Buddy Martin Blog Exclusive: Urban Meyer Tells Us Why He Said ‘Yes’ To Shad Khan and the Jaguars.
Updated: Jun 26, 2021
I recently sat down with Urban for our first episode of “Best Fridays in Football” – a term he once adopted for his day-before-game protocol for his team hanging out at the hotel. And I asked him why he made the decision to pursue an NFL coaching career.
Urban Meyer wanted to quit coaching and go to law school, but Shelley wouldn’t let him. Urban’s mentor/friend Earle Bruce had been unceremoniously fired by Ohio State and his coaching apprentice job went with him out the door. “Not yet,” said his wife Shelley. “Give it one more try. You could do this! It’s your passion!” And even more importantly, it was going to become his purpose.
So Urban stayed the course, gave up his wannabe real life dream as Perry Mason and moved on to the next job with Bruce in Fort Collins, Colorado, where Shelley says Urban added the spirituality component to his repertoire. Then on to the Golden Dome.
Growing up watching courtroom movies and TV shows, like "Jagged Edge", planted the seed of an idea that he could be a decent lawyer, and given that keen analytical mind, perhaps he could have been. But Urban wasn’t really looking for a job per se. This wasn’t even about just his passion. It was about his purpose. He found that purpose in teaming up with Shelley to help young men get better at life.
At Notre Dame under Lou Holtz, Urban became head coaching material. And when he was offered his first head job, Urban was disappointed that wasn’t a very good deal. When he complained to Holtz, Lou told him: “Of course not! Otherwise, why would they be calling you?”
Oddly enough the guy who was getting those crappy offers from the Kent States of the world for chump change now commands a salary approximated north of $9M (unconfirmed). And as extravagant as that seems these days Urban Meyer’s life is so NOT about money.
When you’ve got it all and the only thing you don’t need is job stress, why, then decide to coach an NFL team that won one game last year and at times has appeared to be a franchise on life support?
In the past year I have spoken to Urban more than anybody else in the media as we launched the first year of our “Best Fridays in Football Podcast.” I have a new appreciation for the depth of his thinking, his ability to quickly absorb knowledge and information on new subjects and new surroundings and the commitment that he’s taken on with the Jaguars. Frankly, over the more than 15 hours we spoke during 2020, I never saw him launching a new career in the NFL on the horizon.
“When and if Urban leaves Florida,” one of Meyer’s closest friend once told me during the research for a book, “it won’t be for the NFL – or maybe even another school. It’ll be because Urban collapses and is carried off the field, because he left his guts out there.”
His friend, of course, was partially right, but mostly wrong – twice now. Urban did coach his guts out and was virtually carried off. When he quit Florida because of health and went to work for ESPN, there were no immediate plans for him to return.
Not to re-litigate the past, or re-ignite the fire of Urban haters, but I say without hesitation that despite conspiracy theorists, I know for a fact a decision to return to coaching really wasn’t in his plans. It evolved.
Well into his first football-less season at ESPN in 2011, I visited Urban at his Gainesville home in mid-fall, toured his home studio and brought up the fact that most likely Luke Fickell wasn’t going to be retained by Ohio State. So how would that impact his future? Jim Tressel had resigned under fire in late May after being charged with covering up NCAA violations involving players and a tattoo parlor.
Although he commented confidentially that he might like to try coaching again someday, it had not yet resonated at that point with him that there would be an immediate pathway to Columbus and he thought it might be too early to return to coaching. But as Bear Bryant once said when asked why he was returned to coach Alabama, “Mama called.”
The fact that the Buckeyes would crash and burn, losing their last four games of the season to finish 6-7 – the seventh to Florida in the Gator Bowl – helped expedite Fickell’s demotion to defensive coordinator. There was further bad news when the NCAA came calling about previous violations under the regime of Tressel. The Buckeyes needed somebody on a white horse. Enter Urban to go 83-9 with another national championship.
Once done at Ohio State, with a secure financial future, a starring role on Fox TV college football, the respect as one of America’s greatest football coaches, beautiful grandchildren, expensive homes in Jack Nicklaus’s quaint village of Dublin, Ohio, and the high-end section of Sarasota, Florida, two restaurants and a single digit handicap at the best courses, what else could a man want?
I recently sat down with Urban for our first episode of “Best Fridays in Football” – a term he once adopted for his day-before-game protocol for his team hanging out at the hotel. And I asked him why he made the decision to pursue an NFL coaching career.
“It would have to be a good situation,” Meyer said. “I have a great life. I was healthy and working at an incredible place at Fox (Big Noon Kickoff).”
Urban stated plainly that he needed to step up and seize a good opportunity while it was afforded him. He cited a recent confab with a group of CEOs where he came away with the mantra: “Opportunities are only opportunities if you take advantage of them.”
The stars were aligned on this one. His owner/boss was a big plus. A generational quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, was availablle. Salary cap money was plentiful. "And I absolutely love Jacksonville," he said.
Everything fell into place, Urban tells us on the upcoming podcast, which kicks off on the Jaguar Radio Network and on The Buddy Martin Show Friday, July 30. The podcast will feature personal insights from Urban and while it is intended to “celebrate the great game of football, its people and events,” the content is unscripted and most of the interviews will center on personal and/or philosophical insights. There will be, however, plenty of football talk.
One of the most popular segments will likely be “Ask Urban,” in which readers and fans can submit questions which will be considered for airing. You can be assured that among the most-asked will be about a tight end who is fighting for a roster spot, Tim Tebow.
Over the years, we’ve seen the mercurial rise of Urban Meyer and witnessed his step-backs from football over health issues, plus the controversial domestic abuse charges leveled against assistant coach Zach Smith whom he admitted he and wife Shelley tried to help. Remember that “purpose?”
One thing Urban has never shied away from was loyalty to his players and assistant coaches, which has been the underpinning of his coaching career. He was feeling healthy again, none worse for the wear, however, as he emerged in TV as the bright, shining star of Big Noon Kickoff. He was on his way to a lucrative future when he met with owner Shad Khan and resigned from Fox, to be replaced this fall by Bob Stoops.
“He is one of the most selfless people I’ve ever met in my life,” Meyer said of the 71-year-old Pakistani-American billionaire owner, who has since announced plans for a new waterfront stadium. Meyer made it plain he wanted an upgrade in facilities in what he called “The culture of excellence.” According to a recent Associated Press story by Mark Long, Khan took a big step in that direction this month when the Jaguars announced:
“Plans to develop downtown Jacksonville. The proposal includes Khan funding half of a $120 million performance center that’s essentially a stand-alone football facility. The first of two phases would break ground by the end of the year and take four years to complete at an estimated cost of $441 million.”
I told Urban all I was only hoping to suggest with the book title “Urban’s Way” when I wrote his authorized biography was that they would name a street named him in Gainesville, “but Shad Khan is building half a city around your projected success.” We both laughed. But it’s true. Now THAT’s a purpose!
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