Urban Frank Meyer, III (born July 10, 1964) is an American television sports commentator and former college football coach. He is a native of Ohio and an alumnus of the University of Cincinnati, where he played college football. He was head coach of the Florida Gators football team that represents the University of Florida, until his retirement at the end of the 2010 season;[1] he previously coached the Bowling Green Falcons football team from 2001 to 2002, and the Utah Utes football team from 2003 to 2004. He coached the Florida Gators to two BCS National Championship Game victories during the 2006 and 2008 seasons. Meyer's winning percentage through the conclusion of the 2009 season (.842) was the highest among all active coaches with a minimum of five full seasons at a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program.[2] He currently works as a college football analyst for the television sports network ESPN. Contents 1 Coaching career 1.1 Early co! aching career 1.2 University of Utah 1.3 University of Florida 1.3.1 2005 1.3.2 2006 season 1.3.3 2007 1.3.4 2008 season 1.3.5 2009 1.3.6 Leave of absence 1.3.7 2010 2 Spread offense 3 Present and possible future career 4 Personal life 5 Philanthropy 6 Head coaching record 7 See also 8 References 9 Bibliography 10 External links Coaching career In 2004, Meyer was recognized as the college football "coach of the year" at the University of Utah by both sportswriters (Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year) and television commentators (Home Depot Coach of the Year Award).[3] He has twenty years of college coaching experience, including nine as a head coach.[3] His overall record as a head coach through the end of the 2009 season is 96–18, and he is 49–14 in conference play.[4] His winning percentage (.842) through the end of 2009 season ranks first nationally among active college football head coaches.[5] Meyer is a devout Roman Catholic,[6][7] and on several occasions, has refe! rred to the head coaching position at the University of Notre ! Dame as his "dream job," leading to speculation that he would someday wish to coach there . However, according to a July 2009 newspaper report, Meyer insisted he would never leave Florida for Notre Dame.[8] And when the employment status of Irish coach Charlie Weis came into question in November 2009, Meyer held a press conference to dispel rumors linking him to the possible opening, stating that he would remain at Florida for "as long as they'll have me."[9] The University of Cincinnati's Brian Kelly was eventually hired for the job. On December 26, 2009, Meyer announced he would resign following the team's bowl game against Cincinnati, citing health concerns.[10] However, the following day Meyer announced that he would instead take an indefinite leave of absence,[11] and he resumed his coaching duties in time for the beginning of the Gators' spring practice on March 17, 2010.[12] Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley announced Meyer's resignation as the Gators head fo! otball coach on December 8, 2010, but stated that Meyer would remain as the head coach through the Gators' appearance in the Outback Bowl on January 1, 2011.[1] Early coaching career After playing as a defensive back for the University of Cincinnati, Meyer spent one season interning as a defensive back coach at Saint Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1985 under the mentorship of legendary St. Xavier head coach Steve Rasso, where he met members of the Ohio State coaching staff.[13] His first collegiate coaching position was a two-year stint as a graduate assistant at Ohio State under head coach Earle Bruce.[3] He then spent the next thirteen years as an assistant—two at Illinois State, six at Colorado State, and five at Notre Dame.[3] In 1990, while still the linebacker coach at Illinois State, he called Toledo head coach Nick Saban to see if a position was available on his staff. Saban, however, never returned the call.[14] In 2001, Meyer took his first head coach! ing job at Bowling Green.[4] In his first season there, he eng! ineered one of the greatest turnarounds in the NCAA football history, going 8–3 and capping off the season with a 56–21 victory over Bowling Green's rival, the University of Toledo Rockets.[15] He also earned Mid-American Conference coach of the year honors. The next year, Bowling Green finished with a 9–3 record.[15] After a 17–6 overall record, Meyer left for the University of Utah.[16] University of Utah After two seasons at Bowling Green, he took the job at Utah in 2003.[17] In his first year there, Meyer was named the Mountain West Conference's Coach of the Year with a 10–2 record, the best ever for a coach's first season at Utah.[17] He also earned honors as The Sporting News National Coach of the Year, the first Utes coach to do so.[18] Meyer's success can be attributed to his unique offensive system, which is an offshoot of Bill Walsh's West Coast Offense, relying on short pass routes.[19] Meyer's base offense spreads three receivers and puts the quarterback in sho! tgun formation.[20] Then, he introduces motion in the backfield and turns it into an option attack, adding elements of the traditional run-oriented option offense.[20] In 2004, Meyer led the undefeated Utes to a Bowl Championship Series bid, something that had not been done by a team from a non-automatically qualifying BCS conference since the formation of the BCS in 1998.[21] He remained at Utah long enough to coach the team to a Fiesta Bowl win over Pittsburgh,[4] capping off the Utes' first perfect season (12–0) since 1930.[22] University of Florida In the wake of his accomplishments at Utah, both the University of Florida and the University of Notre Dame vied for his services.[23] Meyer chose to become Florida's head coach for the 2005 season, signing a seven-year contract worth $14 million.[23] He later signed a six-year contract extension with the Gators on June 7, 2007; the extended contract paid an average of $3.25 million per year.