If Nick Saban did not exist, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer would likely be seen as the best college football coach in the country and, frankly, it may not be close. With that in mind, it makes sense that Meyer would be thrown around in conversations regarding NFL openings, simply because he has not ventured into that world in the way that Saban, Jim Harbaugh, and others have in the past.
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However, Alex Smith, who played for Meyer at Utah, shed some interesting light on Meyer's view of the NFL as a possibility, indicating that he believes his former coach was "always intrigued" by the idea of coaching at the next level.
We forced #Chiefs QB Alex Smith to choose between his three head coaches - Urban Meyer, @CoachJim4UM + Andy Reid - in a thrilling edition of #StartBenchCut: pic.twitter.com/U2m0Z5DFa6
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) January 30, 2018
"I think it's always intrigued him. From day one... always intrigued him. I think he could. Absolutely."
"Just being the leader that he is, I think he could. No doubt. I wonder if he still thinks about it or not. I know as a younger coach he did."
This, of course, is not an up-to-date report of Meyer's thinking and it shouldn't be treated as such. Still, Smith is closer to Meyer than many people would be and this probably makes some of the Ohio State faithful a bit uncomfortable.
Meyer's health pushed him away from Florida in order to land at Ohio State but, at the age of 53, there could be time for Meyer to make the jump to the NFL and that is an interesting thought bubble.
