USC is searching for a new head coach after firing Clay Helton just two games into his seventh season running the Trojans. But one of the biggest names of recent college football history will not be a candidate for the job. Amid rumors that he would consider leaving the Jaguars for USC's top opening, Urban Meyer told reporters Wednesday that "there's no chance" he'll bail on Jacksonville, which is fresh off its first game under the longtime Ohio State coach.
"I'm here," Meyer said, "and committed to trying to build this organization."
The 57-year-old Meyer was the Jaguars' top target at head coach this offseason, and he began his NFL career on Sunday alongside No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence, falling to the Texans 37-21. Prior to joining Jacksonville, he spent more than three decades coaching at the college level, most notably as the head man at Florida (2005-2010) and Ohio State (2012-2018). The three-time national champion served in an administrative role for the Buckeyes after retiring from the Ohio State job.
If Meyer were somehow to reverse course, he wouldn't be the first big-name college coach to jump to the NFL before jumping back. Nick Saban famously landed the Dolphins' head coaching job in 2006, only to depart after just two seasons for Alabama's top job, despite assuring the public he would not be the Crimson Tide coach. In 2007, Bobby Petrino netted a five-year deal to coach the Falcons after a successful run at Louisville, only to resign and take a job as Arkansas's head coach after just 13 games in Atlanta.
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