[24] On August 3, 2009, Meyer re! ceived another contract extension that made him the SEC's high! est paid coach during the 2009 season; his 2009 extension is worth $24 million over six years.[25] At the time of the latest contract extension, Meyer was the third highest paid college football coach, behind only Pete Carroll and Charlie Weis.[26] Meyer has been criticized by some commentators because 30 of his players were arrested during his nearly six years as the Gators' coach.[27] The seriousness of the charges varied widely, from minor offenses such as possession of alcohol by a minor to the charge of possession of a concealed weapon, and many of the charges were ultimately dismissed.[27] Meyer's punishments also varied with the severity of the charges, with some players never missing game time and others being kicked off the team.[27][28] In September 2010, after Gator receiver Chris Rainey was arrested for sending a threatening text message to a former girlfriend, Meyer stated that he was "real upset about that. After a while, enough's enough. If there's something that we c! an improve on, we're certainly looking into that. It's like if our graduation rate stinks then we gotta improve that. If there's other issues in a program, that's our job to get it better. It's people making stupid mistakes, that's something we gotta correct."[29] 2005 See also: 2005 Florida Gators football team In 2005, his first season at Florida, Meyer's Gators team finished the season 9–3 (5–3 in the Southeastern Conference). The season included an undefeated record at home and a bowl victory against Iowa in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida. The Gators would have faced LSU in the SEC Championship Game,[30] but they lost to South Carolina and former Florida coach Steve Spurrier in the SEC regular season finale. 2006 season See also: 2006 Florida Gators football team In 2006, Meyer coached the Gators to a 13–1 (8–1 in the SEC) record, with the one loss coming to the Auburn Tigers. After clinching the SEC East, the Gators won the SEC Championship Game on December! 2 over Arkansas by a score of 38–28. The Gators defeated th! e Ohio S tate Buckeyes, 41–14, in the 2007 BCS National Championship Game to win the national championship.[31] It was the first BCS bowl berth for the Gators since the Orange Bowl that capped off the 2001 campaign,[32] and Florida's first national championship appearance and victory since winning the 1997 Sugar Bowl.[31] Meyer has been known for winning big games. In addition to his 5–1 record in bowl games (as of 2008) at Florida, Meyer has an 11–1 record (through the end of 2008) against three of the Gators' biggest opponents—Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida State—and a 14–2 home record. 2007 See also: 2007 Florida Gators football team The Gators managed a 9–3 regular season record in 2007, including blowout wins over rivals Tennessee and FSU but once again losing to Auburn. During his tenure at the University of Florida, Coach Meyer never defeated Auburn. [33] Quarterback Tim Tebow also became Coach Meyer's first Heisman Trophy winner. The team led the conference in ! scoring,[34] but struggles on defense made it difficult for the Gators to reach a BCS bowl game.[35] The Gators lost the Capital One Bowl to Michigan 41–35 on January 1, 2008.[33] Meyer served as a pre-game and halftime analyst for the 2008 BCS National Championship Game. Florida Gators coach Urban Meyer and quarterback Tim Tebow being interviewed following the Gators' August 30, 2008 victory over the Hawaii Warriors. 2008 season See also: 2008 Florida Gators football team In 2008, Meyer led the Gators to a 13–1 overall record and the BCS National Championship over Oklahoma, including wins over six ranked teams. The team's lone defeat came at the hands of Mississippi on September 27, 2008, a game in which Florida led in time of possession and passing yards, but turned the ball over three times. Eleven of the Gators' twelve w
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Collection of all USATODAY.com coverage of Urban Meyer, including articles, vid! eos, photos, and quotes. Read the rest
urban meyer wikipedia the free encyclopedia
Urban Frank Meyer, III (born July 10, 1964) is a former American college football player and coach, and current television sports analyst. He is a native of Ohio and Read the rest
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Urban Meyer met with Arizona's athletic director, but ultimately decided he was not interested, according to a person with knowledge of the meeting. Read the rest
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News, Photos and Information about Urban Meyer RSS feeds allow Web site content to be gathered via feed reader software. Read the rest
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The official website of University of Florida football head coach Will Muschamp. Read the rest
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National College Football Coverage, New! s, Schedules, Depth Charts, Rosters, Stats and more. - Recruit! ing Data base Read the rest
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Amidst swirling rumors as to what the future of Penn State football holds, former Florida head coach Urban Meyer issued a statement regarding his coaching Read the rest
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At some point in the not-too-distant future -- I see you eyeballing me, Mr. NBC Sports.com Editor Guy -- we will devote a post that takes a deeper look Read the rest
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Urban Meyer released a statement Monday following the resignation of Jim Tressel as Ohio State's coach. MeyerIt reads: I am committed to ESPN and wil Read the rest
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Urban Meyer is stepping down as coach of the Florida football team, athletic director Jeremy Foley announced Saturday afternoon in a release. Read the rest