According to a report from Adam Schefter this morning, Urban Meyer has been reached out to by at least two NFL teams to see if he'd be interested in interviewing for NFL head coaching openings.
At 56 years old, with the success he had as a college head coach, it's no surprise that these reports pop up year after year for Meyer. Just last month Urban was fielding interest at Texas as some Longhorns decision makers weighed moving on from Tom Herman.
Perhaps most interesting is that Schefter adds that Urban hasn't dismissed the overtures and is considering his options.
Schefter shares that Urban "intends to decide in the next week, before the NFL regular season is over, and teams expect to hear his decision in the coming days."
Urban went 187-32 in his 17 seasons leading programs at Ohio State, Florida, Utah, and Bowling Green and captured three national titles while cementing himself as one of the best college football coaches of all time. He retired from coaching following the 2018 season, handing the keys of the program to Ryan Day, who kept much of the Buckeyes staff intact.
Asked back earlier this month what it would take to get him back into coaching, Urban offered the following answer:
“You can’t do something as long as I’ve done it (and not) just feel a little bit empty. I have a great spot on Fox, and I love Reggie, Matt, Brady and Rob Stone,” he said. “We have a great group. I really have absorbed that and embraced it. But, to say I don’t think about it… it’s every day. But it’d have to be the perfect, perfect situation. It’d have to be something that I was confident that the health issues I could overcome, and at least prevent. So, I don’t know. At this point, I think I’m done, but I learned a long time ago…you know, I left a job once where I really planned on being there, then you get a phone call from a better opportunity."
"So, you know, I think I’m done, but I would never say I’m never done.”
Could an NFL team present a situation like that, where his health wasn't a concern and he'd be able to surround himself with some of the right pieces?
Current openings in the NFL include the Lions, Falcons, and Texans, with additional openings expected.
One of those potential openings Urban is being linked to by Schefter, and others, is in Jacksonville, where the franchise is in line for the #1 overall pick in the draft. That pick is expected to be spent on Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Urban has a history of taking jobs where the quarterback situation is healthy, and this logic would certainly line up with that.
With NFL teams expecting a decision from Meyer in the coming days, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.