Neither Jim Harbaugh or Urban Meyer are strangers to controversy. Harbaugh has never been one to shy away from making statements, while Meyer has been a lightning rod for critics over the last 15 years. It comes as little surprise then that just before the start of Big Ten Media Days, Harbaugh had some verbal grenades to lob at Urban Meyer.
Harbaugh: "Urban Meyer's had a winning record. Really phenomenal record everywhere he's been. But also, controversy follows everywhere he's been." https://t.co/zFKSngtRMo
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) July 18, 2019
Jim Harbaugh isn’t breaking any new ground with these comments. Urban Meyer has been criticized extensively for the way he has run both Florida and Ohio State. Although Meyer is one of the best coaches in modern college football history with a record of 187-32 at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida, and Ohio State, there was plenty of off the field impropriety that overshadowed his success on the field.
During his six years as the head coach at Florida, Meyer won two national championships, but he saw 31 of his players arrested. Although many of those charges were later dropped, whispers continued to abound about the state of the program, and Meyer eventually resigned citing health reasons after the 2010 season.
Meyer didn’t stay retired for long. Less than a year after stepping down at Florida, he agreed to become Ohio State’s head coach starting in 2012. He posted a record of 83-9 in seven seasons with the Buckeyes but announced his intention to resign at the end of the 2018 season in December. Meyer once again cited health reasons, but the Zach Smith domestic abuse scandal did not shine a favorable light on the head coach, and Ohio State was rumored to be looking to part ways with Meyer.
Harbaugh will be the last coach interviewed at Big Ten Media Days on Friday, and you can be sure he will be asked about his comments there. This story won’t go away anytime soon, as Harbaugh has yet to beat the Buckeyes since taking over at Michigan.
H/T College Football Talk
