Urban Meyer reflects on day he decided between Florida, Notre Dame head coach positions

Could Urban Meyer have been leading the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to titles all these years, instead of capturing championships with the Florida Gators and Ohio State Buckeyes? It was closer to coming to fruition than you think.

According to Meyer, he had a contract from the Irish sitting in-front of him at the same time he was being courted by the Gators. Joining Tim May on Urban’s Take with Tim May via On3, the three-time national champion coach harkened back to a fascinating story.

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“There were both contacts, sitting right there,” started Meyer. “My love and respect for Notre Dame was at the time almost unmatched. You had Ohio State — it’s interesting, if you go back and look at my contact, I had three outs. It was Ohio State, Notre Dame and the (Michigan) Wolverines, believe it or not. Bo Schembechler, the respect. I grew up and those were the three best programs in America.

“If you ever get a chance to coach at any of those three, take it. You can win a national title, and it’s the culture that you look for.”

Nevertheless, it wasn’t meant to be for Meyer and his family in South Bend, and he explained the rigors of recruiting for the Fighting Irish would’ve been too much. However, he does think back to the possibilities of what could’ve been from time to time.

“Shelley was very involved, my family was very involved. The recruiting. You don’t have time to build programs anymore. I studied the roster, and I thought you know what, this was a chance to go leave your footprint,” added Meyer. “The other thing is I had young children, recruiting at Notre Dame you’re in San Diego, New York, New Jersey, Fort Lauderdale, Seattle, Washington, Denver. In Florida, you’re at Florida. You might spread your wings and go to Georgia. So I had private planes at my disposal, I could still be at my kid’s events. At Notre Dame, I did some homework on that as well, you’re constantly on a plane.

“I do, sometimes I see the Fighting Irish and I’m Irish-Catholic and I watch them and think, ‘Man.’ But I’m glad I did what I did.”

If Urban Meyer was the leader of Notre Dame instead of Florida and subsequently Ohio State, college football would’ve forever been changed. Still, it’s hard to argue with the resume he put together as one of the greatest coaches of his era.