Scott Frost’s coaching tenure with the Nebraska Cornhuskers couldn’t have gone worse. They fired him after five years and change after a 16-31 record. Mickey Joseph has taken over on an interim basis. Nebraska is still searching for the future leader of its program. Could that lead them to Urban Meyer, who spent less than one season in the NFL at the helm with the Jacksonville Jaguars?
According to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, Nebraska has already contacted the former Florida and Ohio State head coach about taking over the Cornhuskers program.
Earlier this week, Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts warned the public that we’d hear a lot of names tied to the vacancy, but it may not necessarily mean they’re being considered as candidates for the gig.
“You’re gonna hear about a lot of names. That’s good. That means we’re going to talk to a lot of people because we’re going to clearly define what our values are, and we’re not going to hire coaches who don’t believe in what we believe in.”
Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts on Nebraska’s coaching search
Meyer retired from coaching at the college football level in 2018, though not officially. It only came after he again experienced health issues in 2018 after running into the same issues in 2009 with Florida. Then, in 2021, Meyer took his talents to South Beach, as the coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL. It did not go well.
Meyer quickly flamed out and was fired in December of 2021 after a 2-11 record, where he found himself at the center of controversy for many reasons, one of which included reportedly kicking one of his players. He’s been out of the league ever since.
Related: 4 potential Nebraska coaching candidates to replace Scott Frost
Nebraska fans seem to want Urban Meyer next
Current head coach Mickey Joseph is the brother of Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance, who’s been an NFL head coach himself.
Meanwhile, the Nebraska fans have seemingly spoken, or at least some of them. They want Urban Meyer to lead the way instead.
Oddly enough, Meyer was on hand for Nebraska’s Week 3 matchup, thanks to his current job working as a Fox Sports college football analyst. This gave fans a chance to let their wishes be heard, loud and clear.
Which when you’ve been stuck with a team that’s had a winning percentage of just 34% in the past five years, just about any head coach with experience sounds like a great hire. Especially if it’s one with a proven track record of bringing in top recruits and developing them into NFL prospects like Meyer has in his previous college stints. Meyer has led his teams to three College Football National Championship victories as head coach. Of course, that type of progress sounds too good to be true if you’re a Nebraska football fan.
Yet, as their AD suggested, just because they’ve contacted Meyer, it doesn’t mean he’s in the running. It may have just been an exploratory phone call. How much money are you looking for? Who knows. In the meantime, Mickey Joseph continues to lead the way, even if it’s only led to another big loss to a ranked opponent, as we saw early on Saturday in their 49-14 blowout to Oklahoma.
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