While he wasn’t an official guest on the program, there might not have been a bigger star of Monday night’s ManningCast than Urban Meyer.
The first mention of the former Florida and Ohio State head coach came as the Manning brothers interviewed the Wilson brothers, Owen and Luke. Resurfacing a clip from a charity football game Owen participated in, the two sets of brothers shared a laugh over Meyer clearly not knowing who the Wedding Crashers co-star was.
“Who are you?” Meyer asks Wilson in the clip.
“Owen,” the actor replied.
“How do I know you?” Meyer followed up.
“I’m on your team,” Wilson responded.
Urban Meyer to Owen Wilson during a celebrity flag football game: “Who are you?… How do I know you?”
Owen: “Owen… I’m on your team.” 🏈🎬🎙️ #ManningCast pic.twitter.com/ylA3ZkP48d
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 26, 2024
The clip of Meyer not knowing who a world famous actor was would have been memorable in and of itself. But joining the ManningCast later in the show, Mike Vrabel upped the ante with an even more hilarious story about the Big Noon Kickoff analyst.
“I can relate with Owen Wilson. I was listening earlier,” the former New England Patriots linebacker said. “Urban Meyer asked him, ‘Do I know you?’ And I was coaching the Titans, he was coaching the Jaguars, and he actually said the same thing to me. I said, ‘Yeah, I’m the head coach for the Titans and I worked for you for two years.'”
“I can relate with Owen Wilson… Urban Meyer asked him, ‘Do I know you?’… I was coaching the Titans, he was coaching the Jaguars, and he actually said the same thing to me. I said, ‘Yeah, I’m the head coach for the Titans and I worked for you for two years.'” – Mike Vrabel https://t.co/g3gZy4fsfX pic.twitter.com/3Vx4Hgj1qG
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 26, 2024
At the risk of calling Mike Vrabel a liar, something here isn’t adding up. While it’s perfectly plausible — perhaps even expected — that Meyer wouldn’t be familiar with an actor like Wilson, it’s hard to fathom him not knowing who Vrabel was three years ago.
Not only was Vrabel one of the NFL’s most prominent head coaches and a division rival at the time, but as he mentioned, he served as Meyer’s defensive line coach at Ohio State from 2012-13. And while it’s certainly possible that the three-time national champion head coach doesn’t remember every assistant who’s worked under him, it’s hard to imagine that Vrabel — who was one of his top recruiters in Columbus and a living Buckeyes legend — would fall into that category.
So what actually happened here?
Perhaps the likeliest explanation is that Meyer was being sarcastic and Vrabel was either unaware or played the interaction up for a laugh on the ManningCast. It’s also worth noting that the two former Ohio State colleagues exchanged a terse postgame handshake during Meyer’s lone season as the head coach of the Jaguars, so maybe there’s some bad blood between the two.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility, however, that Meyer’s lone NFL season was such a blur that he really did need to be reintroduced to Vrabel. After all, this is the same coach who reportedly asked his staff, “Who’s this 99 guy on the Rams?” in reference to Aaron Donald.
Meyer later responded to that very report, referring to it as “silly.” But if that’s “silly,” then what would him not knowing who Vrabel was qualify as?
Regardless of what the real story here is, based on Peyton and Eli’s reactions, it’s clear Meyer hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt.
[ManningCast]
