Urban Meyer: Odds Where He'll Land When He Returns To Coaching
Urban Meyer has resigned from coaching in order to spend time with his family. Unlike last year's resignation, this one has the air of sticking. At least for now, he will relax at home, watch his kids grew, and not worry about what goes into the day-to-day aspects of coaching.
While he is certainly done with coaching right now, he is still young at 46 given the ages of many other head coaches in college, and one his kinds grow up and move on to other things, I could absolutely see him coaching somewhere else again. After all, it's in his blood.
Here are the ten places where he is most likely to end up when he returns to coaching.
Denver Broncos
1 of 12
This one is highly unlikely to happen, given that if he were to take the job, it would have to be now, and I see him out of coaching for at least a couple years. Nonetheless, Urban Meyer had his greatest successes at Florida while coaching quarterback Tim Tebow. Bringing Tebow's coach onto the Broncos bench might be a step in the right direction. They can't do much worse than Josh McDaniels.
Either way, I don't see Urban Meyer trying the pros at all, though I could be wrong.
USC
2 of 12
This could possibly work down the road. If Lane Kiffin's hot seat becomes too hot and he's ousted, then they would likely try very hard to grab Meyer. This one could actually work, as he could do the same with USC that he did with Florida; bring them back to greatness. He's never coached in the Pac-10, but he never coached in the SEC before Florida, and it worked out just fine for him.
UCLA
3 of 12
If USC ended up not getting him, could he instead sign up with their rivals, UCLA? It's actually more possible than USC if we're talking multiple years down the road. Rick Neuheisel is likely on the hot seat, and it their next coach doesn't work out, it might come at the same time that Meyer's ready to return to coaching.
Beyond that, they haven't been good since the 1990s, and Meyer can clearly turn franchises back into great ones, something UCLA hasn't known in football in a long time. It's a long shot, but you never know.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Ohio State
4 of 12
When I say Meyer might be done a long time, I do mean fairly long, since Jim Tressel's not going anywhere. If he were to retire in 10 years or so though and it coincided with Meyer's desire to return, it works. After Tressel left OSU originally to coach at Youngstown State, Meyer took over for him in some offensive positions, serving as tight ends and wide receivers coach.
They don't need him right now, but he would be a great way to continue their successes if Tressel ever decides he's done.
Penn State
5 of 12
Let's add in a few which are more feasible now. Joe Paterno has to retire eventually. When he finally does, things seem to fit well for Meyer here. They are already a decent team that certainly has the potential of moving back to a national title, something Meyer knows how to do.
There's no question that Meyer highly respects Paterno; if Penn State were to offer him the job of being his successor, I could absolutely see Meyer going for it.
Pittsburgh
6 of 12
This one is more of a long shot if Dave Wannstedt's replacement doesn't work out, but it does fit the bill. Pittsburgh used to have a very dominant football program, but haven't won a national championship since 1976. Then again, if anyone could come near Jock Sutherland's legacy, it might be Meyer. Pittsburgh doesn't have a bad team, it just needs the coach that can get the extra mile out of them.
Michigan
7 of 12
What might be a slightly more likely option than Ohio State, while we're looking at colleges down on their luck, is Michigan. They're a very storied program that would love to get back in the national title picture. However, they seem like they would be a lot more comfortable with someone who was a Michigan man, i.e. Jim Harbaugh, rather than another outsider.
Texas
8 of 12
This would be conditional on this past season not being an anomaly. If Texas bounces back from this and returns to form, this obviously won't happen. However, should that happen and Mack Brown decides either or leave or retire, there's always that chance Meyer will step in. Like nearly all of the others stated, it's a long shot, as Texas has Will Muschamp as a "coach in waiting", but it could work.
Florida
9 of 12
Urban Meyer seems to me like the kind of coach that would be looking for the next big challenge, rather than being one that stays in the same place, not unlike Larry Brown. As a result, this is next to impossible. That being said though, he left on good terms, he's certainly respected there, and he brought them two national titles. If he wanted to come back to Florida at any point they would happily take him.
Notre Dame
10 of 12
This one is the most likely option, I believe, and he would be willing to wait for the job to open up. He's said before that coaching at Notre Dame would be his dream job, they want nothing more than to return to dominance, and Notre Dame would love to have him. It actually fits perfectly. The only question would be when it would happen, and it likely would not for a while.
Another NFL Team
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If not the Broncos, could another NFL team try to get him to join up? While possible, I don't feel that Meyer will, or even wants to, coach in the NFL. He seems happy at the college ranks, and if he is then there's no reason to move up to the pros. I'd say look at other coaches instead for this option.
Another College Team
12 of 12
The teams I listed are just some of the many options he has available. In any given season, he could likely pick and choose any school with an opening. When he coaches again, it will be at a major school; he's done all he can for mid-major teams.
Beyond that though, who knows. Maybe he'll try to revitalize Cincinnati, where he played college football. Maybe he'll again follow Steve Spurrier and coach at South Carolina. Maybe he'll continue the winning tradition in Alabama after Nick Saban. I could throw the name of every college out there, but then again, after Notre Dame, any college has at least a tiny chance of grabbing him.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
