Don’t get your hopes up, Penn State fans.
Another year of college football in full swing means another year of high-profile coaching openings.
This year, schools like UCLA, Virginia Tech, and Penn State are all hanging “vacancy” signs in their football offices, with other big schools like Florida and potentially Auburn not far behind the curve.
With high profile job openings, though, come the hilarious potential names being floated to fill these vacancies.
It seems like certain names are destined to appear around this time every year just for the headline grabs alone, namely guys like Jon Gruden.
But for the love of all that is holy, can we please stop with the Urban Meyer and Nick Saban comeback tour rumors?
To paraphrase Mean Girls: “Stop trying to make Urban Meyer happen. It’s not going to happen.”
I think we can all agree that Urban Meyer was one of the best coaches in college football history.
What he did at Ohio State and Florida in such short periods of time was remarkable.
And hey, 61 years old is still plenty young enough for a college football coach.
Look at Curt Cignetti. He’s 64, and I truly believe he is the best pound-for-pound coach in college today.
But this is a different game than when Meyer stepped away back in 2018, and his coaching style just won’t work in a world where half of his players are making more money than their position coaches.
Meyer used psychological warfare and a healthy mix of fear and respect to get the most out of his players, and with the college game becoming more and more like the NFL by the day, I believe coaches like Meyer won’t have the same touch as they did a decade ago.
His last stop as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars is an image I just can’t shake, and I’m sure I’m not alone.
In a similar vein, Nick Saban is another name I don’t want to see on a coaching “hot board” ever again.
Saban is 73, and while he might have a little juice left in the tank, I think there’s a reason he stepped away from Alabama at the height of his powers.
The seven-time national champion saw the way college football was heading and wanted no part of it moving forward.
I could be wrong, but I don’t see Saban having a change of heart in the near future when it comes to making a comeback.
So, do me and everyone else a favor. The next time a coaching search flares up, leave these two off of it.
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