Urban Meyer's name pops up on Michigan State's Rock
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EAST LANSING — At least one Spartan fan is making a case for MSU's next head football coach to be Urban Meyer.
Meyer's name appeared this week, painted on the Rock, one of the oldest Michigan State University icons. The Rock is regularly painted, and repainted, by students or others.
Meyer, a former national championship-winning coach at both Ohio State and Florida who is now a broadcaster for Fox Sports, is one of several high-profile people fans and critics have suggested as a possible replacement for fired MSU coach Mel Tucker, who is embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal.
The past four weeks have included the public revelation of a university investigation into Tucker, his suspension and then termination and the first steps in what is expected to be litigation revolving around roughly $80 million left on Tucker's contract.
Meyer, 59, would be an unlikely choice to be MSU's next coach. While he's one of college football's winningest all-time coaches, he's been out of college coaching since stepping down at Ohio State's in 2018. He had a brief NFL stint as coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021, but he was fired after 13 games. He's also been involved in off-field controversies at all three of his previous stops.
Meyer's Fox Sports colleague Bruce Feldman said in a post earlier this week on X (formerly known as Twitter) that Meyer was not interested.
About the “reports” linking Urban Meyer to the Michigan State HC job… I just checked with him. There is zero truth to it with him being a candidate for it. He has no interest in that, and is happy with what he’s doing now at Fox Sports.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) October 4, 2023
"There is zero truth to it with him being a candidate for it. He has no interest in that, and is happy with what he’s doing now at Fox Sports," Feldman's post says.
The Spartans' regular season ends on Nov. 24. The university has not outlined a timeline for hiring the coach but the chair of MSU's Board of Trustees has said she expects a hire for the presidential position to happen before Thanksgiving and before the coach's hiring.
The State Journal sent a request for comment to Urban Meyer through his Fox Sports employers.
Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or 517-267-0415
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Urban Meyer's name pops up on Michigan State's Rock
