Urban Meyer’s quiet retirement at home apparently isn’t going to last very long.
The former Ohio State head coach is close to a deal with FOX to be their ‘star college football analyst’ according to a report from Sporting News.
That report says Meyer is being given the option to either serve as a color commentator on broadcasts or as a studio analyst.
Fox Sports has not yet confirmed the report.
FOX has contracts to cover games in the Big Ten, Big 12, and Pac-12. In 2018, the network and its subsidiaries FS1 and Big Ten Network aired eight of the Buckeyes’ 13 games, including the regular season finale against Michigan and the Big Ten Championship Game win over Northwestern.
Meyer officially stepped down as head coach of the Buckeyes just over two weeks ago following the Rose Bowl win over Washington.
He has worked in television before, serving as a color analyst for ESPN during the 2011 season. He called a number of games that season, but was pulled off the crew for the OSU-Michigan regular season finale after rumors that he would be the Buckeyes’ next coach.
He officially accepted that job just three days later.
Now, on the other end of his time running the OSU football program, there are questions about how his role with the Buckeyes would fit with his TV gig.
It’s not clear yet how this would impact Meyer’s stated plans to be an Assistant Athletic Director and teach a class in the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State.
A TV network analyst’s schedule is obviously far less rigorous than a head coach’s. Many studio crews fly in only for a day or two to work on the weekend, and then work remotely from home the rest of the week.
Even game crews are only on location for two to three days per week, so it would be possible time-wise for Meyer to do it all.
But if Meyer was still employed by Ohio State and also working for FOX, it would undoubtedly raise questions about his ability to provide impartial analysis.