Paul Finebaum blames Urban Meyer's "extremely difficult" behavior as hurdle for landing LSU job

Former Florida Gators coach Urban Meyer is one of the greatest college football coaches in history, winning three national championships with two different teams. He last coached in college football in 2018 with the Ohio State Buckeyes and has since become an analyst with Fox Sports "Big Noon Breakfast."

On Thursday, controversial ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum, on the "First Take," blamed Meyer's difficult persona as a reason why he didn't see him returning to college football to coach the LSU Tigers.

"I have a very difficult time believing that Scott Woodward and the administration at LSU would want anything to do with Urban Meyer," Finebaum said.

"I know people say, 'Well, he's won three national championships.' But he's extremely difficult. He doesn't follow directions. He doesn't follow the rules, and everyone who has ever gambled on him ultimately gets burned."

It was not the first time Finebaum showed his contempt for Meyer who has had his fair share of scandals, eviscerating Meyer a few weeks ago on "The Opening Kickoff with Mark & Lee."

Finebaum took issue with Meyer who had emerged alongside retired Alabama coach Nick Saban as a candidate to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

“One coach has won seven national championships and has been exemplary in everything that he’s done and stood for,” said Finebaum. “He’s been someone who is a beacon for integrity.

“The other one (Meyer) is basically the worst of everything imaginable. He has lied. He has misled. He has quit several different times to spend time with his family. I realize Urban Meyer has won three national championships, but, beyond that, it’s embarrassing for him to even be mentioned in the same sentence as Nick Saban.”

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Urban Meyer revealed why he won't coach again

Last year, when the Michigan State Spartans fired coach Mel Tucker due to a sexual harassment investigation, Urban Meyer emerged as one of the candidates to take the vacant job.

After the speculation linking him to the Spartans job cooled down, Urban Meyer revealed to the "Knoxville News Sentinel" that he was not interested in returning to coaching anytime soon.

"I am good," Meyer said. "I never really took a day off. People, when I say that, they scratch their head. I am like I never took a day off. I had some health stuff go on. I became addicted to sleeping pills. I was just a maniac worker. ... So no. No desire."

Although he won three national championships, fans and analysts still regularly point to his last coaching job in 2021 with the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he went 2-11 and was fired before the season ended.