"I Tried": Urban Meyer Names One Opponent He Always Wanted to Face but Never Got the Chance

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Long before former OSU head coach Urban Meyer sealed his legendary status, winning his third national title with the program, he was just an assistant coach, making his name. There were several stops he took before getting his head coaching gig at Bowling Green in 2001, including programs like Illinois State and Colorado State. But none shaped him as intensely as his tenure from 1996 to 2000. So much so, coaching against the program always remained his dream.

“When I was at Ohio State, the one team I wanted to go coach against [was] Notre Dame,” Urban Meyer said on his latest Triple Option podcast. “I love Notre Dame. I wanted to coach at Notre Dame because I just love the place, but to go in there into the hallowed grounds of Notre Dame Stadium and play a game, that would have been really cool.”

Meyer served as WRs coach under Lou Holtz and Bob Davie, and those stints paved the way for his Bowling Green head coaching job in 2001. Even though he left, the love for the Fighting Irish never wavered. His son was even baptized at Notre Dame, a memory Meyer has repeatedly brought up when explaining his affection for the school. That was the reason the dream always stayed with him, even after his coaching career took him across the country.

For a coach who won 187 games and three national titles at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida, and Ohio State, it comes as a surprise that Notre Dame never appeared on his schedule. Not for his lack of effort, though. Meyer even tried arranging a matchup during his Utah days, but it never materialized. Despite that, his relationship with the Irish could have been much deeper. After leading Utah to an undefeated 12-0 season in 2004, Meyer became the hottest coaching candidate in the country.

Notre Dame actively pursued Meyer after firing Tyrone Willingham. Officials met with him in late 2004, and many expected the Irish-Catholic coach, who grew up supporting Notre Dame and spent six years there as an assistant, to return as the program’s leader. That expectation wasn’t entirely wrong since Notre Dame did pursue him seriously, but Meyer ultimately chose Florida instead. He later explained why that decision came down to Florida.

“I’m Irish-Catholic, I grew up a Notre Dame fan. I spent six years there, my son was baptized there, and we loved it there,” Meyer said on the Herd.

However, Meyer also knew the pressure of modern college football. He believed a coach had little time to rebuild a program. After studying both rosters, he felt Florida gave him afaster route to championships. The Gators already had elite talent recruited by Ron Zook, including quarterback Chris Leak and playmakers Chad Jackson and Andre “Bubba” Caldwell.

“I did my homework, and I thought, ‘You know what? You get one swing, and I think the best chance to win is going to be at the University of Florida,” Meyer said. “The bottom line in the coaching profession is you don’t have time to build programs anymore. You better get it going right now.” History proved him right. Meyer won national championships at Florida in 2006 and 2008, finishing his Gator career with a 65-15 record.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame hired Charlie Weis. Weis had a strong beginning with a 19-6 record in his first two seasons, and the 2005 Irish nearly upset No. 1 USC in the famous “Bush Push” game. But the program declined afterward, going 3-9 in 2007, 7-6 in 2008, and 6-6 in 2009 before Weis was fired. But what would have happened if Meyer had taken the Notre Dame job?

Urban Meyer rejected the Florida job twice because of recruiting

Considering his history, Meyer would have made the Irish a serious national championship contender since he transformed every college program he inherited. He went 17-6 at Bowling Green, finished 22-2 at Utah, won two titles at Florida, and later captured another championship at Ohio State in 2014.

Ironically, Meyer actually did coach against Notre Dame twice and won both matchups. His Florida Gators defeated Notre Dame 41-14 in the 2006 Sugar Bowl in January 2007, and his Ohio State Buckeyes beat the Irish 44-28 in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl in January 2016. Beyond those bowl games, he battled the Irish constantly on the recruiting trail.

In Florida, his staff beat Notre Dame for several major recruits. One example was five-star defensive tackle Omar Hunter, who had been committed to the Irish before flipping to the Gators during Meyer’s dominant recruiting runs. Florida’s 2007 recruiting class finished as the No. 1 class in the nation, showing Meyer’s recruiting acumen. Interestingly, one of the reasons Meyer didn’t accept the Florida job was the demanding nature of recruitment at Notre Dame.

“I had young children, recruiting at Notre Dame you’re in San Diego, New York, New Jersey, Fort Lauderdale, Seattle, Washington, Denver,” Meyer said on Urban’s Take with Tim May in 2022. “In Florida, you’re at Florida. You might spread your wings and go to Georgia. So I had private planes at my disposal, I could still be at my kid’s events. At Notre Dame, I did some homework on that as well, you’re constantly on a plane.”

Looking back, Meyer never actually considered the Notre Dame job after his Jacksonville Jaguars stint ended in 2021. The timeline does not work. When Brian Kelly abruptly left Notre Dame for LSU in late November 2021, Meyer was still actively employed by the Jaguars. Notre Dame instantly promoted Marcus Freeman to head coach on December 3, 2021, which was weeks before Meyer was fired by Jacksonville on December 16, 2021.

Meyer was never a candidate or seriously considered for the Notre Dame job in 2021. In reality, the former OSU head coach might have only wanted to coach against Notre Dame, that’s all.

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