Urban Meyer on why he chose the NFL over a return to college football

Urban Meyer was a highly successful coach in college football from 2001 to 2018. Meyer did not coach the last wo years, but he was hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars prior to the upcoming NFL season. Meyer had opportunities to return to the college ranks, but he chose to make the leap to the NFL. Why? He doesn’t think the college and NFL worlds have ever been closer than they are today.

Meyer struggled not coaching in last two seasons

One of the most successful coaches in college football history, Meyer’s worst season came when Florida went 8-5 in 2010. Meyer has a career record of 187-32. He won three national championships, two with Florida and one with Ohio State. His teams won double digit games in nine of his last ten seasons, and Meyer has never won less than eight games.

Meyer missed being around football. He was not around a team for the last two seasons, something that he said he struggled with.

“It was hard not being part of a team,” Meyer said via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “To say I love football, I love teams. I love any team that I can be a part of. I do love the game of football, but not as much as I love a team and having a greater good where you get a group of people together and say, ‘Let’s come together and do this.’ That’s what I really missed dearly.”

Why did Meyer choose the NFL over a return to college?

Meyer struggled on deciding whether or not to return to coaching college football. Before he was hired by Jacksonville, he had opportunities to return to college. Some experts do not believe that Meyer will succeed in the NFL, but he felt that the opportunity was the best one for him.

“I prayed hard on it,” Meyer said. “It’s funny you bring Jimmy Johnson into it. He’s been a mentor, a guy that has become a mentor. He wasn’t in my younger days, but the last couple years, I’ve always admired him, and we’ve become friends. And I just felt an emptiness, and I had some opportunities in college. He made a comment to me, ‘You’ve reached a point where you should just do what you want to do.’

“And do I really want to go recruit 24-7 like it’s become? I’ve done that. I’ve always admired, appreciated and respected the NFL. And then this Shad Khan guy, once I got to know him, I mean, I love the guy. He wants to win so bad. I’ve always loved Jacksonville, Florida. And it’s like this puzzle got put together. I looked at film endlessly saw some decent players here, and I thought, ‘Let’s go take a swing at it.’ That’s why we did it.”

The differences between college and NFL football today is minimal

The NCAA allowing athletes to sign NIL deals has revolutionized the college landscape. The athletes have more power now, making it closer to how things are in the NFL. Meyer thinks that everything is about the NFL in the end, so he decided that it was better for him to make the jump to coach professionally.

“The college game and NFL game, in my opinion, it’s never been closer,” Meyer said. “The college player has changed. NFL scheme has changed. You think about the two of those things, NFL scheme used to be drastically different than college. And the college player used to be much different – the young kid. Those aren’t young kids anymore. Now, a lot of them are gonna start getting paid. The empowerment that’s gone on in college football, the mindset of a college athlete, especially when you get the players I was fortunate to have, it’s all about the NFL. Make no mistake about it.

“The two worlds have probably never been closer. There are differences, but they’ve never been closer.”