snyder William D. Snyder (born October 7, 1939) is a retired college football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at Kansas State University from 1989 to 2005 and again from 2009 to 2018. Snyder initially retired from the p ...
at Kansas State,
Joe Tiller Joseph Henry Tiller (December 7, 1942 – September 30, 2017) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach at the University of Wyoming from 1991 to 1996 and Purdue University from 1997 to 2008, with a career record of know ...
and Jim Chaney at Purdue, and
Rich Rodriguez Richard Alan Rodriguez (; born May 24, 1963), also known as Rich Rod, is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at Jacksonville State University. Rodriguez previously was the head football coach at Salem Un ...
at West Virginia, all of whom ran some version of the spread offense. Meyer's teams at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida, and Ohio State all ran the spread, chiefly utilizing a run-first variation most similar to Rodriguez's at West Virginia, but with tweaks to fit the offensive personnel. For example, Meyer's first two years at Florida skewed toward a drop-back passing attack led by Chris Leak, while Tim Tebow led an option run-based spread (as did Alex Smith at Utah). Using this offense, he won two BCS titles, won the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship, became the first coach to lead a BCS non-automatically qualified conference team (Utah) to a BCS bowl, coached a Heisman trophy winner (Tim Tebow), and graduated a player who became a number one overall pick in the NFL draft (Alex Smith).


Coaching tree

Assistant coaches under Meyer who became NCAA or NFL head coaches: * Steve Addazio:
Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
(2011–2012), Boston College (2013–2019), Colorado State (2020–2021) *
Gary Andersen Gary Lee Andersen (born February 19, 1964) is an American football coach who was most recently head football coach at Utah State University. Andersen has also been the head football coach of Southern Utah (2003), Wisconsin (2013–2014), and Or ...
: Utah State (2009–2012; 2019–2020),
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
(2013–2014),
Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...
(2015–2017) * Chris Ash:
Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...
(2016–2019) * Tim Beck: Coastal Carolina (2023–present) * Tim Beckman: Toledo (2009–2011),
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
(2012–2014) *
Gregg Brandon Gregg Brandon (born February 29, 1956) is a former American football coach and player. He was most recently the head football coach at the Colorado School of Mines, a position he had held from 2015 until his retirement after the 2021 season. Pri ...
:
Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...
(2003–2008), Colorado Mines (2015–2021) * Ryan Day:
Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
(2018–present) *
Stan Drayton Stanley Drayton (born March 11, 1971) is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach at Temple University. He formerly served as the associate head coach, running backs coach, and run game coordinator at The University of Texas at ...
:
Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
(2022–present) * D.J. Durkin:
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
(2016–2018) *
Luke Fickell Luke Joseph Fickell (born August 18, 1973) is an American football coach and former player. He will be the head coach for the Wisconsin Badgers starting in December 2022. Previously he was the head football coach at the University of Cincinnati, ...
:
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
(2017–2022),
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
(2023-present) * Cody Hawkins: Idaho State (2023-present) *
Tom Herman Thomas Herman III (born June 2, 1975) is an American football coach and head coach of the Florida Atlantic Owls. He was the head football coach for the Texas Longhorns at the University of Texas at Austin from 2017 to 2020. Prior to that, he se ...
:
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
(2015–2016),
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
(2017–2020), Florida Atlantic (2023-present) * Jay Hill:
Weber State Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...
(2014–2022) * Doc Holliday:
Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...
(2010–2020) *
Scot Loeffler Scot Loeffler (born November 1, 1974) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at Bowling Green State University. He formerly served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Boston College. He was ...
:
Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...
(2019–present) *
Dan McCarney Patrick Daniel McCarney (born July 28, 1953) is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Iowa State University from 1995 to 2006 and the University of North Texas from 2011 to 2015, compiling a career college foo ...
:
North Texas North Texas (also commonly called North Central Texas) is a term used primarily by residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas to describe much of the north central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the Dallas–Fort Wo ...
(2011–2015) *
Dan Mullen Dan Mullen (born April 27, 1972) is a former college football player and coach, and current television analyst with the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and ESPN. He served as the head football coach at Mississippi State University from 2 ...
:
Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...
(2009–2017),
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
(2018–2021) *
Mike Sanford Sr. Michael Charles Sanford (born April 20, 1955) is an American football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) from 2005 to 2009 and at Indiana State University from 2013 to 2016. He ...
:
UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...
(2005–2009),
Indiana State Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...
(2013–2016) *
Greg Schiano Gregory Edward Schiano (born June 1, 1966) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at Rutgers University, a position he held from 2001 to 2011 and resumed before the 2020 season. Schiano served as the head coach for the Tampa ...
:
Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...
(2020–present) * Charlie Strong:
Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...
(2010–2013),
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
(2014–2016), South Florida (2017–2019) *
Mike Vrabel Michael George Vrabel (; born August 14, 1975) is an American football coach and former linebacker who is the head coach of the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State, where he earned con ...
:
Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...
(2018–present) *
Kyle Whittingham Kyle David Whittingham (born November 21, 1959) is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at the University of Utah, a position he has held since 2005, and is the all-time leader in wins at Utah. Prior to bec ...
:
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
(2005–present) * Kevin Wilson:
Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
(2023-present) *
Everett Withers Everett Rowe Withers (born June 15, 1963) is an American football coach and former player. He currently serves as the assistant head coach and defensive passing game coordinator for the Florida Atlantic Owls. He formerly served as the defensive ...
:
James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...
(2014–2015),
Texas State Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...
(2016–2018)


Head coaching record


College


NFL


Personal life

While studying at Cincinnati, Meyer met Shelley Mather, a freshman nursing student, at Sigma Chi's Derby Days philanthropy event and they married in 1986. The Meyers have three children: Nicole ("Nicki"), Gisela ("Gigi") and Nathan ("Nate"). His two daughters played Division I volleyball: Nicki played for
Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
and Gigi played for Florida Gulf Coast. He is a practicing Roman Catholic. Meyer resides in
Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
.


See also

*
List of Ohio State University people This is a list of Ohio State University people of whom have some significant affiliation with the school. Individuals listed may have only attended the university at one point and not necessarily have graduated. Currently there are nearly 500,000 ...
*
List of Sigma Chi members This is a list of notable alumni of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. Many notable Sigma Chi Brothers are awarded the Significant Sig Award by headquarters, indicated by as superscriptS. Athletics and sports entertainment Baseball Basketball Foot ...
* List of University of Cincinnati people


Notes


References


Bibliography

*
2012 Florida Football Media Guide
', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida (2012). * Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). .
BGSU Football History
2006 Bowling Green Football Media Guide.
Ute Record Book
2006 Utah Football Media Guide.
Head Football Coach Urban Meyer
2006 Gator Football Media Guide. *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Urban 1964 births Living people American football cornerbacks Bowling Green Falcons football coaches Cincinnati Bearcats football players College football announcers Colorado State Rams football coaches Florida Gators football coaches Illinois State Redbirds football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Ohio State Buckeyes football coaches Utah Utes football coaches Gulf Coast Braves players Pulaski Braves players High school football coaches in Ohio Ohio State University alumni St. Xavier High School (Ohio) people Sportspeople from Ashtabula, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio Baseball players from Ohio Coaches of American football from Ohio Catholics from Ohio Jacksonville Jaguars head coaches