Michigan State football: Urban Meyer is an unrealistic coaching candidate

There have been plenty of names that have been linked to the vacant Michigan State football head coaching job. While the intrigue grows for the Spartan fanbase, rumors started swirling early this week, roping in one of the biggest and most surprising names into the conversation: Urban Meyer.

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Meyer became a household name when he was hired as the head coach at Florida in 2005, following an impressive two-year stint at Utah which was capped off by a Fiesta Bowl win. He proceeded to win two BCS National Championships with the Gators before stepping away from the program in 2010. He’d return to coaching and take over at Ohio State from 2012-2018, winning another national title in 2014.

His most recent coaching venture came in 2021, which was a disastrous tenure with the Jacksonville Jaguars that only lasted 13 games. Since then, Meyer has served as a college football analyst for FOX and is a part of the Big Noon Kickoff show, alongside Rob Stone, Matt Leinart, Brady Quinn, and Mark Ingram.

Though it’s mostly just speculation thus far, is he a realistic candidate to pursue? Or is Michigan State better off not even going down that road?

Urban Meyer is unrealistic for Michigan State football

Obviously it’s hard to argue with the successes he had as a head coach at the collegiate level. Winning multiple championships is a difficult task in and of itself. But winning at two different programs is an even greater challenge accomplished by very few. Despite this, I think it’s hard to look past the constant turmoil present in every major program he led.

Whether it was the numerous player arrests in his time at Florida or the mishandling of domestic abuse allegations against coach Zach Smith at Ohio State, that’s the exact type of culture you’re trying to avoid.

It’s also hard to leave out the troubles he had in Jacksonville, most notably the accusations from kicker Josh Lambo that Meyer kicked and berated him before he was eventually released.

Another important thing to keep in mind is his age. The guy is pushing 60 and it’s hard to imagine he can rebuild a Power Five program and recruit at an elite level at this point like in the past. Let’s not forget that when he stepped down from Florida and Ohio State, health concerns were one big reason why. Building an elite program takes a lot out of you, especially when you have to build it from the ground up.

With all that being said, Meyer recently denied having interest in the opening, “And is happy with what he’s doing now at Fox Sports.”

Though coaches deny reports like this all the time, some prove them to be true anyway. Heck, Meyer did the same thing before taking the Ohio State job in 2012. Regardless, I still find it very unlikely he will come out of retirement again at this point in his life.

So while the coaching carousel rumors always spark interest and debate, Spartan Nation probably shouldn’t get used to the idea of having Meyer in the mix. And given the state of the program, it’s probably for the best.