Report: Urban Meyer Not Interested in Return to College Football

Meyer has had a trying first year in Jacksonville, and some of college football's biggest jobs remain open.

With the Notre Dame coaching job open for the first time in 12 years, Urban Meyer's name has come up in rumor talks. Meyer has called Notre Dame a "dream job" of his on multiple occasions. He coached the wide receivers there from 1996–2000.

However, according to ESPN Jaguars writer Michael DiRocco, Meyer has "no interest" in heading back to college football to pursue a fourth national championship.

"The source said the 57-year-old Meyer does not want to re-enter the college ranks at this point in his life," DiRocco reports. "College football has changed significantly with the implementation of Name Image Likeness rules, which were not in place when Meyer was coaching his final season at Ohio State. Meyer's name has been linked to the opening at Notre Dame, in large part to the fact he previously called that his 'dream job' and was courted by Notre Dame in 2005 along with Florida."

Meyer is 2–9 in his first year as an NFL coach. Even beyond the poor record, Jacksonville's season has not been without controversy.

In early October, video of Meyer cavorting with a young woman at his bar in Columbus, Ohio went viral. After a Jaguars Thursday night loss to the Bengals, Meyer made the trip up to Columbus, rather than on the team flight home to Florida. 

The Notre Dame opening is not the first that Meyer has been heavily connected to since leaving his job with the Buckeyes.

After stepping away from Ohio State, Meyer was a constant subject of speculation with USC's Clay Helton on the hot seat. He wound up taking the Jaguars's job last offseason, before Helton's dismissal in Sept. 2021. USC filled its opening by poaching Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma.

Meyer is one of the most accomplished college football coaches in recent history a 187–32 as head coach at Ohio State, Florida, Utah and Bowling Green. He won a pair of titles at Florida and led Ohio State to the 2014 national championship.

Even so, according to the ESPN report, he is not interested in looking to lead a third school to a title. 

At the same time, coaches have completely flipped their stances overnight, even when it comes to a move from the NFL to college. Nick Saban flatly proclaimed that he was "not going to be the Alabama coach" just weeks before leaving the Dolphins for Tuscaloosa. Brian Kelly's week-old quote about not leaving Notre Dame went viral on Monday night amid news that he was taking the LSU job. 

Until Notre Dame makes a hire, this report may not fully tamp down speculation that Meyer could take yet another huge college coaching job.

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