Urban Meyer laments the state of Ohio State’s football program: ‘If you’re not the best, find a way to become the best’

With Ryan Day potentially on the hot seat at Ohio State, the speculation about who might replace him has already begun.

It was only a matter of time before Urban Meyer’s name came up.

The Fox college football analyst, who spends his Saturdays on Big Noon Kickoff, was Day’s predecessor at Ohio State. While he hasn’t shown any interest in returning to college football anytime soon, rumors have swirled about him returning, including those from Jay Crawford, who floated the notion that Meyer could return to Columbus.

Meyer responded to those whispers — not directly addressing the possibility of replacing Day, but rather the mounting pressure on Day to deliver after a fourth straight loss to Michigan.

“It’s uncomfortable to hear the fired word, and it’s uncomfortable to hear about pressure, but it’s also reality that you’re compensated very, very well,” he said on his The Triple Option podcast, alongside Mark Ingram II and Rob Stone. “You get all the resources; I talked to someone, I said, ‘Man, it’s a rugged job, but it’s also arguably the best job.'”

“It’s uncomfortable to hear the fired word and it’s uncomfortable to hear about pressure, but it’s also reality…”

Urban Meyer on his podcast @3xOptionShow today reacting to the Ryan Day rumors pic.twitter.com/VHosaZXSTx

— Anthony Lima (@SportsBoyTony) December 4, 2024

“I said this at Florida, but also at Ohio State: you’re expected to be the very best at what you do in the country,” Meyer continued. “If you’re a coach — a running back coach — you better be the very best. If not, you’re going to have to answer to me and say why. Because whatever resource you need, I’m gonna give you; you need to be the best. As a player, if you’re playing tailback, Mark Ingram, you’re expected to be the No. 1 tailback in the United States. If that doesn’t fit your job description, you can go. I’ll help you right now. I’ll sign your lease papers – and you can go.

“Because there’s a lot of places out here, Mark, it’s really not that important. You know, you don’t have to be the best. There’s 120 schools. You don’t have to be the best tailback. You be good; you’ll be fine. You go eat your dinner, you go home for vacation and all that. At the Ohio States of the world — you don’t. And that’s why you gotta clean your mind and say, ‘This is my job.’ That means – and people say this is drastic — every waking moment you have, if you’re not the best, find a way to become the best.

“And that’s your job description, I get it. If you don’t like that, go pay your taxes, be a good person, but leave here.”

Meyer also offered a bit of optimism, saying that Ohio State, under Day, could “absolutely” still win a National Championship, per Anthony Lima. But this feels like the most damning take on the state of the program yet — a level of honesty about Ohio State’s struggles that people didn’t necessarily expect to hear from Meyer.

But that unflinching honesty lays bare the reality of coaching at Ohio State.

The program’s relentless pursuit of perfection leaves little room for error. And Day has lost to Michigan about one too many times.

[Anthony Lima]