The firing of football coach Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M wasn't a total surprise, but what's become a surprise are the names thrown around to replace the man who had led the Aggies since 2018 — including Urban Meyer, former head coach of Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State.
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We've heard the rumors about potentially bringing Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders to College Station. But Meyer, who's currently an analyst for Fox Sports, is viewed as a potential candidate, too.
This isn't the first head coaching vacancy that Meyer has been linked to during the 2023 season either. Early last month, Meyer was referenced as a candidate for the Michigan State Spartans vacancy after Mel Tucker was dismissed over sexual harassment allegations.
In response to the Michigan State rumors, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic reported that he checked in with Meyer, who said there was "zero truth" to the rumors.
About the “reports” linking Urban Meyer to the Michigan State HC job… I just checked with him. There is zero truth to it with him being a candidate for it. He has no interest in that, and is happy with what he’s doing now at Fox Sports.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) October 4, 2023
Of course, before joining Fox, Meyer had a brief stint as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars that ended terribly. He didn't last a full season.
Andy Staples of On3 provided insight into a potential Meyer-Aggies marriage. The quote below is courtesy of Sports Illustrated.
Meyer, the former Ohio State, Florida, Utah and Jacksonville Jaguars coach, probably would consider a job at this level. But the question is whether Meyer's management style would work in this era of college football. He'd probably find a major college job in the NIL era — and the players-as-employees era that likely comes next — to be more similar to his time coaching the Jaguars than his time coaching the Buckeyes. And that Jaguars tenure was a disaster. Unless Meyer can prove he can adapt to a time when players have far more agency than they did even five years ago, he might be happier staying at Fox.
Of course, when Meyer last coached, the NIL (name/image/likeness) and transfer portal dynamic didn't exist, so that's a new wrinkle to consider. Aside from Meyer, Staples also suggested Utah's Kyle Whittingham as a potential option.
Meyer is a three-time national champion with a 187-32 record in his college career, and he's 12-3 in bowl games. In the NFL, he was just 2-11. He's won various awards throughout his college coaching career, too.
We'll wait to see who settles into College Station as the next head coach.
