Urban Meyer
Urban Meyer is a notable figure in American college football, recognized for his successful coaching career spanning several prestigious teams, including the Utah Utes, Florida Gators, and Ohio State Buckeyes. Born on July 10, 1964, in Toledo, Ohio, Meyer grew up in Ashtabula and pursued his education at the University of Cincinnati, where he earned a degree in psychology and played football. His coaching journey began shortly after, leading to various assistant coaching positions before becoming the head coach at Bowling Green State University, where he quickly gained recognition for transforming the team's performance.
Meyer's coaching tenure at Florida was particularly distinguished, culminating in two BCS national championships. He later returned to Ohio State, leading the Buckeyes to a national championship in 2014 and multiple Big Ten titles. Despite facing health issues and controversies during his career, Meyer has been celebrated for his achievements, including being named coach of the decade by multiple outlets. After a brief foray into the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he faced challenges, he returned to sports analysis. As of 2023, he has expressed no intention of returning to coaching. Meyer's personal life includes his wife Shelley and their three children.
Urban Meyer
- Born: July 10, 1964
- Place of Birth: Toledo, Ohio
Football coach
Education: University of Cincinnati; Ohio State University
Significance: Urban Meyer achieved recognition as one of the most successful coaches in college football during his years coaching the Utah Utes, Florida Gators, and the Ohio State Buckeyes into the second decade of the twenty-first century.
Background
Urban Frank Meyer III was born on July 10, 1964, in Toledo, Ohio, one of three children born to Urban "Bud" Meyer Jr. and Gisela Meyer. Meyer and his two sisters, Gigi and Erika, grew up in Ashtabula, a small town in the northeastern part of Ohio. Meyer attended St. John High School and then the University of Cincinnati, where both his father and grandfather had gone to college. During this time, Meyer spent a season as a defensive backs coach for Cincinnati’s Saint Xavier High School.
Meyer earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Cincinnati in 1986. He played football on the University of Cincinnati Bearcats’ team. He continued his education at Ohio State University, where he worked as a graduate assistant coach for the Buckeyes. In 1986, his first year as a graduate assistant coach, he coached the tight ends, and in 1987, he coached the receivers. He earned his master’s degree in sports administration in 1988.
Career Beginnings
After completing his master’s degree Meyer moved to Illinois State, where he worked as an assistant coach. He spent one year, 1988, coaching the outside linebackers and then shifted to coaching the quarterbacks and wide receivers. During this time, Meyer contacted University of Toledo head football coach Nick Saban about the possibility of working under him. Saban did not accept Meyer’s request. Saban, who later became the head coach for the University of Alabama, has said he regretted this decision after seeing Meyer’s success as a coach.
In 1990, Meyer began his career with Colorado State as the team’s wide receivers coach. In his first year with Colorado State, the team played in the Freedom Bowl. Meyer spent the next five years as the wide receivers coach. The team played in the Holiday Bowl during Meyer’s last two seasons, in 1994 and 1995.
In 1996, Meyer was hired as the wide receivers coach for the University of Notre Dame. He spent five years at Notre Dame, helping the team reach the Independence Bowl in 1997, the Gator Bowl in 1998 (when Meyer was also placed in charge of special teams), and the Fiesta Bowl in 2000.
In 2001, Meyer became the head coach at Bowling Green State University, Ohio. His first season with Bowling Green established him as one of the rising stars of collegiate football coaching when the Falcons turned their fortunes around significantly to become one of the best teams in the region. During his two seasons with Bowling Green, Meyer led his teams to a 17–6 overall record. He then accepted the head coach position at the University of Utah.
During his first season with the team, in 2003, Meyer led the Utah Utes to the Liberty Bowl, which the Utes won 17–0 over the University of Southern Mississippi. Meyer became the first Utah coach to win the Sporting News national coach-of-the-year award. In 2013, the Utes 10–2 season tied for the best record in school history.
In 2004, Meyer’s Utah team achieved a perfect 12–0 record and beat Pittsburgh in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl. After his success with the Utes, Meyer signed a seven-year deal to be the head coach of the University of Florida Gators.
In Meyer’s first season at Florida, 2005, the Gators finished with a 9–3 record, an undefeated home record, and a victory against Iowa State in the Outback Bowl. In 2006, Meyer led the team to a 13–1 record, finishing first in the Southeastern Conference. To finish the season, the Gators won the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) national championship game against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Meyer’s 2007 team had a record of 9–3. His 2008 team had a 13–1 record and won the BCS Championship over Oklahoma. Meyer had similar success in 2009, leading the team to another 13–1 season and a victory over the Cincinnati Bearcats in the 2010 Sugar Bowl.
