LeBron James in Last: Sports Figures Who Beat the King back to Ohio
By Adam Cellini
Jul 28, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer addresses the media during the Big Ten football media day at Hilton Chicago. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Urban Meyer
The man chosen to fill in the big shoes left by Jim Tressel following the infamous “Tattoo Gate” scandal in Columbus has returned to his home state to, much to the dismay of Brady Hoke, continue building an already impressive reputation for winning. Two seasons and only two losses later, it appears the Buckeyes are in good hands.
Meyer was born in Toledo and grew up an hour northeast of Cleveland in Ashtabula, OH. A two sport star in baseball and football at Saint John High School, Meyer actually pursued baseball first following his selection in the 13th round of the 1982 Major League Draft. After two seasons in the minors for the Atlanta Braves, Urb returned to football walking as a defensive back for the University of Cincinnatti.
Upon receiving his Bachelor’s from Cincy, Meyer jumped into a master’s degree program at Ohio State in exchange for his two-year services as a graduate assistant coach during the Earle Bruce era. Meyer would develop a deep relationship with Coach Bruce that continues to this day, comparing the player-favorite coach to his own father.
After a long, diverse run of assistant coaching positions at a number of schools, Urban landed his first coaching job at Bowling Green, flipping the program instantly from a two win season to an 8-3 record in his first year. He followed that opening act with a 9-3 record the following season before leaving Ohio on a victory-soaked warpath through college football, winning games, national championships, and numerous coaching awards at both Utah and the University of Florida.
Today, Meyer’s journey has come full circle as he is once again back with the university that took him in as a graduate student many years ago. This time, however, Urban is at the helm and creating his own legacy that is on pace to one day stack up with his mentor Bruce, his predecessor Tressel, and maybe one day, Wayne Woodrow Hayes himself (everyone stay calm, it’s hypothetical).