Urban Meyer [2023 Update]: Early Life, Career & Net Worth

Urban Frank Meyer III is not an unfamiliar name to a football fan or anyone in general associated with football. Also commonly called Urban Meyer, he is a retired American college basketball player and coach.

Meyer is also an NCAA championship winner, along with Tim Tebow and Cardale Jones. He is currently working as Assistant Athletic Director at Ohio State University.

Besides that, he also serves as an analyst for Fox Sports on a pre-game show called Big Noon Kickoff every week.

Meyer, a football player, turned coach, and analyst, is someone you cannot resist talking about. So we shall dig all about his bittersweet journey right here in this article.

But, before that, let’s have a glance at quick facts about Urban Meyer.

Urban Meyer – Quick Facts

Urban Meyer | Early Life

Meyer was born on July 10, 1964, to his parents Bud Meyer and Gisela Meyer, in Toledo, Ohio. But, he was raised in Ashtabula, Ohio. He accomplished his high school education at Ashtabula’s Saint John High School in 1982.

Meyer was selected for the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft by the Atlanta Braves as a shortstop. Moreover, he spent two seasons playing minor league baseball in the Braves organization.

Later, he attended the University of Cincinnati, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology in 1986. 

During his time at the University of Cincinnati, he used to play there as a defensive player and was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity.

Besides, he has also received a master’s degree in sports administration from Ohio State University (1988).

Urban Meyer | Early Days of Coaching

After his start as a defensive back and placeholder for the University of Cincinnati, Meyer interned as a defensive back coach at Saint Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1985 for a season.

The internship was under the instructor Steve Rasso, who was the head coach of St. Xavier. College.

Urban’s first-ever official academic coaching position was as a graduate assistant coach for the tight ends at Ohio State under head coach Earle Bruce.

Similarly, he spent the next consecutive 13 years as an assistant, two years at  Illinois State, six years at Colorado State, and five years at Notre Dame.

He coached many talents under his guidance. Among them, one was WR Greg Primus from Colorado State with 3,096 yards and 17 touchdowns in 3 years.

During his time with Notre Dame, he guided WR Bobby Brown, who would excel with 1,521 yards and receive 12 TD.

He also coached WR David Givens, who the New England Patriots would later draft. It was in 2000.

Urban Meyer | Coaching Career

Collegiate Head Coach Career

Bowling Green And Utah Utes

In 2001, Meyer got his first break as a  Head Coach at Bowling Green. Bowling Green won eight games in the first season and nine games in the next season under his tenure.

After that, he took his career to another level by joining Utah in 2003. Meyer’s team secured the Top-25 position that year. He led the Utah Utes to win the Bowl Championship Series, where they defeated Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl.

Florida Gators

After his success stories went viral, he was offered the head coach position by both the University of Florida and the University of Notre Dame.

But, he ended up choosing Floride. His first team scored 9-3 and completed No. 16 in the final poll, but Meyer’s major win came when Florida won the battle for Tim Tebow.

In 2006, Meyer won the first national championship where his team Gators lost to Auburn and defeated Ohio State in the BCS national championship game.

2008 was an impactful year for Meyer and his team in BCS’s era. The Gators won 24-14, obtaining their second national championship under Meyer. Subsequently, the Gator’s won against Cincinnati Bearcats in the 2010 Sugar Bowl.

On December 26, having suffered from frequent chest pains, headaches caused by Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and arachnoid cyst, he announced his temporary retirement.

Ohio State Buckeyes and ESPN Analyst

Meyer took the job of analyst/commentator for ESPN in 2011. Later on, he signed a six-year contract with Ohio State worth $4 million annually, plus another $2.4 million total in “retention payments.”

The Buckeyes capped a perfect 12-0 win against Michigan but cannot be capable of the conference title game under Urban’s tenure.

In 2014, Meyer got his third national title with his first year in the college football playoff. He stood as the third coach to win the championship at two different universities in FBS history.

2018 season, Scandals, and Suspension

Several conspiracies and scandals were waiting for the head coach in 2018. First, he was accused of not speaking up about the sexual abuse and domestic violence allegations against assistant coach Zach Smith. 

Smith was accused of such wrongdoings by his ex-wife Courtney Smith. Furthermore, she claimed that many people close to the assistant coach knew about a 2015 domestic violence allegation against her husband. Nevertheless, nobody cared about it at all.

Many sources claim that Urban knew about the situation even though he denied those claims. They also added that since the coach’s only focus was to win, he let the matter slide under the rug. 

