Urban Meyer

Meyer met Shelley Jean Mather while studying at the University of Cincinnati, and they married in 1986. They have three children: Nicole, Gisela and Nathan.

His daughters played Division I volleyball. Nicole played for Georgia Tech, while Gisela played for Florida Gulf Coast. Meyer is also a practicing Catholic.

Meyer played football as a defensive back at the University of Cincinnati and earned a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1986. He earned a master's degree in sports administration from Ohio State University in 1988 while working as a graduate assistant for the Buckeyes. His early assistant coaching positions included Illinois State, Colorado State and Notre Dame, where he coached wide receivers and was also placed in charge of special teams in 1998.

Meyer became Bowling Green's head coach in 2001. The Falcons went 8-3 in his first season and 9-3 in his second, producing a 17-6 record during his two years. The 2001 team also became the first Mid-American Conference team to go 3-0 against opponents from conferences with automatic BCS qualification.

At Utah, Meyer went 22-2 in two seasons. The Utes finished 10-2 in 2003, won the Liberty Bowl and earned the program's first outright conference championship since 1957. In 2004, Utah completed a 12-0 season and defeated Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl, becoming the first team from a non-automatically qualifying BCS conference to play in a BCS bowl. Quarterback Alex Smith became a Heisman finalist and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft.

Meyer coached the Florida Gators from 2005 to 2010 and won BCS national championships in 2006 and 2008. His 2006 team defeated Ohio State 41-14 in the championship game, while the 2008 Gators defeated Oklahoma 24-14. He also coached Tim Tebow, who won the 2007 Heisman Trophy. Meyer left Florida after the 2010 season following health concerns and an 8-5 campaign.

Meyer returned to head coaching in 2012 with Ohio State. The Buckeyes went 12-0 in his first season, although NCAA sanctions made them ineligible for postseason play. Ohio State finished 12-2 in 2013 and then produced a 14-1 season in 2014.

The 2014 Buckeyes won the Big Ten Championship Game 59-0 over Wisconsin, defeated Alabama in the Sugar Bowl semifinal and beat Oregon in the national championship game. The title gave Meyer his third major college football national championship. He later led Ohio State to Big Ten championships in 2017 and 2018, and the Buckeyes went 83-9 during his seven seasons.

Ohio State placed Meyer on paid administrative leave in 2018 after questions arose about his handling of allegations involving assistant coach Zach Smith. The university suspended Meyer for the first three games of the season. He announced his retirement after the 2018 season and became an assistant athletic director at Ohio State before working as a Fox Sports analyst.

Meyer became the Jacksonville Jaguars' head coach in 2021, his first NFL head-coaching position. The Jaguars won two games during his tenure, including victories over the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills, but the season was marked by disputes involving players and coaches, violations of practice rules and other controversies.

The Jaguars fired Meyer after 13 games, when the team had a 2-11 record. He later returned to Fox Sports and continued as a host and analyst on Big Noon Kickoff. Meyer was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2025.