Urban Meyer To Coach Ohio State
MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – Multiple sources have confirmed to two separate news agencies that former University of Florida head coach Urban Meyer will be the next head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The Columbus Dispatch reported just before noon Wednesday that Meyer will become the head coach and an announcement will be made next week after the school's final game against Michigan.
The Dispatch report followed a report from WKMG, the Orlando, Florida CBS affiliate, that Meyer has agreed in principle to become Ohio State's head coach.
In addition, WKMG said that Meyer's new deal will be for seven years and $40 million.
The Dispatch report said that final terms on the deal have not been finalized.
Meyer, who currently works for ESPN, told the network that he's not been offered any job, nor is there a deal in place.
Meyer also said that he is "spending Thanksgiving with my family and will not comment on this any further."
However, no one believes what Meyer has said and expect the announcement as early as Monday.
Ohio State, which is 6-5 on the season, plays its final regular season game on Saturday against the school's arch-rival, the Michigan Wolverines.
OSU is bowl eligible, and despite looming NCAA sanctions, will not follow Miami's lead and instead will play in a bowl game if invited.
The Buckeyes, coached by interim head coach Luke Fickell, are currently on a two-game losing streak after dropping games to Purdue and Penn State.
If Meyer is brought in to coach the Ohio State Buckeyes, it will continue his tradition of staying at school's until his quarterback of choice graduates.
When he was at Utah, Meyer had Alex Smith run his offense to perfection; when Smith left, so did Meyer. The same thing happened at UF when Tim Tebow left.
That said, Meyer has never hidden the fact that he had two "dream jobs," on his list: Notre Dame and Ohio State.
Meyer is an Ohio native and will automatically become the most powerful person in the state if he gets the job at OSU.
Meyer will have a quarterback tailored to fit his run-first, spread option attack in Braxton Miller. The freshman took over at quarterback this season and while he hasn't played great, Meyer's system would likely make his game a lot better.
Ohio State still faces the possibility of additional NCAA sanctions after multiple scandals broke out at the school surrounding former head coach Jim Tressel and multiple members of his team accepting impermissible benefits.
Meyer told the Gainesville Sun that he's still concerned about his health, his family, and the state of college football and that all of that will be weighed before any decision is made.
The former Gators coach has won 104 games in 10 years as the head coach of the Florida Gators, Utah Utes, and Bowling Green Falcons.
