Somehow, 32 career losses outweigh his 187 victories. Urban Meyer enjoyed an illustrious coaching career, but his perfectionism and taking accountability proved to be his weaknesses. 

“I've had some strengths in my life and some weaknesses and one another reason why I just didn’t survive,” he said on the Breaking Sales podcast. “You know, some of these guys coach till they’re 70 years old. I knew when I hit 55 I was done because a loss took my soul away.”

The former Ohio State coach sat down for a candid interview on June 15 to talk about failures and frustration in his career. Meyer, 61, opened up about how his working principles as a coach, and how they affected him in his final working years.

“Especially a loss where I knew that we shouldn't have lost and I wasn't good at blaming others,” he told Dan Lappin. “I never, you know, people lose games and they fire their coaches and they I never did that. I just would always take it on myself. The burden on, you know, it was my fault.”

Meyer retired from college football with a winning percentage above 80 per cent. With him, the Ohio State Buckeyes never faced more than two defeats in a season. The only blip in Meyer’s otherwise illustrious career was the 8-5 record with the Florida Gators in 2010. That was his last season with them.

He wasn’t just dealing with the pressure of keeping elite programs at the top. He was struggling with severe chronic health issues, such as a congenital arachnoid cyst. Meyer retired from the Gators after collapsing due to acute chest pain. 

In 18 years across Utah, Florida and the Ohio State, Meyer won three national titles in 2006, 2008, and 2014. His stint in Ohio State, however, took a toll on him. He suffered from physical and mental health stress. 

Despite a 7-0 dominance on arch rivals Michigan Wolverines, the added stress of a controversy about a former assistant coach brought an end to his career. But the love of football couldn’t keep away for too long. He had a brief stint in the NFL but Meyer was soon fired. 

“Resiliency to bounce back from a loss was something I really struggled with,” Meyer added in an almost hour-long interview. “And that was not a strength of mine.”

Meyer has never stirred too far from football. He is now a podcast host and commentator. His latest comments have earned ire.

Blake Ruffino lashes out at Urban Meyer for comments against LSU fanbase

The LSU Fighting Tigers are underway in their first season under head coach Lane Kiffin. The stakes are high for Kiffin, who has much to prove to LSU fans after his controversial Ole Miss exit.

On The Triple Option Podcast this week, Meyer said that this season would be a national title or a bust. Meyer said that Kiffin has to please his new “nut job” fan base.

These comments did not sit well with CBS’s Blake Ruffino, who called out the controversy in Meyer’s last years at Ohio State.

“‘Delusional LSU fan base’ is what he called it. Were you delusional when one of your coaches had to get arrested, and it got covered up?” Ruffino said on June 6. “Like, so if you’re going to take shots at people, you better not have skeletons in your own closet.”

What are your opinions on this take? Tell us in the comments. 

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Written by

Akanksha Biradar