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Urban Meyer
Urban Meyer went 187–32 as a head coach, 2001–2018, at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State. His teams claim three national titles: Florida in 2006 and 2008 and Ohio State in 2014. Share
- Record
- 187–32 career
- Seasons
- 17
- Schools
- 4
- National titles
- 3 claimed: 2006, 2008 and 2014
- Born
- Jul 10, 1964
- Alma mater
- Cincinnati 1986
- Hall of Fame
- 2025 inducted
- Best season
- 2014 14–1, No. 1
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Bowling Green | 8–3 | T–3rd (East) | |||
| 2002 | Bowling Green | 9–3 | 3rd (East) | |||
| 2003 | Utah | 10–2 | 1st | Liberty Bowl W | 21 | |
| 2004 | Utah | 12–0 | 1st | Fiesta Bowl W | 4 | |
| 2005 | Florida | 9–3 | T–2nd (Eastern) | Outback Bowl W | 12 | |
| 2006 | Florida | 13–1 | 1st (Eastern) | BCS National Championship W | 1 | |
| 2007 | Florida | 9–4 | 3rd (Eastern) | Capital One Bowl L | 13 | |
| 2008 | Florida | 13–1 | 1st (Eastern) | BCS National Championship W | 1 | |
| 2009 | Florida | 13–1 | 1st (Eastern) | Sugar Bowl W | 3 | |
| 2010 | Florida | 8–5 | 2nd (Eastern) | Outback Bowl W | ||
| 2011: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2012 | Ohio State | 12–0 | 1st (Leaders) | 3 | ||
| 2013 | Ohio State | 12–2 | 1st (Leaders) | Orange Bowl L | 12 | |
| 2014 | Ohio State | 14–1 | 1st (East) | Sugar Bowl, CFP Semifinal W; CFP National Championship W | 1 | |
| 2015 | Ohio State | 12–1 | T–1st (East) | Fiesta Bowl W | 4 | |
| 2016 | Ohio State | 11–2 | T–1st (East) | Fiesta Bowl L | 6 | |
| 2017 | Ohio State | 12–2 | 1st (East) | Cotton Bowl W | 5 | |
| 2018 | Ohio State | 10–1 | T–1st (East) | Rose Bowl W | ||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table.
Players he coached
Tim Tebow
Dwayne Haskins
Alex Smith
Braxton Miller
J.T. Barrett
Maurkice Pouncey
Billy Price
Pat Elflein
Aaron Hernandez
Nick Bosa
Joey Bosa
Denzel Ward
Ezekiel Elliott
Brandon Spikes
Joe Haden
Taylor Decker
Reggie Nelson
Malik Hooker
12 more
Chas Henry (Consensus All‑American, 2010); Brandon James (Consensus All‑American, 2008); Derrick Harvey (No. 8 pick, 2008); Eli Apple (No. 10 pick, 2016); Percy Harvin (No. 22 pick, 2009); Jarvis Moss (No. 17 pick, 2007); Mike Pouncey (No. 15 pick, 2011); Marshon Lattimore (No. 11 pick, 2017); Bradley Roby (No. 31 pick, 2014); Ryan Shazier (No. 15 pick, 2014); Gareon Conley (No. 24 pick, 2017); Darron Lee (No. 20 pick, 2016).
