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Former NFL and college football head coach Urban Meyer reaffirmed he has “no desire” to return to the sidelines.
“I am good,” he said at an event for the Knoxville Quarterback Club, per Mike Wilson of the Knoxville News Sentinel. “I never really took a day off. People, when I say that, they scratch their head. I am like I never took a day off. I had some health stuff go on. I became addicted to sleeping pills. I was just a maniac worker. … So no. No desire.”
Meyer struck a similar tone earlier in October when he told The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman he wasn’t interested in the Michigan State job.
The Spartans’ vacancy unexpectedly came open in the wake of the scandal surrounding Mel Tucker. Michigan State fired Tucker for cause after he was the subject of a sexual harassment investigation.
It doesn’t appear Meyer has been a serious candidate to replace Tucker. Instead, his success at the college level and his availability mean he’s inevitably linked with whatever notable program is looking for a new coach.
Nebraska fans lobbied him personally in September 2022 while he was in Lincoln in his duties with Fox Sports.
FOX College Football @CFBONFOX
“We want Urban!” 👀 pic.twitter.com/g0pLheTfOL
Even if Meyer were intrigued by a comeback, it seems fair to wonder whether big Power Five programs would actually jump at the chance to hire him.
College football has changed a lot in just the five years he has been away. The transfer portal and NIL era are challenges the 59-year-old didn’t have to encounter when he was last working at Ohio State.
“It has never been harder I am telling you right now,” Meyer said, per Wilson. “Every coach, every player has an agent. Think about that. Remember those days? Maybe a coordinator every once in a while had an agent. There is nothing wrong with agents. They’re great.
“But when I am the head coach having to deal with a high school player that (says) meet with my agent first. I am going I want to meet with your family because you are talking about recruiting and other stuff.
Meyer’s reputation took a bit of a hit a well thanks to his disastrous spell with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He didn’t even make it a full season, getting fired after the Jags started 2-11 in 2021.
The Athletic’s Jayson Jenks and Mike Sando detailed Meyer’s time in Jacksonville and painted the picture of a coach who was both overbearing and ill-prepared to work in the NFL.
Maybe enough time will pass for Meyer to get the coaching itch again. Mack Brown was 67 when he decided to end his hiatus and turn up at North Carolina.
For now, he seems perfectly happy to stay on the broadcasting side.
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