Pat Forde: No Blue Blood is going to come calling for Urban Meyer

Pat Forde believes the time has passed for Urban Meyer to land another high-profile job. In a Thursday appearance on the Paul Finebaum Show, the Sports Illustrated columnist said Meyer likely won’t find much interest among college football’s best teams.

“In terms of big-time programs, it’s hard to see a university president saying, ‘I want to stand behind that guy,'” Forde said. “But, I also look and see that Hugh Freeze is coaching. Bobby Petrino is coaching at Missouri State. Now, does Urban want to take himself down to that kind of level? I don’t think so. I think Urban is the kind of guy who’s always wanted the most advantages he can get. That’s one of the reasons the NFL didn’t work out. He took a disadvantaged job instead of one with all the advantages he was accustomed to at Florida and Ohio State.

“If he’s going to sit around and wait for a Blue Blood job, I don’t see that happening. I think you’re accurate there. But if he decides, ‘I’ll go back and take a Mountain West level job,’ or possibly a Sun Belt or AAC job. That could happen.”

Meyer was fired this past Thursday after less than one season with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. The move came after a lackluster 2-11 record and several off-field incidents throughout the season.

Meyer was accused of verbally and physically abusing Jaguars players and staff on multiple occasions. The most recent accusation came from former Jacksonville kicker Josh Lambo, who said the coach kicked him during a practice session.

After being kicked, Lambo said that he responded by telling Meyer “Don’t you ever f—ing kick me again” and Meyer responded to that by telling his former kicker, “I’m the head ball coach. I’ll kick you whenever the f— I want.”

The coach had been on thin ice with the team since October when he was seen dancing at a club with a woman who wasn’t his wife. Meyer apologized for that incident, but things only got worse from there.

Prior to joining the Jaguars, Meyer was the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes from 2012-18. He was placed on administrative leave by the university after reports surfaced that he had knowledge of spousal abuse from Buckeyes assistant Zach Smith. He served a three-game suspension that season before announcing his retirement due to “health reasons” at the end of the year.

Meyer has won three national championships as a college head coach with both the Buckeyes and Florida. But his baggage likely outweighs any previous accomplishments he has.

If Urban Meyer wants to re-enter the coaching ranks, he’ll likely have to take a lesser job as Pat Forde said.