Urban Meyer is a college football legend. As one of the few coaches to win national championships at multiple schools, and one of the highest winning percentages in history (85%), he will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame this December, and rightly so.
However, his college football coaching career might not be over, yet.
Matt Hayes of USA Today discussed the reasons why the Auburn Tigers should move on from Hugh Freeze and throw their money at Urban Meyer this winter, to see if he will give coaching one more try.
Meyer knows the SEC well, having coached the University of Florida to two BCS Championships, and with the stain of his final coaching job at the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars a fading memory, he could be convinced to write an epilogue - go out on top, back in the best conference in the land, and restore Auburn to its former glory.
With NIL and the transfer portal, Meyer would bring his mercenary ways to the Plains, and incite the rivalry with Alabama - refusing to say their name and giving them a title similar to the ones he gave to his former teams' rivals - BYU (That team down south) and Michigan (That team up north).
Not to mention his disregard for established norms, as evidenced by his blowing up the 'gentlemanly recruiting' rules in the Big Ten upon his arrival at Ohio State in 2012.
Meyer would have some disadvantages, having been out of coaching in the FBS since 2018. But he has stayed close to the game and watched the changes up close, with NIL and the transfer portal.
He has always assembled top-flight staffs and taken over in recruiting from the outset, and would likely do the same at Auburn, making it a destination for Florida and Texas talent right away.
Why Meyer would succeed quickly at Auburn
Urban Meyer enters a program, sets the culture and gets things on track right away. That's his history.
He has a stellar track record in his first year at a new school. He is 38-8 in such seasons with Bowling Green, Utah, Florida, and Ohio State. All of those were 10+ win seasons except the Falcons, which was a respectable 8-3 (coming off a 2-9 season the year before).
Auburn's first year marks with its last five head coaches? 37-27.
Remove Gus Malzahn's miracle 12-2 mark in 2013, and it's 25-25, with only one other coach in that bunch having a winning campaign out of the gate - Gene Chizik's 8-5 mark in 2009.
Meyer, in his 17 college seasons, has 12 seasons of 10 wins or more.
Auburn has had just eight such seasons in its last 50 years of football.
And the bar at Auburn has always been a bit lower than at rival schools like Alabama or LSU. The program has had meteoric campaigns when things come together, as evidenced by the 2004, 2010, and 2013 teams.
Right now, the SEC is seeing unprecedented parity. There are five undefeated teams, and none of them are Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, or Texas. There might not be a better time to awaken a sleeping giant of a team and fanbase like Auburn than now.
If Meyer has another run in him, Auburn should definitely get him on board before someone else does. And other SEC teams are likely to change coaches this winter. Arkansas is already in the hunt, and LSU could join them if Brian Kelly can't deliver this year. And Clemson in the ACC is another team that might look at Meyer.
If Auburn has interest in Urban Meyer, they should get moving now, before someone else does and they miss the boat.
More College Football News: