Why Urban Meyer and Jim Harbaugh Have More in Common Than You'd Think

Leaving last year's Big Ten kickoff luncheon in Chicago, one image in particular stuck with me.

And with all due respect to Joshua Perry, Nate Sudfeld and the overcooked grilled chicken, it had nothing to do with either of the keynote speakers or the meal that had been served to the attendees.

But while waiting for the festivities to begin that late-July afternoon, I noticed only one seat—a metaphorical border, if you will—sat between Urban Meyer and Jim Harbaugh on the dais. For seven months to this point, the two had been painted as natural rivals, both in terms of their respective schools and personalities, only you wouldn't have known it by the way the two could be seen chatting it up in the Windy City that day.

In fact, most of their dialogue seemed to be taking place with the coach seated between them—Michigan State's Mark Dantonio—serving as a barrier to their conversation.

I'll probably never know what the Ohio State and Michigan head coaches talked about that day or whether I was making something out of nothing. But at that point, I realized that for all of the myth-making that had been going on for the previous half-year—some of which I took part in—the reality was Meyer and Harbaugh were probably more alike than dissimilar.

That thought was reinvoked this past weekend, when ESPN's Chris Fowler posted a selfie with the two at the Dick Vitale Gala, where Meyer was serving as an honoree.

Much like the aforementioned conversation in Chicago, the genesis of the selfie seen 'round the college football Twittersphere remains unclear, and it's worth noting that the two were in attendance at a charity event.

But for a pair of head coaches whose public personas—especially when it comes to their respective fanbases—are so tied to their rivalry with one another, it was interesting that they'd once again be willing to give a peak behind the curtain into what their relationship might be like if Big Ten titles and recruiting battles weren't always at stake.

After all, there may not be two head coaches in the conference with more in common than Meyer and Harbaugh.

And if you really wanted to, you could date the connection between the two back to their births, with each being born in Toledo's Mercy Hospital seven months apart, according to David Briggs of the Toledo Blade.

From there, they took their own unique paths to head coaching stardom, Meyer through the traditional ranks and Harbaugh via his 14-year NFL quarterback career. But by the time they arrived at their respective rival schools—Meyer in 2012, Harbaugh in 2015—each could already lay claim to being one of the best in his profession.

"I don't know Jim," Meyer said upon Harbaugh's hiring in Ann Arbor in late 2014. "But anytime you add a quality coach to the Big Ten or college football, obviously it's good for college football and great for the Big Ten."

Harbaugh has similarly been mum on Meyer since taking over his alma mater.

"As far as my relationship with Coach Meyer, and all the coaches we face, I have tremendous respect for them," Harbaugh told ABC7 in Detroit before their first matchup last November. "We tend to have at it."

Only their history would indicate they've crossed paths more than each is letting on.

Tony Ding/Associated Press

As recently as 2014, Harbaugh drafted Meyer's star running back, Carlos Hyde, while he was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Granted, the tension between Harbaugh and the 49ers front office has been well-documented, but it's hard to imagine Harbaugh wasn't at the very least involved in those discussions, perhaps even with Meyer as head coaches often are, given Hyde's history of off-field issues.

And even more than a year before Harbaugh's team drafted Hyde, Meyer had already expressed admiration for the head coach who'd soon become his primary opposition in the Big Ten.

Speaking to The Dan Patrick Show at the end of his debut season at Ohio State, Meyer praised the way Harbaugh had been finding recent success with quarterback Colin Kaepernick in San Francisco. With his own offense possessing a similar spread scheme, the Buckeyes head coach said he had spent the offseason studying NFL film and that it was Harbaugh's team that stood out most.

"The San Francisco team was really the one [that impressed me], because they actually do something we don't do," Meyer said of his studying of NFL offenses that offseason. "I can assure you we're gonna do it next year. That's how good they were. I just give credit to guys like Coach Harbaugh."

Compliments have been more commonplace in their 16-month rivalry than barbs, which is especially noteworthy considering the coaches' fiery nature and unwillingness to hold their tongues. The lone public exception thus far is an apparent sub-tweet Harbaugh sent Meyer's way during last winter's heated recruiting battle for running back Mike Weber, who ultimately landed at Ohio State.

Inadvertent or not, the two have actually found themselves on the same side of battles recently, such as this spring's fight against the NCAA's since-rescinded satellite camp bans. When it was revealed Harbaugh would be taking his Michigan team to Florida for spring practice, Meyer contemplated eventually doing the same, citing the uniqueness of his rival's plan.

"I think it's creative," Meyer told Sara Perlman of WUFT-TV in March, via Cleveland.com's Doug Lesmerises. "I'm looking into it for next year and maybe the future, too."

And while Meyer has since distanced himself from a potential off-campus spring practice, his interest in a Harbaugh-generated idea isn't all that surprising, as you won't find another coach in the country outside of Nick Saban who matches Meyer's aggressiveness on the recruiting trail as closely as Harbaugh does.

While Harbaugh made waves this past winter trimming his 2016 class as signing day approached, Meyer sat idly by, perhaps aware that he may find himself in a similar position a year from now with numbers available in his own 2017 class already a concern. Both coaches recruit nationally and neither is afraid to get creative with his classes, two tactics that weren't frequently used in the Big Ten a mere five years ago.

"Prior to Urban Meyer arriving in the Big Ten, a lot of the recruiting was very basic," Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell told Bleacher Report. "Harbaugh's taken another step."

Of course, there's still been some of the pettiness masked as tradition that exists in almost every college football rivalry.

Meyer won't say "Michigan" or allow visitors to wear blue inside his facility. Harbaugh cracked a buckeye nut on Bo Schembechler's grave prior to playing Ohio State last November. A mutual respect and admiration may exist, but make no mistake about it, these are still archrivals vying for both Big Ten and national supremacy.

Only, the hatred—if any even exists—doesn't seem to run as deeply as either of their respective fanbases may prefer.

At their cores, these are two head coaches with plenty in common who just happen to find themselves on opposing sides of college football's most famous border.

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. Recruit rankings and info courtesy of 247Sports.