Don’t even think about it for a second. There’s zero chance Urban Meyer will be the next head coach of the Cleveland Browns.
Urban Meyer is not going to be the next head coach of the Cleveland Browns. That’s a sentence I didn’t plan on typing today, but here we are, and this had to be said. The Browns fired Hue Jackson on Monday morning which led to a plethora of Browns fans speculating on social media that they could find his replacement and not even have to leave the state.
Sorry, Browns fans, but Meyer is not leaving Ohio State, one of the two or three best jobs in the nation, for the Browns, easily the worst job in the NFL.
Why are Browns fans speculating Meyer could be the guy?
That largely stems from a report that suggested there was tension between Meyer and OSU athletic director Gene Smith. Coupled with Meyer’s three-game suspension to begin the year for his mishandling of Zach Smith’s domestic violence issues and a blowout loss to Purdue, there were some pointing to an exit for Meyer.
Before the rumor train could gain much steam, Meyer stopped them in its tracks on Monday afternoon, saying he will be coaching in 2019 and he’s not planning on stepping down or retiring.
I would have put a 10 percent chance that Meyer left Ohio State on his own accord at the end of the year. I would have put a less than zero chance that Meyer would leave Ohio State for Cleveland. If Meyer was going to go to the NFL, he would have done so by now. It’s too late for him to try now, and he certainly wouldn’t make a decision like this based on geography.
That said, the next coach of the Browns might come from the college ranks. Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley should be their top candidate so he can reunite with Baker Mayfield. Ohio native and Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell could be another college coach the Browns consider to replace Hue Jackson. There will be a number of NFL coaches who will get a shot at this job too. While it’s a mystery who ultimately gets that job, one thing that is clear is it won’t be Urban Meyer.