Urban Meyer Names College Football Powerhouse That Has ‘Lost a Little Respect’ in His Eyes

Few college football programs have endured as much scrutiny over the past three seasons as Michigan

The Wolverines’ national championship run in 2023 was overshadowed by the fact that they had been stealing opponents’ signs in the years leading up to the run. Two years later, Michigan terminated head coach Sherrone Moore over an inappropriate relationship with a female staffer, reigniting the nationwide hatred toward the Wolverines.

Unsurprisingly, some of the loudest criticisms of Michigan over the last three years have come from its archrivals at Ohio State.

Former Buckeyes’ head coach and current FOX college football analyst Urban Meyer voiced his disappointment in the Wolverines on “The Script” podcast with former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones and running back Beanie Wells.

“The respect I have for that school academically, the school as a football program, I’ll tell you it’s taken a little bit of a hit, though. What’s gone on the last four or five years, I lost a little respect,” Meyer said about Michigan. “I know this is going to make some headlines; the nonsense that has gone on up there, that’s not the Wolverine team or program that I know.”

Despite his disappointment in Michigan, Meyer thinks its future is in good hands after their hiring of former assistant and Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham.

“They hired the right guy to get them back. He’s 66 years old, but he’s in a 50-year-old body and mind. After we talked for about 20 minutes, my comment was ‘that’s a perfect fit, of all the people in the United States of America, they should call, it’s you.'” Meyer said.

“I know what he stands for, I know it’s about doing it right, it’s about toughness, it’s about line of scrimmage, it’s about academics. He’s about the right stuff, and they got a great one.”

Overlap at Utah

Meyer’s second stop as a college head coach was at Utah in 2003. The Utes named him their head coach following his 17-6 run over the previous two seasons at Bowling Green.

Whittingham had been at Utah for almost a decade by the time Meyer arrived in Salt Lake City. The Utes hired Whittingham as their defensive line coach in 1994 following his two-year run as the defensive coordinator at Idaho State. The Utes promoted Whittingham to defensive coordinator in 1995, and he maintained that role until Meyer’s departure.

Meyer’s tenure at Utah was just as brief as it was at Bowling Green; the Utes posted a 22-2 overall record in the 2003 and 2004 seasons, finishing 12-0 in the latter of the two. When Florida hired Meyer to replace Ron Zook in the 2005 offseason, Utah promoted Whittingham to head coach.

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