Upcoming Match-ups

Urban Meyer to USC in 2020? Ohio State to Face Sanctions From Meyer Era?

Robert Duff

by Robert Duff in College Football

Updated Mar 31, 2020 · 2:03 PM PDT

Urban Meyer
Urban Meyer has decided to retire from coaching. Photo by Adam Glanzman (Flickr) [CC License]
  • Urban Meyer will retire as head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes following the Jan. 1 Rose Bowl
  • The three-time national champion intends to teach at Ohio State next year
  • Sportsbooks are offering a prop bet suggesting Meyer’s next coaching job will be with USC

Is Urban Meyer giving all of us the business? No, he insists that he’ll be giving his all in business school next fall.

Ohio State has announced that Meyer will be teaching a course in character and leadership beginning in the fall of 2018 at Ohio State’s Fisher School of Business.

This is the same guy who was suspended without pay for the first three games of the 2018 NCAA football season following an investigation into his handling of domestic abuse allegations against former Buckeyes assistant coach Zach Smith.

Sportsbooks don’t think Meyer is all done coaching.

Prop bets on Meyer’s future as a football coach, and their odds insist that he still has one. Sportsbooks favor Meyer to be coach of the USC Trojans for the 2020 season.

Odds Where Urban Meyer Will Be Coaching in 2020

Team Odds What Team Will Urban Meyer Be Coaching in 2020?
USC +260
Auburn +350
Cleveland Browns +400
Ohio State +500
Florida State +500
Tennessee +600
LSU +700
Clemson +700
Alabama +1200
Florida +2000

*All odds taken 12/21

The list also features two of his old jobs, speculating on returns to Ohio State or Florida. The Gators are among five SEC teams included as potential Meyer suitors.

Meyer Struggles To Make Leaves Stay

Meyer took the Ohio State job after returning from a self-imposed one-year exile from coaching for health reasons.

He took a one-year leave of absence from his job coaching the Gators in 2009 due to severe headaches caused by an arachnoid cyst on his brain.

Odds Meyer is a head coach for Week 1 of the 2020 college football season

Will Urban Meyer be a head coach for Week 1 of the 2020 college football season? Odds
Yes -120
No -120

He returned for the 2010 season, but left again for good following that campaign. After working with EPSN as an analyst in 2011, Meyer was hired by the Buckeyes in 2012.

What Could Urban Do For Browns?

One of Ohio’s two NFL teams, the Cleveland Browns, figure to be in the market for a new head coach for next season, and Meyer’s name has been bandied about as a possible candidate.

But the legacy of college coaches going to the NFL is a mixed bag. For every Jimmy Johnson or Barry Switzer who make the jump seamlessly and win a Super Bowl, there are countless others who come up empty.

Odds Urban Meyer is an NFL head coach in 2019

Will Urban Meyer be an NFL head coach in 2019? Odds
Yes +500
No -900

Remember, it took Pete Carroll three tries and a return to the NCAA ranks before it worked for him with the Seattle Seahawks.

Nick Saban was 15-17 as coach of Miami Dolphins.

Big college names like Lou Holtz, Bud Wilkinson, and Butch Davis were abysmal failures in the NFL.
Meyer to the NFL next season makes no sense at all.

Are The Buckeyes Entering The Punishment Phase?

There’s just something about Ohio State football coaches and controversy that seems to go hand in hand, whether it’s Woody Hayes punching a Clemson player during a bowl game, or Jim Tressel tendering his resignation in the midst of the hammer of NCAA violations dropping.

Odds Ohio State Faces NCAA Penalties From Meyer Era

Will Ohio State Faces NCAA Penalties From Meyer Era? Odds
Yes (within 24 months) +120
No (within 24 months) -160

There’s always been a sense that Meyer has stayed one step ahead of the executioner during his career.

At Florida, 31 of his players were arrested for a variety of offenses. But little of significance has ever stuck to him in terms of discipline, and it’s unlikely that there will be any NCAA sanctions coming this time against Ohio State.

What Could Meyer Add To His Legacy?

Meyer went 82-9 at Ohio State, and 54-4 in the Big Ten. He won a national title in 2014 and posted a perfect 12-0 slate in 2012.

Urban Meyer, Nick Saban and Pop Warner are the only football coaches in NCAA history to win national titles with two different schools.

.

At Florida, he was a two-time national champion (2006, 2008). With Utah, he posted an unbeaten 2004 season, when the Utes went 12-0, beating Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl.

Odds Urban Meyer Wins A 4th National Championship

Will Urban Meyer Win A Fourth National Championship? Odds
Yes (in college by 2022) +500
No (in college by 2022) -900

He’s 54, dealing with a serious health issue that’s flared up on more than one occasion in the past, and has nothing left to prove on a football sideline.

We think the third time is a charm, and this time, Meyer makes his retirement stick.

Author Image