Urban Meyer Ohio State: Why Decision to Return to Coaching Surprises No One

In one of the worst-kept secrets in sports, Urban Meyer finally came out and publicly announced what we already knew: He was going to become the next head coach at Ohio State.  

This is deserving of breaking news; however, we have known for quite a while that Meyer and Ohio State were working with each other. He has denied it, saying that he was never offered the job, although you could see right through Meyer’s denial.  

When Meyer was asked about the job before this weekend, he gave us this quote:

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"The concerns are still there," Meyer told The Gainesville Sun. "No. 1: My health. No. 2: My family. No. 3: The state of college football. I've done some research into the second one. I've found that it is possible to have balance between your job and your family, that there are coaches out there who are doing it.”

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That was just a diversion from what we already knew: that he was going to take over at Ohio State. 

So it’s a breath of fresh air that we can now breathe in. Now there will be no speculation as to will he or won’t he come back to coaching.

Schools like Penn State can move forward to find their new coach. The Nittany Lions do not have to field questions about Meyer and their school. The same goes for Ohio State’s current interim head coach Luke Fickell. Whether he deserved to keep the Ohio State job or not, he can move on to a new program as a head coach.

Meyer’s decision to return to coaching is big news. He is one of the most successful head coaches in the history of college football.

However, what was our response when we saw the news break on ESPN?

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Former Florida Gators coach Urban Meyer has taken the head coaching job at Ohio State, sources confirmed to ESPN on Monday morning.

Meyer had worked as a game analyst this season for the network. But he requested off his appearance this weekend as reports swirled of his imminent hire with the Buckeyes.

Sources told WKMG-TV in Orlando last week that Meyer would be introduced in coming days after agreeing to a seven-year, $40 million deal.

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The news does not come as a shock. Instead, it comes as, “It’s about time.”

Now, if Urban can turn Ohio State’s passing game around from being ranked 116th in the NCAA  to being ranked in the top 10, that would be shocking.

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