Titans Coaching Candidate Profile: Urban Meyer

Current job: Ohio State Head Coach

Head coaching record: 151-26

Age: 51

Overview

Urban Meyer is at the pinnacle of the college football world.  He has it all -- including what many seem to believe to be his dream job.  Meyer was born and raised in the state of Ohio and ended up playing football in college for the University of Cincinnati.  After a brief internship, Meyer got a graduate assistant role with Ohio State.  His career took off from there, climbing up the coaching ranks one stop at a time.

He was hired by Bowling Green in 2001, after spending his previous four years coaching receivers at Notre Dame. Meyer quickly turned that program around, going 17-6 in his two seasons.  He then bolted for Utah, where he went 10-2 and 12-0 in his two seasons, turning Alex Smith into a number one overall NFL Draft selection.  Meyer then chose to leave for Florida, where he flourished.

Meyer went 65-15 during his time with Florida, capturing two national titles in the process.  His fall from Florida was well documented, but his teams remained competitive.  He left Florida for health and stress reasons, but turned up at Ohio State just a year later.  Meyer's Ohio State teams have been dominant from the start and continue to be.  He knocked off Alabama and the Marcus Mariota led Oregon Ducks last season on his way to winning his third national title as a coach.  He has his buckeyes in the thick of the race once again this season.

Why Meyer?

His coaching record speaks for itself.  Meyer was among the first to really revolutionize college offenses with his potent "spread" attack.  His offenses aren't pass heavy, either.  It's a spread-you-out and run-right-at-you type of scheme.  It's not all that different from Chip Kelly's ideology.  If you want to read further, James Light put up a great breakdown of some of Meyer's favorite concepts.

Urban has a history of turning around struggling programs very quickly.  In his first year as the head man, Urban took Bowling Green from 2-9 to 8-3, Utah from 5-6 to 10-2 and Florida from 7-5 to 9-3.  It took Meyer just two seasons to bring Florida a National Championship, following a dormant Ron Zook era.  He's turned anything that he's ever touched into gold.

Is Meyer interested in the NFL?

When you look at his responses to NFL questions, it certainly seems like he's interested.  His latest response was, "not right now," when pressed about the idea earlier in the year. If you have followed Urban's career to this point, you'll notice that he hasn't stayed anywhere for too long.  Florida seemed like a dream destination, but things fell apart.

Now at Ohio State, you seem to get that feeling again.  What is going to stop him from winning title for the next decade? Will the stress get the best of him again? He's done literally everything that you can do as a college head man.  What's left?

I would think that the intrigue of the NFL would eventually get to Meyer. Competitive people want to prove that they can win on the highest stage.  I'm not sure if it will be this season or five years down the road, but if I'm in the Titans' front office I'm at least making that call.  Hiring Urban Meyer would ignite a fanbase that is desperate for a spark. He's the exact opposite of everything that ownership has tried over the past quarter century. I would love to see if Urban could work his magic at the NFL level.