18 of the 30 players from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick, the best of each school he coached among them. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 60 | 45–15 | 75% |
| Against top-10 teams | 33 | 25–8 | 76% |
| Against rivals | 65 | 53–12 | 82% |
| Conference games | 137 | 115–22 | 84% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 15 | 12–3 | 80% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 58 | 44–14 | 76% |
| At home | 114 | 104–10 | 91% |
| On the road | 78 | 62–16 | 79% |
| At neutral sites | 30 | 24–6 | 80% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 192 | 171–21 | 89% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 30 | 19–11 | 63% |
His own 222 games on file, 2001–2018, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Dantonio 2012–2018 | 5–2 | Michigan State | 7 | |
| Mark Richt 2005–2010 | 5–1 | Georgia | 6 | |
| Steve Spurrier 2005–2010 | 4–2 | South Carolina | 6 | |
| Les Miles 2005–2010 | 3–3 | LSU | 6 | |
| Bobby Bowden 2005–2009 | 5–0 | Florida State | 5 | |
| Bobby Johnson 2005–2009 | 5–0 | Vanderbilt | 5 | |
| Rich Brooks 2005–2009 | 5–0 | Kentucky | 5 | |
| Kevin Wilson 2012–2016 | 5–0 | Indiana | 5 | |
| James Franklin 2014–2018 | 4–1 | Penn State | 5 | |
| Phillip Fulmer 2005–2008 | 4–0 | Tennessee | 4 |
Urban Meyer’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Michiganseries | 8 | 7–1 |
| Penn Stateseries | 8 | 7–1 |
| Indianaseries | 7 | 7–0 |
| Michigan Stateseries | 7 | 5–2 |
| Kentuckyseries | 6 | 6–0 |
| Vanderbiltseries | 6 | 6–0 |
| Tennesseeseries | 6 | 6–0 |
| Florida Stateseries | 6 | 5–1 |
National coaching awards
The awards- 2004 Utah: Eddie Robinson
National title staffs
Every title staff- Won a national title on Florida’s 2006 staff (head coach) · the staff · source
- Won a national title on Florida’s 2008 staff (head coach) · the staff · source
- Won a national title on Ohio State’s 2014 staff (head coach) · the staff · source
The champions’ staffs from 1990 on, as the schools listed them that season: Staff lists: Drew Hoover’s how-many-rings (MIT), from the schools’ media guides and staff pages. Roles as the source words them.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | St. Xavier (OH) high school | Defensive backs coach | |
| 1986–87 | Ohio State | Graduate assistant | |
| 1988 | Illinois State | Outside linebackers coach | |
| 1989 | Illinois State | Quarterbacks and wide receivers coach | |
| 1990–95 | Colorado State | Wide receivers coach | |
| 1996–2000 | Notre Dame | Wide receivers coach | |
| 2001–02 | Bowling Green | Head coach | |
| 2003–04 | Utah | Head coach | |
| 2005–10 | Florida | Head coach | |
| 2012–18 | Ohio State | Head coach | |
| 2021 | Jacksonville Jaguars NFL | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Earle BruceOhio State, Colorado State
- Jim HeacockIllinois State
- Sonny LubickColorado State
- Lou HoltzNotre Dame
- Bob DavieNotre Dame
Assistants who became head coaches
- Billy GonzalesFlorida
- D. J. DurkinMaryland
- D.J. DurkinFlorida, Maryland, Auburn
- Dan MullenMississippi State, Florida, UNLV
- Gregg BrandonBowling Green, Colorado School of Mines
- Tim BeckmanToledo, Illinois
- Jay HillWeber State
- Kyle WhittinghamUtah, Michigan
- Mike Sanford Sr.UNLV, Indiana State
- Gary AndersenUtah State, Wisconsin, Oregon State, Southern Utah
- Art LinkChristopher Newport
- Charlie StrongFlorida, Louisville, Texas, South Florida
- and 20 more
Worked under (5)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earle Bruce | Ohio State | 1986–87 | Graduate assistant | |
| Jim Heacock | Illinois State | 1988–89 | 1988: outside linebackers coach; 1989: quarterbacks and wide receivers coach | |
| Earle Bruce | Colorado State | 1990–92 | Wide receivers coach | |
| Sonny Lubick | Colorado State | 1993–95 | Wide receivers coach | |
| Lou Holtz | Notre Dame | 1996 | Wide receivers coach | |
| Bob Davie | Notre Dame | 1997–2000 | Wide receivers coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (32)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Gonzales | Bowling Green, 2001–02: wide receivers coach; Utah, 2003–04: special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach; Florida, 2005–07: wide receivers coach; 2008–09: recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach | Florida | |
| D. J. Durkin | Bowling Green, 2001–02: graduate assistant; Florida, 2010: linebackers and special teams coach | Maryland | |
| D.J. Durkin | Bowling Green, 2001–02: graduate assistant; Florida, 2010: linebackers and special teams coach | Florida, Maryland, Auburn | |
