In the wake of Texas A&M’s decision to part ways with Jimbo Fisher, speculation is building about who will be the next head coach for the Aggies.
One name that has quickly entered the conversation is Urban Meyer, the highly regarded former coach of Utah, Florida, Ohio State, and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Meyer, known as one of the best college football coaches of all-time, has had a storied career filled with enormous success at the college level.
Despite claiming his coaching days are over and insisting that he loves his job as a FOX Sports analyst, anytime there’s a major college opening, Meyer’s name is going to be thrown around.
🎙️ JAKE’S TAKES:
If A&M is serious about winning a championship it needs to be URBAN MEYER…
CC: @SSN_TAMU pic.twitter.com/9nruNPcZpv
— Jake “JBOY” Crain (@JakeCrain_) November 13, 2023
On3’s Andy Staples reported that Meyer’s name has quickly emerged as a potential candidate for the A&M vacancy.
“Meyer, the former Ohio State, Florida, Utah and Jacksonville Jaguars coach, probably would consider a job at this level. But the question is whether Meyer’s management style would work in this era of college football,” Staples said.
“He’d probably find a major college job in the NIL era – and the players-as-employees era that likely comes next – to be more similar to his time coaching the Jaguars than his time coaching the Buckeyes … And that Jaguars tenure was a disaster.”
“Unless Meyer can prove he can adapt to a time when players have far more agency than they did even five years ago, he might be happier staying at FOX,” Staples added.
Urban Meyer after hearing about the Texas A&M opening pic.twitter.com/ghPYrWVSfV
— Lauren Emmerson (@A_MaizingBlue) November 12, 2023
The report rightly suggests that Meyer’s traditional, old-school approach might face challenges in adapting to the vastly changing dynamics in the world of college football.
Despite the near-$80 million buyout A&M is on the hook for with Fisher, we know that money will never be a problem for the Aggies.
Will a blank check and the allure of diving back into SEC football be enough to lure Meyer back to the sidelines???
According to ESPN college football insider Pete “The Authority” Thamel, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning is another possibility for the job (although he has denied interest).
Other targets include Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, Duke head coach Mike Elko, Florida State head coach Mike Norvell, UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor, Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman, USC senior offensive analyst and quarterback coach Kliff Kingsbury and Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer.
If you’re A&M, would you go after Meyer???
(It’s hard to imagine him not working out in College Station…)