Urban Meyer Feels He Belongs at Fox Sports Amid USC Head Coach Rumors

Urban Meyer has been continuously linked to the USC Trojans throughout the season, but the former Ohio State Buckeyes coach feels like he is in a good spot with his role as a college football analyst for Fox Sports.

"Yes, it does," Meyer told the Columbus Dispatch's Bill Rabinowitz when asked if it feels like he is where he belongs. "I knew early on that the last time I wasn't finished (coaching)."

The 55-year-old declined, however, to comment on if he was fully retired from coaching.

Meyer spent 17 years as a college football head coach, handling the responsibilities of recruiting, passing on knowledge, etc. From 2001 to 2018, there was only one year in which he wasn't on the sideline for fall Saturdays. As a result, leaving the field for the studio created some uncertainty for the longtime coach.

He has enjoyed his first year back in the studio, though, per Rabinowitz:

"I feel great. I was very concerned going into it (because it's) just something new and a little bit uncharted.

"My job is to take the viewers to places that not many people can take them. And I love it because I think there's a lot of people—how do you politically correctly say it?—that talk about the game that really don't understand it, don't understand the amount of time and work and the finer points of this incredible, complex game. And I love sharing it."

Meyer stepped down at Ohio State following the 2018 season. He went 83-9 in seven seasons in Columbus, never winning fewer than 11 games in a season. He won three Big Ten titles as well as one national championship.

He is 187-32 with three national titles in his coaching career.

When Meyer announced his retirement in December, he revealed he did so in part because of health concerns, as he had been dealing with a cyst in his brain in recent years.

He also let it be known: "I believe I will not coach again."

That hasn't stopped speculation that Meyer will ultimately return to the sideline—and Meyer himself has done little to quiet the buzz surrounding the Trojans:

As of now, the USC job is not available. Clay Helton has led the Trojans to four wins in their last five games, resulting in a 23rd-ranking in the latest College Football Playoff standings. They are still in the mix for the Pac-12 South title.

Helton is 39-21, winning double-digit games in both 2016 and 2017, at USC.