| Dan Mullen | Bowling Green, 2001–02: quarterbacks coach; Utah, 2003–04: quarterbacks coach; Florida, 2005–08: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Mississippi State, Florida, UNLV | |
| Gregg Brandon | Bowling Green, 2001–02: assistant head coach and offensive coordinator | Bowling Green, Colorado School of Mines | |
| Tim Beckman | Bowling Green, 2001–02: assistant head coach and defensive coordinator | Toledo, Illinois | |
| Jay Hill | Utah, 2003: graduate assistant; 2004: AA | Weber State | |
| Kyle Whittingham | Utah, 2003–04: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | Utah, Michigan | |
| Mike Sanford Sr. | Utah, 2003–04: offensive coordinator and running backs coach | UNLV, Indiana State | |
| Gary Andersen | Utah, 2004: defensive line coach | Utah State, Wisconsin, Oregon State, Southern Utah | |
| Art Link | Florida, 2005: graduate assistant | Christopher Newport | |
| Charlie Strong | Florida, 2005–07: assistant head coach, co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach; 2008–09: assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach; Jacksonville Jaguars, 2021: assistant head coach and inside linebackers coach | Florida, Louisville, Texas, South Florida | |
| Doc Holliday | Florida, 2005–07: assistant head coach, safeties coach and recruiting coordinator | Marshall | |
| Ryan Day | Florida, 2005: graduate assistant; Ohio State, 2017: co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach; 2018: offensive coordinator | Ohio State | |
| Stan Drayton | Florida, 2005–07, 2010: running backs coach; Ohio State, 2012–14: running backs coach | Temple | |
| Steve Addazio | Florida, 2005–06: tackles and tight ends coach; 2007–08: assistant head coach and offensive line coach; 2009–10: assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | Temple, Boston College, Colorado State | |
| Dan McCarney | Florida, 2008–10: assistant head coach and defensive line coach | Iowa State, North Texas | |
| Scot Loeffler | Florida, 2009–10: quarterbacks coach | Bowling Green | |
| Ed Warinner | Ohio State, 2012–14: co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach; 2015: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach; 2016: offensive coordinator and tight ends coach | Avila | |
| Everett Withers | Ohio State, 2012–13: assistant head coach, co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach | North Carolina, Texas State, Temple, James Madison | |
| Kerry Coombs | Ohio State, 2012: cornerbacks coach; 2013–17: special teams coordinator and cornerbacks coach | Cincinnati | |
| Luke Fickell | Ohio State, 2012–16: co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | Ohio State, Cincinnati, Wisconsin | |
| Tom Herman | Ohio State, 2012–14: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Houston, Texas, Florida Atlantic | |
| Chris Ash | Ohio State, 2014–15: co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach; Jacksonville Jaguars, 2021: safeties coach | Rutgers | |
| Cody Hawkins | Ohio State, 2014: graduate assistant | Idaho State | |
| Tim Beck | Ohio State, 2015–16: co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Coastal Carolina | |
| Brian Knorr | Ohio State, 2016: special teams quality control coach | Ohio | |
| Greg Schiano | Ohio State, 2016–18: assistant head coach and defensive coordinator | Rutgers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers | |
| Joker Phillips | Ohio State, 2016: offensive quality control coach | Kentucky | |
| Kevin Wilson | Ohio State, 2017–18: offensive coordinator and tight ends coach | Indiana, Tulsa | |
| Bob Sutton | Jacksonville Jaguars, 2021: senior defensive assistant | Army | |
| Tosh Lupoi | Jacksonville Jaguars, 2021: defensive line coach | California |
Other assistants under him (25)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Greg Studrawa | Bowling Green, 2001–02: offensive line coach; Ohio State, 2016–18: offensive line coach | |
| John Hevesy | Bowling Green, 2001–02: tight ends and offensive tackles coach; Utah, 2003–04: offensive line coach; Florida, 2005–07: assistant offensive line coach; 2008: tight ends and assistant offensive line coach | |
| Tommy Thigpen | Bowling Green, 2001: cornerbacks coach; 2002: special teams coordinator and cornerbacks coach | |
| Zach Azzanni | Bowling Green, 2001–02: graduate assistant; Florida, 2010: passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach | |
| Bill Busch | Utah, 2003: defensive backs coach; Ohio State, 2015: defensive quality control coach | |
| Kurt Barber | Utah, 2003: defensive line coach; 2004: linebackers coach | |
