Who is Urban Meyer?
Urban Frank Meyer III is an American professional football coach and the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). Previously from 2001 to 2002, he worked as the head coach of the Bowling Green Falcons, from 2003 to 2004 for the Utah Utes, from 2005 to 2010 for the Florida Gators, and from 2012 to 2018 for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Meyer retired from his coaching profession in 2019 by the conclusion of the Rose Bowl. He remained at Ohio State as an assistant athletic director and was an analyst for Fox Sports, appearing weekly on their Big Noon Kickoff pre-game show. Urban came out of retirement in 2021, to become the head coach of the Jaguars, his first NFL job. Previously, he coached the Gators to two BCS National Championship Game wins, in the 2006 and 2008 seasons. By the end of the 2009 season, his winning percentage (.842) was the highest among all active coaches with a minimum of five full seasons at a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program.
After Meyer’s temporary retirement in 2011, he served as a college football analyst for the television sports network ESPN, prior to joining Ohio State as their head coach. He guided the Buckeyes to their first Big Ten Conference title in 2014, during his time and the program’s eighth national championship. Urban is among the three coaches together with Nick Saban and Pop Warner to win a major college football national championship at two Universities.
How old is Urban Meyer?
Urban Frank Meyer III, was born on July 10, 1964, in Toledo, Ohio, U.S., and is aged 59 as of 2023. He shares his birthday with famous people including Perrie Edwards, Isabela Merced, Sofía Vergara, Kulture Kiari Cephus, Karma Fizz, Emily Skeggs, Mario Gomez, among others.
Urban Meyer Family
Who are Urban Meyer’s parents?
Urban Frank Meyer III was born in Toledo, Ohio, to Bud Meyer and Gisela Meyer. He was brought up together with his siblings in Ashtabula, Ohio. Not much is known about his family’s background and he has also not shared much with the media.
Does Urban Meyer have siblings?
Meyer was born to his parents into a family of three children as the only son. He has two siblings, sisters Gigi Escoe, and Erika Meyer Judd.
Urban Meyer Education
Meyer joined and studied at Saint John High School, graduating in 1982. He then attended the University of Cincinnati, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1986. Meyer then joined Ohio State University and graduated with a master’s degree in sports administration in 1988. He participated in football in high school and college.
Urban Meyer Interest
Meyer was a great player in high school and was picked in the 13th round of the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft by the Atalanta Braves as a shortstop. He played for two seasons in minor league baseball in the Braves organization. In college, he played defensive back and was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity (Zeta Psi Chapter).
Meyer also is a practicing Roman Catholic.
Urban Meyer Wife
In 1986, Meyer married his longtime girlfriend Shelley Mather Meyer. The couple met at Cincinnati while studying, and she was a freshman nursing student, at Sigma Chi’s Derby Days philanthropy event. The lovebirds are happily married with three children together and reside in Jacksonville, Florida.
Urban Meyer Kids
Meyer and his sweetheart Shelley have three children together in their marriage. They have two daughters Nicole (”Nicki”) Meyer and Gisela (”Gigi”) Meyer and son Nathan (”Nate”) Meyer. The two daughters played Division I volleyball.
Urban Meyer Height
Meyer an American football coach has a physically fit and well-built body with an athletic height of 6 ft 1 in (1.9 m) and a moderate weight of 74 kg (162 lbs).
Urban Meyer Net Worth
American football coach and former college player have been a college coach for almost all his coaching career. He recently was the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars before being fired and has built a reputation in coaching. Meyer received an annual salary of $8 million and has gathered up an accumulative net worth of $35 million as of 2021.
Urban Meyer Coaching career
Both sportswriters (Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year), and television commentators (Home Depot Coach of the Year Award) acknowledged Urban as the college football coach of the year in 2004. By then he had twenty years of college coaching experience, which included nine as head coach.
Early coaching career
Following the end of his playing career, Meyer took one season to intern as a defensive back coach at Saint Xavier High School in 1985, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was under the mentorship of legendary St. Xavier head coach Steve Rasso, meeting with the members of the Ohio State coaching staff. Urban’s initial collegiate coaching role was as a graduate assistant coaching tight ends for two years at Ohio State, under head coach Earle Bruce. Meyer spent the following thirteen years as an assistant; two at Illinois State, six at Colorado State, and five at Notre Dame.
