Former Ohio State and Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer would seem like a great choice to be a general manager for a major college football program. However, during a recent podcast, the legendary coach explained why he has zero interest in that kind of job.
Meyer is an icon at not one, but two major programs. That’s what comes from winning an impressive three National Championships. The 60-year-old has a wealth of knowledge about the sport. So while he may no longer want to coach, maybe a bit more of a calmer role like GM of a program would be a fun way for him to get back into the game. Well, maybe not.
“I had a school come see me this year and ask if I wanted to be the GM. And a couple of other phone calls,” Meyer said last week on The Triple Option podcast during a chat with Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy. “And you start to think, ‘OK, they actually came to see me.’ So I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll meet and I’ll sit down with you guys.’
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“I said, ‘OK, what is the job description?’ They said, ‘Well, basically you meet with all the agents of the 17- and 18-year-olds.’ And I thought, ‘I’d rather step on a rusty nail and pull it out myself.’ I mean, what in the world. If that’s what you gotta do, Jim, God bless you.”
The current FOX Sports analyst won his national titles in 2006, 2008, and 2014. He left he program just before the era of NIL. He succeeded in a time when coaches talked to just high school recruits and their parents. Not to the agents looking to maximize the value of teenage prospects. Those are very different conversations.
Yet, due to the influx of NIL money and colleges now having to pay players directly, general managers are a necessity in college sports. To help manage the contracts and use available funds to bring in talent. Ohio State spent $20 million are their 2024 roster.
