"In the end, you go back to a why": When Urban Meyer revealed his definition of purpose in life

In 2011, during his gap year between the Florida and Ohio State jobs, Urban Meyer had a conversation with author Todd Gongwer about leadership and life's purpose. Their discussion touched on the idea that to be an effective leader, one must have a clear purpose in life. When Gongwer asked Meyer about his own purpose, Meyer responded:

"When a person makes a decision, when you're 21 years old and make a career decision. What do you want to do? and I was engaged at the time. I said I want to be a coach. Why did I want to be a coach? Coaches weren't making money at all, so take that completely out of the equation... That was not the purpose, the purpose was my love of the game of football and what football ultimately teaches... At the end of the day, you go back to the why. Why are you in it?"

Urban Meyer backs up Ryan Day following national title win

Urban Meyer is in high spirits as the Ohio State Buckeyes have just clinched their ninth national title. This victory vindicates his support of Ryan Day, who faced heavy criticism from Ohio State fans after losing the 2024 rivalry game against Michigan.

There has been much discussion about the pressure within the Columbus environment, a topic Meyer has disagreed with, arguing that it is not a negative factor. Speaking on the "Triple Option" podcast recently, Meyer said:

"I coached a long time and a lot has been made of it and Coach Day and the pressures of coaching at a place like Ohio State, I made the comment that that's not gonna change. The thing that has got to change and has changed is the idiots on social media that don't sign their name to stuff."

Meyer coached the Ohio State Buckeyes from 2012 to 2018. In 2014, they won the inaugural College Football Playoffs, defeating the Oregon Ducks, led by Chip Kelly and Marcus Mariota, in the national championship game. Running back Ezekiel Elliott was Ohio State's undisputed star that year. During that CFP edition, the team started third-string quarterback Cardele Jones after losing starter Braxton Miller early in the year and backup J.T. Barrett in the regular season finale.