Among the talents he mentored at Colorado State was WR Greg Primus (3,096 yards and 17 TD in 3 years). From 1990 to 1992, Greg recorded more than 1,000 yards receiving during Meyer’s tenure. While as at Notre Dame, he coached WR Bobby Brown, who finished his career with 1,521 yards and 12 TD receiving. Urban also coached WR David Givens in 2000 who was later drafted by the New England Patriots.
Still serving as the linebacker coach at Illinois State in 1990, Urban called Toledo head coach Nick Saban’s home. He spoke to Saban’s wife inquiring about the availability of a position, however, Saban never called back. He claimed that he was kind of caught up and busy with what he was doing and never followed up on it. Also, he admits was a huge mistake as Meyer is a fantastic coach.
Urban Meyer Bowling Green
Urban’s first head coaching job was in 2001 at Bowling Green. He was able to engineer one of the greatest turnarounds in NCAA football history. The team went 8-3 and ended the season with a 56-21 win against their rival, the University of Toledo Rockets. Meyer received Mid-American Conference coach of the year honors. The Bowling Green completed with a record of 9-3, the following year, and Urban left for the University of Utah following an overall record of 17-6.
Meyer assisted in turning around a team that in 2000 had gone 2-9, mainly due to QB Josh Harris, a player made for his scheme. Harris passed for 1,022 yards with 9 touchdowns and ran for 600 yards and 8 touchdowns in a part-time play in 2001. The following year, he passed for 2,425 yards with 19 TD and ran for 737 yards with 20 TD. Urban would later on use quarterbacks including Tim Tebow and Alex Smith in the same style he used Harris.
Urban Meyer Utah
In 2003, Meyer took a job at Utah following serving two seasons at Bowling Green. Within the first year, he was named the Mountain West Conference’s Coach of the Year with a 10-2 record, the best ever for a coach’s first season at Utah. Also, he received honors as The Sporting News National Coach of the Year, the first Utes Coach to do so. Utah also won the program’s first outright conference championship since the 1957 team won the Skyline Conference title.
Urban’s success can be attributed to his unique offensive system, an offshoot of Bill Walsh’s West Coast Offense based on short pass routes. His base offense spreads three receivers and puts the quarterback in shotgun formation. Meyer then introduces motion in the backfield and turns it into an option attack, adding elements of the traditional run-oriented option offense. Urban led the unbeaten Utes to a Bowl Championship Series bid in 2004. This had never been done before by a team from a non-automatically qualifying BCS conference since the formation of the BCS in 1998.
Meyer stayed at Utah long enough to coach the team to a Fiesta Bowl victory against Pittsburgh, setting the Utes’ first perfect season (12-0) since 1930. Utes QB Alex Smith threw for 2,247 yards and 15 touchdowns and ran for 452 yards with 5 touchdowns in 2003. He then threw for 2,952 yards with 32 touchdowns and ran for 631 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2004. Alex’s performance in Meyer’s offensive scheme was the main reason he was considered a first-round pick entering the 2005 NFL Draft.
Urban Meyer Florida
The University of Florida and the University of Notre Dame vied for Urban’s services as he did wonders at Utah. Urban opted to be Florida’s head coach for the 2005 season, signing a contract worth $14 million for seven years. Later he signed a six-year contract extension with the Gators on June 7, 2007: the extended deal paid an average of $3.25 million per year. Then he received another contract extension on August 3, 2009, making him the SEC’s highest-paid coach in the 2009 season. Meyer’s 2009 extension was worth $24 million over six years. By the time of the latest deal extension, he was the third highest-paid college football coach, after Pete Carroll and Charlie Weis.
Urban has received critics from several commentators as 31 of his players were arrested in his six years as the Gators’ coach. The charges varied widely but eventually many were dismissed. Gator receiver Chris Rainey was arrested in September 2010, after sending a threatening text message to a former girlfriend. This made Meyer comment about the behavior of the players and call the issues stupid mistakes.
2005 season
In Meyer’s first season at Florida, the team finished the season 9-3 (5-3 in the Southeastern Conference) in 2005. The season began an unbeaten record at home and a bowl win against Iowa in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida. They would have faced LSU in the SEC Championship Game but lost to South Carolina and former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier in the SEC regular-season finale.