Later, he released a Twitter statement saying, “My intention was not to say anything inaccurate or misleading.

However, I was not adequately prepared to discuss these sensitive personnel issues with the media, and I apologize for the way I handled those questions.”

Besides that, 31 of his players were arrested when he was the head coach in Florida. Some of them were accused of misdemeanor battery, felony domestic assault, felony theft, domestic battery, and so on. 

Nonetheless, the players barely received any consequences for their actions. Not to mention, Meyers recruited and coached convicted murderer Aaron Hernandez.

On August 22, he got suspended for the opening three games of the season for the Buckeyes. He missed the games against Oregon State, Rutgers, and TCU.

To sum up. He completed the year with a 12–1 record, including winning the Big Ten conference receiving a spot in the 2019 Rose Bowl.

And on December 4, 2018, Meyer declared his retirement from coaching following the team’s Rose Bowl game.

NFL Career

Following an amazing career as the head coach of incredible collegiate teams, Meyers was offered a chance to coach the NFL team Jacksonville Jaguars. He joined the Jaguars on January 14, 2021. 

Urban Meyer | Coaching Record 

Urban Meyer | Wife, Kids, and Personal Life

Excelling in his career, Urban Meyer has been a coach for many years now. During his time with Cincinnati as a student, he met the love of his life, Shelley Mather.

Then she was a freshman nursing student at Sigma Chi’s Derby Days philanthropy event.

The pair tied the knot on July 8, 1989. Similarly, they are blessed with three kids. They have two daughters named Nicole Meyer and Gisela Meyer and a son named Nathan Meyer.

His daughter, Nickie, has also played Division I volleyball for Georgia Tech while Gigi played for Florida Gulf Coast. And currently, they live in Dublin, Ohio.

As of now, there is no such rumor heard about their separation. And, hopefully, in the coming future too, they will live happily together.

Urban Meyer As a Philanthropist

Urban Meyer has also proved himself to be a kind soul, along with being a great coach.

He has helped raise a fund of $50 million to support the Florida Opportunity Scholars Program in collaboration with Bily Donovan, the University of Florida’s head basketball coach. This was on October 8, 2008.

This program is designed to help freshers meet their financial needs and engage themselves for betterment.

President Bernie Machen founded the Florida Opportunity Scholars Program in 2006 to attract better opportunities for first-year students in academics.

In the same way, Meyer and  Utah football head coach Kyle Whittingham was the first to donate money to the Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin Family Scholarship. As a result, an endowed scholarship will benefit the Utah football program.

From a recent survey, Urban Meyer has also donated $30,000 for the Tim Tebow Foundation to fight against human trafficking. The details can be unveiled on his Instagram profile with the link on his bio.

Urban Meyer | Health Issues

Mental Health Warrior

Meyer, currently employed in the Ohio States, has always been outspoken about mental health issues.

He opened up about his tough time battling depression and anxiety. He was obsessed with the work that caused him to sleep deprivation and a 40-pound weight loss.

Meyer ended up taking sleeping pills to escape from that. According to Meyer’s wife, Shelley, a psychiatric nurse, Meyer had a tough personality. He had thought that one should be handling their problems on their own.

Meyer believed that having a compulsive, obsessive, high-end, achieving behavior is one characteristic every fine coach should have. However, he did not take that as an illness but a blessing.

Shelley says-“It was just a big mountain of pressure, stress, lack of control and not accepting what he couldn’t control. He was not accepting that he couldn’t control everything.

“He’s a perfectionist. He wants to win every game. He wants to win every championship. And that’s not even clear thinking. You can’t. You just can’t.”

But, as they say, “Time heal all wounds.” So we need to have patience and faith in god. More than that, we trust ourselves. It’s just we are well aware of embracing happiness in our lives.

But, when it comes to problems, we are not that willing to accept them. And guess Meyer had that feature. Of course, by the time everything fell into place.

You can read the whole story on Meyer’s battle with depression and anxiety here.

Dealing with Cyst

Meyer openly spoke about his health issue when the symptoms started showing up in public.

This happened first when Meyer went down to the knees during the second half of the game against the Indiana Pacers. He has been dealing with cysts day in day out throughout his career.

It seems commendable how he has belittled his pain, including his last brain surgery in 2014. But, according to his doctor, Andrew Thomas, this involves intense headaches, and it can get dangerous further.

His condition requires a second surgery, but Meyer has been sidelining the issue by taking medications.

Meyer’s health matter is as complicated as the arachnoid cyst is. But his response to his health issue is carefree.

