Urban Meyer to USC in 2020? Ohio State to Face Sanctions From Meyer Era?
By Robert Duff in College Football
Updated: March 31, 2020 at 2:03 pm EDTPublished:
- 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.
Not from @TheOnion
https://t.co/nvk7G2NgbO— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) December 20, 2018
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.
Urban Meyer told me there was no way he could retire had he not beaten Michigan…. He not only beat them but he hung 62 points on them… The most ever scored in the series against UofM…. They have played 115 games in the series… pic.twitter.com/DAI7wGTuYR
— DOM TIBERI (@DOMTIBERI) December 21, 2018
We think the third time is a charm, and this time, Meyer makes his retirement stick.
Sports Writer
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