2006 season
Urban coached the Gators to a 13-1 (8-1 in the SEC) record, with only one loss to the Auburn Tigers in 2006. They won the SEC Championship Game on December 2 against Arkansas by 38-28 following proceeding to the SEC East. The Gators then beat the Ohio State Buckeyes, 41-14, in the 2007 BCS National Championship Game to win the national championship.
This became the first BCS bowl berth for the team since the Orange Bowl that capped off the 2001 campaign and Florida’s first national championship appearance and win since the 1997 Sugar Bowl. Urban is recognized for winning big games. Apart from his 5-1 record in bowl games at Florida, he recorded a 16-2 record against three of the team’s biggest rivals, Georgia, Florida State, and Tennessee.
2007 season
The Gators managed a 9-3 regular season in 2007, consisting of blowout victories against opponents Tennessee and FSU, but lost again to Auburn. In his time at the University of Florida, Meyer never beat Auburn. QB Tim Tebow became his first Heisman Trophy winner. Although the team led the conference in scoring, it struggled on defense making it difficult to reach a BCS bowl game. On January 1, 2008, the Gators lost the Capital One Bowl to Michigan 41-35. Urban worked as a pre-game and halftime analyst for the 2008 BCS National Championship Game.
2008 season
Urban guided the Gators to a 13-1 record and the BCS National Championship against Oklahoma in 2008, consisting of wins against six ranked teams. However, they were defeated on September 27, 2008, by Ole Miss, despite leading in a time of possession and passing yards, they had three turnovers. Out of their twelve wins, eleven in the 2008 regular season were by 20 points or more.
Florida then won against Alabama on December 6, 2008by 31-20 in the SEC title game. The win reached the team at No. 1 in the Associated Press Poll, No. 2 in the USA Today Coaches poll. and No, 2 in the BCS rankings. This set up a showdown against Oklahoma in the BCS Championship Game at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Florida on January 8, 2009. The Gators won 24-14, attaining their second national championship under Meyer.
2009 season
The Gators under Meyer started the 2009 season ranked No. 1 by the largest margin in the history of the AP preseason poll. Although they struggled on offense at times and quarterback Tim Tebow suffered a frightening concussion in a September win against Kentucky. Florida completed the regular season 12-0 and still ranked No. 1.
Their winning period came to a halt in the SEC Championship Game, after they lost 32-13 to Alabama. The team was picked to play the undefeated Cincinnati Bearcats in the 2010 Sugar Bowl. They won 51-24 to complete the season with a record of 13-1 for the second consecutive year.
Urban Meyer Leave of Absence
After coming home after a loss in the 2009 SEC Championship Game, in the early morning of December 6, 2009, Urban was admitted into a Gainesville hospital. He was suffering from chest pains and dehydration but was released later in the day and the incident was not publicized at the moment. After talking about his health with his family, he decided to resign after the gators’ New Year’s Day Sugar Bowl appearance. He later on December 27 announced he would take an indefinite leave of absence instead of resigning.
Although he stayed in touch with the team’s activities, Meyer took a significant time off his coaching duties. Offensive Coordinator Steve Addazio would serve as the interim coach in his absence. Urban came back full-time to his position as head coach on March 17, 2010, for the start of the Gator’s spring practice and continued in that role into the 2010 season.
2010 season
Urban attained his 100th career victory as a coach after his win against Kentucky on September 25, 2010. With the victory, his record was at 100-18 within 10 seasons. Meyer became the sixth fastest NCAA coach to attain that record after Gil Dobie (108 games), George Woodruff (109 games), Bud Wilkinson (111 games) Fielding Yost (114 games), and Knute Rockne (117 games).
However, after attaining the milestone, the season was difficult and the Gator’s 7-5 regular season was the worst under Meyer. He again announced he was retiring from coaching for the same previous reasons on December 8, 2010. His last game as the Gators’ coach was a 37-24 victory in the 2011 Outback Bowl on January 1, 2011.
Urban Meyer ESPN career
Following his resignation from coaching, Urban served as a college football commentator and analyst for the American television sports network ESPN.
Urban Meyer Ohio State
On November 17, 2011, it was reported that Urban would become the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes by Eleven Warriors, but he denied the reports. He later requested ESPN to be taken off the assignment on the weekend of the Ohio State-Michigan game. He added more to the speculations that he might be named the next head coach of Ohio State. WBNS Columbus confirmed that Meyer had taken the job as Ohio State’s head football coach on November 28, and later that night introduced as head coach.
