Urban Meyer ranks Florida, LSU, Penn State head coaching jobs ahead of coaching searches

Former coach Urban Meyer ranked the top openings of Florida, LSU and Penn State ahead of their coaching searches. The SEC schools reigned supreme in those rankings.

Meyer already said he has no interest in returning to college football after last coaching the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021. Big Noon Kickoff host Rob Stone even pressed Meyer Saturday if he would return somewhere and Meyer said: “We’ll talk about it … no,” shaking his head and laughing vigorously.

His former school Florida is looking for a new coach after firing Billy Napier. Funny enough, Meyer ranked it the top job available.

“First of all, I must say that of all the blue bloods … they’re all open, I don’t know if that’s happened in recent history,” Meyer said on Big Noon Kickoff. “But I’d say just because of the LSU and Florida, because the talent level, the talent pool, is within a three hour radius of your school. 

“You have LSU, you have Florida. I would say Florida (is the best), just because of the dysfunction right now (at LSU). They don’t have an athletic director … Everybody loves (the governor) down there, but they better get an AD in place pretty quick before … Really good head coaches will walk away from this and say ‘I’m not sure I want to do that.’ Florida No. 1, LSU at (No. 2), Penn State No. 3. I just think it’s a little harder to recruit right now, just because the population shift has gone down south. You can’t just say Western, PA and Philadelphia and New Jersey. That’s kind of where they used to get their players. So I would go: Florida, LSU and Penn State.”

The 61-year-old Meyer retired from coaching in 2018 following a distinguished 18-year head coaching career that included three national championships — 2006 and 2008 at Florida and 2014 at Ohio State — and multiple conference titles in both the Big Ten and SEC. Meyer would return to the sideline in 2021 during a disastrous one-year stint as the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach that lasted just 13 games.

So, Meyer won’t return to Florida it seems, even though it’s the best job open right now, according to him. LSU is a sought after job, but with no clear direction in administration, big names might be hesitant.

Then there’s Penn State, which Meyer knows well from his days at Ohio State. The administration is clearly committed to winning, it’s just a matter of who they’re going to try and get with coaches signing long term extensions at their current stops.