The fact that Urban Frank Meyer III revolutionised football when he became the head coach at the University of Florida in the 2000s is one thing that nobody can dispute. He did, after all, bring new difficulties to this Southeastern Conference (SEC) school, as extensively examined in Netflix’s “Untold: Swamp Kings,” but he also altered expectations. We now have the information you need if you just want to discover more about him, with an emphasis on his history, his professional development, and his current position.
Who is Urban Meyer?
Urban “Bud” Meyer Sr. and Gisela Meyer’s only son Urban was born in Toledo, Ohio on July 10, 1964, however Urban actually grew up in Ashtabula in a very “hardcore” family. The fact that both his father and one of his sisters served in the military contributed to his tendency to approach almost every part of life simply, including his love of different sports. It should therefore come as no surprise that he dislikes losing even more than he enjoys winning, which undoubtedly motivated him to work extremely hard as an athlete and a rising coach soon after graduating from high school.
We mention this because Urban supposedly was chosen by the Atlanta Braves in the 13th round of the 1982 Major League Baseball Draught, only to play for two seasons before entirely changing. In fact, he played football at the University of Cincinnati while obtaining his bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1986. Later, he transferred to Ohio State to acquire his master’s degree in sports administration in 1988. But by this time, he had already made a name for himself as a coach; in 1985, he served as the defensive backs coach at St. Xavier High School, and from 1986 to 1987, he worked as a graduate assistant at Ohio State.
Then came Urban’s employment at Illinois State, where he began in 1988 as an outside linebackers coach before progressing to become the quarterbacks coach and wide receivers coach in 1989. His success as a wide receivers coach actually followed, first at Colorado State University from 1990 to 1995 and then at the University of Notre Dame from 1996 to 2000. His decision to again change directions and join with the University of Utah from 2003 to 2004 came after he was hired head coach at Ohio’s Bowling Green State University for a year.
According to reports, Urban unquestionably accomplished great things during these two years as a result of his adaptation of the Spread Offence strategy, which he later used at the University of Florida. Unfortunately, according to the documentary series, he struggled with such despair and strain while coaching the Florida Gators from 2005 to 2010. As a result, he developed a sleeping pill addiction. The reason is that after they won two BCS National Championships (in 2006 and 2008), his intense competitiveness led him to believe that no play was ever done precisely, regardless of the final score of a game.
Where is Urban Meyer Now?
In 2009, when Urban had a 96-18 (84.2 win %) record as head coach at the University of Florida, he initially disclosed that he intended to resign for health reasons. He did, however, come back for the following season, but when things did not go as he had intended, he announced his resignation in late 2010 and took an indefinite leave of absence. His temporary retirement, however, was short-lived as he joined ESPEN in 2011 as a college football analyst before agreeing to become Ohio State’s head coach from 2012 to 2018—he also won a championship with this club in 2014.
According to sources, Urban left coaching in 2019 to work as Ohio State’s assistant athletic director and a Fox Sports analyst, but he temporarily returned in 2021. That’s because he accepted the position as head coach of the National Football League’s Jacksonville Jaguars without realising it would be marred by controversy due to his private life and strict teaching methods. In actuality, he was sacked early on December 16, 2021, with a record of 2-11 (15.4 win %), after a notable player complained of suspected physical and verbal abuse.
On the “Don’t @ Me” podcast hosted by former athlete Dan Dakich, Urban later referred to this time as “the worst experience I’ve ever had in my professional lifetime,” adding that he was still dealing with depression. I honestly thought our roster was strong enough to win games, so I’d stare at the ceilings and [wonder] if we were doing everything we could. Simply put, “I just don’t think we did a great job.”
But from what we can understand, the author of “Above the Line” (2015) has since resumed his broadcasting career and is even now employed by Morgan Sports Partners as a motivational speaker. Urban Mather Meyer and his wife of 37 years, Shelley Mather Meyer, reside in Jacksonville, Florida, where they are joined by their three adult children, Nicole “Nicki” Meyer, Gisela “Gigi” Meyer, and Nathan “Nate” Meyer. Urban’s private life appears to be peaceful and comfortable.
