With Urban Meyer’s career entering a phase it hasn’t seen before with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the age old question is once again revived. Can a college coach translate his success to the next level?
Coaching Successfully
Following Pete Carroll making the playoffs two out of three years with the New England Patriots, he took the Head Coach position for the USC Trojans. In Carroll’s nine year stint at USC, he went 97-19 winning two BCS National Championships and four BCS bowl games. After his success at USC, he took his talents to Seattle. It took Pete Carroll four years to win the Lombardi Trophy with the Seahawks. One year later, he found himself on the losing end courtesy of a Malcolm Butler miracle interception. It’s safe to say that Pete Carroll has transitioned just fine.
Jim Harbaugh took over a Stanford program that went 1-11 in 2006. Only coaching four years for the Cardinal, Harbaugh improved their record each year and won a BCS bowl game in his last year before moving on to the San Fransisco 49ers. In the next three years, the 49ers made the NFC Championship game and made an appearance in Super Bowl XLVII. In the past couple of years, Jim Harbaugh has been Urban Meyer’s chew toy while coaching the Michigan Wolverines. However, he was able to coach well at Stanford and it translated perfectly to the NFL.
Failure to Succeed
Chip Kelly became a force to be reckoned with once he took his Oregon Ducks to three straight 12-win seasons. Also winning two BCS bowl games, it was thought he would do well once signing with the Philadelphia Eagles. Chip Kelly made the playoffs his first year, but it all went downhill from there. Kelly was fired after going 16-15 in the next two years. He was then hired and fired after going 2-14 in one season with the 49ers. Going back to the Pac-12 in 2018 to coach at UCLA, Kelly has a 10-24 record so far.
Known as possibly one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, Nick Saban failed quickly in the NFL. Saban had already built a reputation after winning a BCS National Championship with LSU, then he tried his luck with the Miami Dolphins. After having two seasons with a 15-17 record, he found himself back in the SEC, but this time with Alabama. Most football fans know what happened after this. Saban has won six National Championships since 2008, beating Paul “Bear” Bryant for the most all time with seven total. Again, Saban is argued as the greatest college coach of all time. He has created a greater legacy with his success as a college coach, so everybody can forget his small failure in Miami.
Urban Meyer won two National Championships at Florida before going to Ohio State. From 2012-2018 at Ohio State, Meyer had a record of 83-9, winning one National Championship. Now, he has a torn-apart defense, a hole at the Quarterback position, the #1 Overall Draft Pick and the most cap space in the NFL. His step to the NFL is definitely going to be an interesting one to watch.