Back Home to Ohio
At the close of the 2009 season, Meyer experienced health problems and intended to resign as head coach of the Gators. However, he returned for the 2010 season, the worst year of his tenure. Meyer resigned as head coach of the Gators in 2011 and briefly worked as a commentator for ESPN. In late 2011, he was asked to be the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes. He was reluctant to return to head coaching but decided to do so for the opportunity to come back to his home state of Ohio.
In 2012, Meyer led the Buckeyes to an undefeated 12–0 record and a third-place ranking in the BCS. In 2013, the Buckeyes posted a 12–2 record but lost at both the Big Ten championship game versus Michigan State and in the Orange Bowl. In 2014, Meyer had his most successful season with the Buckeyes to date. The team finished with a record of 14–1, with an 8–0 record in Big Ten games. The Buckeyes played Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship, winning 59–0. For the 2014 season the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) introduced a two-round playoff system to decide the national championship. In the first round of the new format, Ohio State defeated Alabama at the Sugar Bowl to advance to the final game. The Buckeyes defeated the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl to win the national championship.
The year 2017 saw Meyer at the helm of the Buckeyes for another Big Ten championship game victory over the previously undefeated Wisconsin Badgers. With a score of 45–24, his team achieved a consecutive Big Ten championship game win in 2018, this time conquering the Northwestern Wildcats. This success had brought a better ending to the season than how it had started for Meyer, who had been suspended for three games due to accusations that he had failed to properly handle an investigation of domestic violence and other indiscretions brought against one of his past assistant coaches. Not long after taking the Big Ten championship title, he announced that he would be retiring from coaching. Following the Buckeyes' win in the Rose Bowl in early 2019, giving Meyer an 83–9 record, he transitioned into a role as assistant athletic director at Ohio State. Before the beginning of the 2019 season, he was also hired to serve as a sports analyst for Fox.
Meyer made a foray into the National Football League (NFL) when he was hired as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars in January 2021. However, a series of scandals and a poor on-field performance marred Meyer's career in Jacksonville, and the team soon fired him in December 2021 after the Jaguars had posted a 2–11 record up until that point.
He continued to serve as a Fox Sports analyst. In 2023, when asked if he would return to coaching, he said no.
Impact
Meyer established himself as one of the most successful coaches in college football. His teams won a record thirteen or more games on three separate occasions during his career. In 2009, both the Sporting News and Sports Illustrated named Meyer coach of the decade, and in 2020 the Big Ten Network declared him the 2010–19 coach of the decade.
Personal Life
Meyer met his wife, Shelley Jean Mather, at the University of Cincinnati, in 1984. They have two daughters, Nicole and Gisela, and a son, Nathan.
Bibliography
Clegg, Jonathan. "How Urban Meyer Took the Buckeyes to School." Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones, 7 Dec. 2014. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.
Martin, Jill, and Seán Federico-O'Murchú. "Urban Meyer Fired as Head Coach of Jacksonville Jaguars." CNN, 16 Dec. 2021, www.cnn.com/2021/12/16/sport/nfl-urban-meyer-jacksonville-jaguars/index.html. Accessed 28 Feb. 2023.
Murphy, Dan, and Adam Rittenberg. "Urban Meyer to Retire after Rose Bowl, with Ryan Day Taking Over as Buckeyes Head Coach." ESPN, 4 Dec. 2018, www.espn.com/college-football/story/‗/id/25449933/ohio-state-buckeyes-head-coach-urban-meyer-retire-coaching-rose-bowl. Accessed 7 Oct. 2020.
Rabinowitz, Bill. Buckeye Rebirth: Urban Meyer, an Inspired Team, and a New Era at Ohio State. Chicago: Triumph, 2013. Digital file.
Ross, John. "Balancing Act: Did Urban Meyer Finally Find a Way to Have It All?" Columbus Monthly. Dispatch Printing, Feb. 2013. Web. 1 Apr. 2015.
Svoboda, Jeff. "Now a Buckeye, Meyer Grew Up a Bearcat." Ohio State Scout. Scout, 22 Sept. 2014. Web. 1 Apr. 2015.
"Urban Meyer." Ohio State, ohiostatebuckeyes.com/staff/urban-meyer/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2020.
Valkenburg, Kevin Van. "How Urban Meyer Found His Balance." ESPN. ESPN, 11 Jan. 2015. Web. 1 Apr. 2015.
Wilson, Mike. "What Urban Meyer Said About His Coaching Future When Asked at Knoxville QB Club Appearance." Knoxville News Sentinel, 16 Oct. 2023, www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/football/2023/10/16/urban-meyer-michigan-state-coach-search-mel-tucker/71186969007/. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.