| Chuck Heater | Utah, 2004: cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator; Florida, 2005–07: cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator; 2008–09: assistant defensive coordinator and safeties coach; 2010: co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach | |
| Greg Mattison | Florida, 2005–07: co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach | |
| Tommy Restivo | Florida, 2008–09: defensive quality control coach | |
| Vance Bedford | Florida, 2008–09: defensive backs coach | |
| Brian White | Florida, 2009–10: tight ends and fullbacks coach | |
| Justin Frye | Florida, 2009–10: graduate assistant | |
| Coleman Hutzler | Florida, 2010: special teams coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Teryl Austin | Florida, 2010: defensive coordinator | |
| Drew Mehringer | Ohio State, 2012–13: graduate assistant | |
| Bryant Haines | Ohio State, 2013: graduate assistant | |
| Larry Johnson | Ohio State, 2014–18: defensive line coach and assistant head coach | |
| Corey Dennis | Ohio State, 2015: intern; 2016–17: graduate assistant; 2018: senior quality control coach | |
| Keenan Bailey | Ohio State, 2016–18: offensive intern | |
| Alex Grinch | Ohio State, 2018: co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach | |
| Taver Johnson | Ohio State, 2018: cornerbacks coach | |
| Brian Schottenheimer | Jacksonville Jaguars, 2021: passing game coordinator | |
| Joe Cullen | Jacksonville Jaguars, 2021: defensive coordinator | |
| Tim Walton | Jacksonville Jaguars, 2021: cornerbacks coach | |
| Tyler Bowen | Jacksonville Jaguars, 2021: tight ends coach |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Ohio State | head coachbonuses up to $775,000; $300,000 in bonuses paid; buyout $21,345,100 | $6,431,240 USA Today | |
| 2016 | Ohio State | head coachbonuses up to $775,000; $250,000 in bonuses paid | $6,094,800 USA Today | |
| 2015 | Ohio State | head coachbonuses up to $775,000; $400,000 in bonuses paid | $5,860,000 USA Today | |
| 2014 | Ohio State | head coachbonuses up to $550,000 | $4,536,640 USA Today | |
| 2013 | Ohio State | head coach | $4,608,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2012 | Ohio State | head coachbonuses up to $450,000 | $4,300,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2010 | Florida | head coachbonuses up to $575,000 | $4,010,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2009 | Florida | head coach | $4,000,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2008 | Florida | head coach | $3,400,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2007 | Florida | head coach | $3,383,500 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2006 | Florida | head coachbonuses up to $454,000 | $1,524,550 USA Today via Leeds |
USA Today’s coaches salary database (2014–17, from public-records requests to the schools; Rachel Ehlers’ copy): the season’s contract pay, school pay plus outside money, before bonuses.
The same USA Today database for 2006–16, from Michael Leeds’ replication data on Harvard Dataverse (CC0): the season’s contract pay.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.
How he coached
Meyer’s teams went for it on 23% of fourth downs and on 39% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 42% of plays and took 26.0 seconds a play, 2004–2017.
| Season | School | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 11 g | Utah | 16 of 67 24% | 50% | 38% | 23.1 | +0.13 | |
| 2005 12 g | Florida | 21 of 99 21% | 50% | 50% | 27.6 | −0.06 | |
| 2006 14 g | Florida | 17 of 89 19% | 32% | 48% | 28.5 | +0.02 | |
| 2007 13 g | Florida | 13 of 65 20% | 42% | 44% | 27.5 | +0.19 | |
| 2008 14 g | Florida | 16 of 73 22% | 46% | 39% | 28.4 | +0.16 | |
| 2009 14 g | Florida | 17 of 82 21% | 32% | 43% | 27.1 | +0.09 | |
| 2010 13 g | Florida | 35 of 102 34% | 49% | 47% | 24.6 | −0.06 | |
| 2012 12 g | Ohio State | 9 of 78 12% | 33% | 37% | 25.5 | +0.07 | |
| 2013 14 g | Ohio State | 22 of 79 28% | 38% | 37% | 26.1 | +0.23 | |
| 2014 15 g | Ohio State | 22 of 89 25% | 36% | 40% | 25.5 | +0.20 | |
| 2015 13 g | Ohio State | 19 of 94 20% | 31% | 39% | 25.2 | +0.08 | |
| 2016 13 g | Ohio State | 21 of 100 21% | 40% | 44% | 25.8 | +0.11 | |
| 2017 14 g | Ohio State | 22 of 93 24% | 32% | 45% | 22.6 | +0.16 | |
| All 172 g | 250 of 1110 23% | 39% | 42% | 26.0 | +0.10 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.
Films and books
On film
In books
Films: Wikidata (CC0) and Wikipedia’s lists and categories (CC BY-SA). Books: Open Library (CC0); most-reissued first, each linked to its page there.