Getty Could Urban Meyer be the Dallas Cowboys' next head coach?
Urban Meyer wants the Dallas Cowboys‘ head coaching job.
The former collegiate head coach, best known for leading three different teams to national championships, wants to make one thing clear — he would “absolutely” accept the Cowboys’ head coaching job if offered to him.
While appearing on Colin Cowherd’s radio show on Friday, the 55-year-old explained why he would make his return to coaching by leading the Cowboys.
“That’s New York Yankees, that’s the Dallas Cowboys,” Meyer initially said regarding the question of whether Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley would or should want the job, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com. “That’s the one. Great city. They got Dak Prescott, Zeke Elliott. You got a loaded team. And I can’t speak for him obviously, I hate to even speculate because I don’t know him, that’s really not fair, but to me, that’s the one job in professional football that you say, ‘I got to go do that.’”
“Sure,” Meyer said. “Absolutely. Absolutely. That one? Yes.”
There are two things to dissect from all of this before Cowboys nation gets too excited over the possibility of Meyer leading Dallas.
Are the Cowboys Ready to Move on From Jason Garrett?
For one, their head coach is still Jason Garrett. There has been a lot of speculation this season — and in the past — over Garrett losing his job. However, there has been no clear-cut indication that Garrett is on his way out.
With that said, Garrett is the fifth-longest tenured head coach in the NFL, having served as the Cowboys’ head coach since the 2010 season. Considering he’s won just two playoff games during his time as the head coach, one would have to assume that if the Cowboys don’t even make the playoffs this season, that he would be out.
Making matters even more pressing for Garrett is the fact that he’s in the last year of his deal — and there have been no reports that team owner Jerry Jones is planning to give Garrett a new contract any time soon.
Is Urban Meyer Capable of Leading an NFL Team?
Secondly, Meyer walked away from head coaching due to an arachnoid cyst and stress. All of the stress that comes with the territory of coaching led to constant headaches and it abruptly led to the end of Meyer’s time as the Ohio State Buckeyes head coach at the end of the 2018 season.
As of this current moment, Meyer not only works as an analyst for Fox Sports — he works as Assistant Athletics Director at Ohio State.
Fast forward less than a year later and it looks like Meyer is already ready to hop back on the saddle — despite the fact that he has two cushy jobs and a whole lot less stress in his life.
We all know Meyer is one of the greatest college head coaches of all time. He solely built the Utah Utes football program from the ground up, made them a BCS Title contender and turned Alex Smith into the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft.
After his success at the small school, Meyer truly carved out his legacy at the University of Florida, leading them to two national titles. He topped things off with one more national title at Ohio State.
Having said all of that, he’s never actually coached in the NFL. We’re not just talking about as a head coach; Meyer has never coached at the NFL level in any sort of official position.
As desperate as Cowboys fans may be to get rid of Garrett, do they really have confidence that Meyer can transform the team from a mere playoff one into a Super Bowl title team?
Maybe the allure of a new head coach with a bloated resume may give Cowboys fans hope after all.