Will Urban Meyer return to College Football coaching role after failed NFL stint?
Urban Meyer left a comfortable job as a college football analyst on FOX to make the jump to the NFL.
The Jacksonville Jaguars signed him to a five-year deal and the plan was for Meyer to build a program in the NFL similar to what he'd done in college.
So much for that. Meyer is now out after 13 games with a long list of scandals capped off by a report he kicked the team's former kicker, Josh Lambo, before the start of the season.
His tenure has been a huge mess and it's likely that no NFL team is will hire him again.
A look at Urban Meyer’s tenure as #Jaguars coach: https://t.co/00smvdbWmd
But can he return to college football? Meyer is a legendary coach in the college game and college coaches are a bit more untouchable when it comes to criticism compared to the NFL.
It is a different world and one where Meyer has had success.
Will Urban Meyer jump back to the college ranks?
It's not that Meyer is not qualified for a top college football coaching position. The problem here is timing.
We have already seen jobs at Notre Dame, LSU, USC, and Oklahoma get filled in rapid succession thanks to Lincoln Riley and Brian Kelly causing total mayhem.
Meyer's old job at Ohio State seems to have a long-term option in Ryan Day. While Day could make his own jump into the NFL, seeing how it turned out for Meyer may persuade him to stay.
Jobs in the college game fill up fast and Meyer actively made the decision to lead the Jaguars when he could have waited for the perfect position to open up.
It would be tough to see him heading back to college football in 2022 unless he decides to take a small-scale coaching job.
But let's focus on a different question. Can he return to the college game?
Look no further than another failed college-to-NFL coach to prove that morality won't doom someone's chances of getting a job.
Jaguars fire HC Urban Meyer. (via @rapsheet) https://t.co/7TvONPwkpg
Bobby Petrino made the jump from Louisville to the Atlanta Falcons in 2007. He quit after 13 games by leaving notes in the lockers of the players.
That allowed him to take the job at Arkansas without any issues.
A coach like Urban Meyer may not want his professional career to end this way. He can take time, as he has done in the past, to determine if he wants to return to the college game.
If he does, top programs may not hesitate to hire Meyer.
Waiting a year also lets the drama surrounding him blow over, thus allowing new drama and controversy to overshadow him in the news cycle.
Also Read: 3 head coaches Jacksonville Jaguars should consider to replace Urban Meyer