Urban Meyer’s NFL coaching career may have been a bust but it’s hard to deny that he was a winner everywhere he went in college football. From turning Utah into a premiere program, winning two national titles with Florida, and a third with Ohio State, the kind of success he found as a college football coach is hard to find.
So while Meyer is reportedly preparing to return to the college football TV studio, one ESPN analyst thinks that, soon enough, he’ll be back on the sidelines. And it will be because one very lucrative job will become available in the next few years.
Steve Sarkisian has made plenty of positive headlines in the recruiting and transfers world since taking over as head coach of the Texas Longhorns, but a 5-7 season to start his tenure also means there’s a target on his back to improve fast. ESPN’s Keyshawn Johnson seems to think the odds are against Sark getting it done, especially in the eyes of UT boosters, and he’s already pegged Sarkisian’s replacement.
“University of Texas!”@finebaum challenged @keyshawn to name the next coaching job Urban Meyer will take. #KJM pic.twitter.com/vd6N6vkCjt
— UNSPORTSMANLIKE Radio (@UnSportsESPN) May 4, 2022
“University of Texas,” Johnson said when discussing Meyer’s next potential head coaching job. “Steve Sarkisian is not having any sort of run at Texas right now. Two years from now – a year from now – Texas has tried to go after Urban Meyer twice I believe already.”
As Johnson notes, Meyer has been a top target by Texas on multiple occasions and the coach reportedly turned down an offer from UT when he decided to pursue the Jaguars job.
While this is just the opinion of one pundit on television, Johnson certainly gave some breath to something that many people have already been thinking. As bad as things got in the NFL, Meyer’s reputation and record in college football are enough to sway powerful people into hiring him.
We’ll see how Sark does this season with the Longhorns. If he succeeds, then this kind of discussion will die off for a bit. But if Texas struggles once more, expect to hear a lot more people calling for Urban and Austin to finally come together, contract buyouts be damned.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.