Two years before Urban Meyer was named the 24th head coach of Ohio State there were rumors he would land in South Bend. In July of 2009 Urban Meyer ended the speculation on a golf course. From the Gainesville Sun.
Midway through the talk, Meyer was talking about the “nonsense” that came up again last week when a column by Paul Finebaum in the Mobile paper indicated (again) that Meyer is leaving Florida for Notre Dame after this season.
He turned to me and asked. “Is it OK to make this announcement here?”
I knew what he was going to say because he said something similar when the speculative story surfaced three weeks ago.
Meyer turned back to the golfers and said, “I’m not going to Notre Dame. Ever. I’m going to be the coach at Florida for a long time, as long as they want me.”
Notre Dame fans did not handle the rejection well. One reporter from uhnd.com took to the pixelated page and espoused these hot takes on Urban's rejection in an article titled Urban Meyer Isn't Going to Notre Dame. Ever. Good. Some highlights from the piece:
My response to this is – GOOD. I might be in the minority here, but I for one don’t want to see Meyer roaming the sidelines of Notre Dame Stadium. The way I see it, Meyer had his chance to coach at Notre Dame in 2005. If Notre Dame really was his dream job, he would have taken the job back then.
The author also came up with this golden nugget:
Call me naive, but I also still believe that there’s a very good chance that Charlie Weis will remain the head coach at Notre Dame after this season and beyond which would make all of this a moot point to begin with. With the talent Weis has assembled on the field through recruiting and on the sidelines in terms of staff changes, I believe that things are indeed on the way up for Notre Dame and Weis this year.
Weis finished the 2009 season with a 6-6 record and a pink slip. The author was correct about one thing. Notre Dame was not Urban Meyer's dream job...Ohio State is.
COMPARING URBAN MEYER AND NOTRE DAME SINCE 2009
| YEAR | NOTRE DAME | URBAN MEYER |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 6-6 | 13-1 |
| 2010 | 8-5 | 8-5 |
| 2011 | 8-5 | ----- |
| 2012 | 12-1 | 12-0 |
| 2013 | 9-4 | 12-2 |
| 2014 | 8-5 | 14-1 |
| 2015 | 10-2 | 11-1 |
| TOTAL | 61-28 (.685) | 70-10 (.875) |
Urban Meyer did not coach in 2011.
| SEASON | NOTRE DAME | URBAN MEYER |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | ----- | Sugar Bowl (W) |
| 2010 | Sun Bowl (W) | Outback Bowl (W) |
| 2011 | Champs Sports Bowl (L) | ----- |
| 2012 | BCS National Championship (L) | ----- |
| 2013 | Pinstripe Bowl (W) | Orange Bowl (L) |
| 2014 | Music City Bowl (W) | Sugar Bowl (W) // CFP NCG (W) |
| 2015 | Fiesta Bowl | Fiesta Bowl |
| RECORD | 3-2 (.600) | 4-1 (.800) |
Notre Dame did play for a national title, but would Buckeye fans be happy with appearances in the Sun Bowl, Champs Sports Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl and Music City Bowl? The future is bright at Ohio State and Urban Meyer is providing the hot white light.