The school stated that Urban would receive a six-year contract worth $4 million per year plus another $2.4 million total in ”retention payments.” CBS Sports reported on April 13, 2015, that Meyer signed a contract extension with the team to 2020.
2012 season
In his first year as coach at Ohio State, Meyer assisted guide the Buckeyes to an undefeated 12-0 record and a No. 3 AP Poll ranking. They were not eligible for all other rankings and postseason play because of NCAA sanctions. Meyer was surrounded by first-year coaches including offensive coordinator Tom Herman, co-offensive coordinator Ed Warriner, and co-defensive coordinator Everett Withers.
2013 season
Urban’s following year was not pleasant as the previous one, but the Buckeyes completed No. 12 in the BCS ranking with a record of 12-2. Meyer lost several talents by the end of the year to the 2014 NFL Draft. They included linebacker Ryan Shazier, Cornerback Bradley Roby, and running back Carlos Hyde. Shazier and Roby left in the first round while Hyde left in the second round.
2014 season
Prior to the beginning of the season, the Buckeyes lost their star quarterback, Braxton Miller, after a right shoulder injury in practice. Redshirt freshman quarterback J. T. Barrett replaced him and led Ohio State to an 11-1 record through the first 12 games of the season. However, Barrett also sustained a broken ankle in the final game of the regular season and was out the remaining part of the year. Cardale Jones took the position of Barett and led the Buckeyes to a 59-0 blowout win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Football Championship Game.
Ohio State moved up to No. 4 in the College Football Playoff, after beating Wisconsin. They jumped the two Big 12 teams in playoff contention, Baylor and TCU, and qualified for the inaugural four-team postseason tournament. The team played against No. 1 Alabama in the semifinal Sugar Bowl and won by 42-35. They later faced Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota and the Oregon Ducks in the College Football Playoff National Championship.
The team again were underdogs as the No. 2-ranked Ducks were favored by seven points. However, Ohio State defeated Oregon 42029 with MVP performances from running back Ezekiel Elliot and safety Tyvis Powell. This was the eighth national championship in Ohio State’s history and Meyer’s third career national title, two being with Florida.
2018 season
Ohio State placed Meyer on paid administrative leave on August 1, 2018. This was after reports that he knew about spousal abuse allegations against assistant coach Zach Smith before Smith’s firing a week before. The Ohio State Board of Trustees investigated and found that Meyer and the University Athletic Director Gene Smith did not uphold the values of the institution. The board voted to suspend Meyer on August 22, for the opening three games of the season. He missed out on the Buckeyes’ games against Oregon State, Rutgers, and TCU.
Ohio State completed the year with a record of 12-1, comprising winning the Big Ten conference. However, they were not picked for the College Football Playoff but received a spot in the 2019 Rose Bowl. Meyer later on December 4, 2018, announced he would retire from coaching after the team’s Rose Bowl game because of health issues. Ryan Day was announced to be taking over the head coaching effectively after the Rose Bowl.
Urban Meyer Jacksonville Jaguars
Urban was hired to be the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars on January 14, 2021. He was then fined $100, 000 by the NFL on July 1, 2021, because of violating practice rules during organized team activities. He lost in his NFL regular-season head coaching debut to the Houston Texans by 21-37 on September 12, 2021. Jaguars owner Shahid Khan publically reprimanded Meyer in October for his behavior seen on social media videos. Meyer was seen on video in a bar with a young woman not his wife the following day after a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, dropping the team’s record to 0-4 on the season. In the video he appeared to grope the woman, he later apologized to the team and personnel.
Urban received his first career victory as an NFL head coach against the Miami Dolphins on October 17, by 23-20. Together with the team, Meyer beat the heavily favored Buffalo Bills by a score of 9-6 on November 7. Towards the conclusion of the 2021 season, reports came up of Jaguars players and coaches being critical of his treatment of them, to which the team responded with assertions of his job security.
After further controversy erupted on December 15, Meyer was fired on December 16, 2021, completing his time in Jacksonville with a record of 2-11 (.154). Meyer’s .154 winning percentage is the worst of any non-interim head coach since Cam Cameron with the Miami Dolphins in 2007.
