Lately, with college football coaching on a full-ride carousel, some pretty wild rumors have been flying around. One such rumor suggests former super coach Urban Meyer might be coming out of retirement to coach at Penn State. It’s a match made in heaven if you actually think about it. But the three-time national champion shut all of it down instantly.

On November 7, The Fox’s Big Noon host appeared on The Herd with Colin Cowherd to discuss Week 11 football. Cowheard, seizing the opportunity, asked, “There’s a big story out there. It was all over the newspaper industry, the interweb, that you met with Penn State. Can you offer some clarity on that? Did you meet with Penn State?”

Urban Meyer chuckled before setting the story straight: “I certainly did not meet with Penn State about the job. And yeah, my phone started blowing up last week. I got a lot of respect for Penn State, but I have no interest in coaching again and so, no, of course not.”
The host doubled down and attached $15 million to his question:

“I know your agent guy, Larry. What if somebody called him and said, ‘Here’s 15 million a year for Urban Meyer.’ What would you say?” The former head coach kept it straightforward and replied, “Nah, it’s Big Noon, baby.”

Penn State could have used someone like Meyer. His collegiate career stretched from Bowling Green in 2001 to Ohio State in 2018, during which he won three national titles, two with Florida (2006, 2008) and one with the Buckeyes (2014). In 17 college seasons, he posted an overall record of 187–32, never finishing with fewer than eight wins. At Ohio State alone, he went 83–9, securing a Big Ten title and developing future NFL stars like Ezekiel Elliott, Joey Bosa, and Michael Thomas. After the 2018 season, Meyer cited recurring health issues and stepped down from coaching, passing the program to current head coach Ryan Day.

Since 2019, he has been part of Fox Sports’ Big Noon Kickoff, serving as one of the network’s lead college football analysts. He briefly stepped away from the role in 2021 to coach the Jacksonville Jaguars during Trevor Lawrence’s rookie season, but that tenure ended after 13 games. He returned to broadcasting in 2022 and has remained with Fox ever since, becoming a weekly fixture on the show alongside analysts like Matt Leinart and Brady Quinn.

The speculation linking Meyer to Penn State was fueled by the wider coaching shake-up across the country. With James Franklin’s reported exit creating one of the biggest vacancies in college football, multiple insiders floated Meyer’s name alongside others such as Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz and Louisville’s Jeff Brohm. Gelb’s initial report suggested that Meyer had “great interest” in the position, but that potential talks fell apart over NIL issues.

It’s something he hasn’t had to deal with during his coaching career. Colin Cowherd had no play left but to praise Meyer’s loyalty. Even after all this, Zach Gelb is still hell-bent on Urban Meyer and Penn State.

Urban Meyer and Gelb’s Penn State job accusation

Urban Meyer laughed off the specific claims from the radio host: “First of all, that never happened. How do we get the two sources on our show here? Just cracks me up.” Meyer said on his Triple Option Podcast. Even poking fun at the report that he had spoken with a Pennsylvania senator about the job, clarifying that his interaction was only about politics.

Despite Meyer’s direct and repeated denials, radio host Gelb has stood by his reporting. He has challenged Meyer’s version of events and even dared the three-time national champion to take a lie detector test to prove he wasn’t interested in the position. Gelb was adamant that his sources confirmed Meyer’s interest. He brought another angle to Meyer, stating that Penn State had turned him down due to concerns over his readiness for the modern NIL landscape.

Meyer has done everything short of taking Gelb’s lie detector test to confirm his lack of interest. He even put in a word with Penn State for his former apprentice, Ohio State OC Brian Hartline, for the HC job. But the public spat and continued search for a new coach at Penn State will probably keep the rumor mill churning for a while longer, while the successful-but-controversial former coach remains content with his life in broadcasting.