He wants to stay stuck with his coaching practices. He is stubborn and rigid in the amount of effort he has given to the Ohio States.

His dedication to his work and commitment to getting the team back to another Big Ten Championship is all that matters.

Urban Meyer | Net Worth And Salary

Despite his mental and health issues, Meyer has always leveled up when it comes to net worth. Urban Meyer is one fine coach who is content with everything.

Meyer’s job title as Assistant Athletic Director at Ohio State University and TV jobs at ESPN and FOX has added a pretty much good amount to his bank account.

According to online sources,

Urban Meyer is estimated to have a massive net worth of $30 million as of 2020.

Moreover, he is expecting almost $12 million in salary from the Jaguars. Besides, as reported by Yahoo Sports, Urban Meyer’s son Nate Meyer is also trying to follow in his father’s footsteps.

Nate has switched his sports from baseball player to preparing himself to become a football coach. He has also switched his major subject from business to psychology, just like his father at UC.

Talking about his assets, he owns a lavish house in Muirfield, Ohio- an 11,700-square-foot home worth $1.45 million. Before that, he had a $1.7 million mansion in Gainesville.

His expensive mansion in Murifiled has seven bedrooms, four full baths and four half baths, an in-ground pool, four fireplaces, both front and back yard, and a billiard room.

Besides that, he owns a restaurant in Dublin, Ohio, called Urban Meyers Pint House. 

Urban Meyer | Social Media Presence

Urban Meyer is equitably available on Instagram and Twitter. He has a nice amount of followers on his Twitter handles, but the same doesn’t go with his Instagram handles.

Meyer has a very supportive and loyal fanbase, and he likes to keep his fans intact with both on-the-game and off-the-game posts.

#UrbanMeyerPodcast: Why and How I Wound Up Going to @OhioStateFB. @CFBONFOX analyst celebrates #GoBuckeye and Big 10 return to CFB on#bignoonkickoff #Buckeyes #BuckeyeNation pic.twitter.com/FNi1UempqF

— Urban Meyer (@CoachUrbanMeyer) October 23, 2020

Twitter- @CoachUrbanMeyer and has 1.9 million followers.

Instagram- @urbanmeyercoach and has 79.2 thousand followers

Also, you may be interested in reading about football coaches Lee Corso and John Madden.

Common Queries:

How old is Urban Meyers?

Since the coach was born on July 10, 1964, he is 57 years old as of 2021.

Where did Urban Meyer go to college?

The former Buckeyes’ head coach attended the University of Cincinnati. He was an exceptional player for the Cincinnati Bearcats. Likewise, he received several awards and honors for his football skills. 

Why did Urban Meyer retire?

The former athlete planned to retire from Ohio State University because of his concerns regarding his health. However, there were other reasons too. 

How many National titles does Urban Meyer have?

Meyer has three National titles. He won two of those as the head coach of Florida Gators and one as Ohio State Buckeyes head coach. 

What did Urban Meyer say about Trevor Lawrence?

While talking to the public, Meyers referenced Lawrence in his conversation. He said,

“I’ve always been so defensive of them. I remember when Trevor [Lawrence] told me he was going to go to Vegas for his bachelor party. I was like, ‘Oh gosh man, be careful and surround yourself’ because I’ve seen this happen.”

Where is Urban Meyer now?

Urban Meyer is the head coach of NFL team Jacksonville Jaguar now. He accepted the job offer at the beginning of 2021. 

Does Urban Meyer own the Urban Chophouse?

Yes, the Urban Chophouse belongs to the Jaguars’ head coach.

Has Urban Meyer coached the Dallas Cowboys?

No, the head coach has not coached the Cowboys yet and is nowhere close to moving to Texas. Currently, he is the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

However, many experts considered him a top head coach prospect for the team before coaching the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

Besides that, his past teams coached are St. Xavier HS, Ohio State, Illinois State, Illinois State, Colorado State, Notre Dame, Bowling Green, Utah, Florida, Ohio State.

Why was Urban Meyer suspended?

The former Gators coach was suspended for poorly handling domestic violence allegations against his assistant coach Zach Smith. In 2018, news broke that he knew about the accusations against Smith.

Even then, Meyers took no action against him. An independent investigation was conducted after that. As a result, the Ohio State Board of Trustees suspended Urban.

Furthermore, he was suspended for the opening three games as they concluded that his  actions did not “uphold the values of the university.”

ncG1vNJzZmionJbGpr7Sm6CoZpOkunDB0ZuYp2Wdmsamvo4%3D