Urban Meyer finished after 13 games

[JameisLoseston]

I think it's clear why Meyer wasn't built for the NFL: he's such a college coach, so committed to the infallibility of the college football system and its mechanism of filtering the best players through the draft, that he refuses to believe players who weren't relevant in college could make it as pros, no matter how many times he was shown the contrary. Just look at how he treated James Robinson from the moment he arrived; he was never anything but a temporary holdover, an object to be replaced. A UDFA from a small college is to him the NFL functional equivalent of an unrecruited walk-on. Part of that situation, however, may also owe to Urban's undying loyalty to Carlos Hyde. He's basically the Trump of football coaches.

[Bryan]

I heard an interesting discussion regarding college coaches making the jump to the NFL. The thought presented was that "big time" coaches like Urban Meyer tend to fail in the NFL, because they are used to recruiting top athletic talent and then using that talent to overwhelm the opponent. The college system is setup for them to win, and they are unable to adapt to the level playing field of the NFL. Pro teams should instead be interested in less-known college coaches such as Matt Campbell of Iowa State, because those coaches have had to do "more with less" and are used to maximizing their talent and don't have the luxury of merely blowing out the opposition.

I'm not sure if there is any historical evidence of this actually being reality. Jimmy Johnson and Pete Carroll were successful in the NFL as big program college coaches, and Don Coryell was successful despite being a D-II coach. Has anyone looked into this further?

[lastcat3]

I heard an interesting discussion regarding college coaches making the jump to the NFL. The thought presented was that "big time" coaches like Urban Meyer tend to fail in the NFL, because they are used to recruiting top athletic talent and then using that talent to overwhelm the opponent. The college system is setup for them to win, and they are unable to adapt to the level playing field of the NFL. Pro teams should instead be interested in less-known college coaches such as Matt Campbell of Iowa State, because those coaches have had to do "more with less" and are used to maximizing their talent and don't have the luxury of merely blowing out the opposition.

I'm not sure if there is any historical evidence of this actually being reality. Jimmy Johnson and Pete Carroll were successful in the NFL as big program college coaches, and Don Coryell was successful despite being a D-II coach. Has anyone looked into this further?

I just think it is a 50/50 deal regarding college coaches (regardless of rather they come from a top school or not). Some will work out while some won't. Nick Saban wasn't all that bad in the pro game and if he had gotten Drew Brees he very well may still be in the NFL and be viewed very similarly to how Pete Carroll is.

[rhickok1109]

I think Carroll is different in that he was an NFL coach before he was a college coach.

[74_75_78_79_]

Saban was only an NFL HC for just two years. Inheriting a 4-12 team in 2005, he posted a 9-7 mark in that first year and ended up splitting with his former boss, 2-2, in those very two seasons. Not bad. And I feel that 6-10 in 2006 would have simply been a sophomore-jinx thus he winning again in 2007 (most-likely playoffs) and maybe causing the Pats to finish 15-1 instead. I'd be bored if I were him at 'Bama. His college football legacy is already established. He and Bear are the consensus top-two of all-time. Try again in the big league before its all over! I think he'd do well!

Talk about coaches making more with less...I think Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald is one who really ought to try his hat at an NFL HC vacancy! He's currently a candidate for the Bears as we speak (make him an OFFER)! Of course nobody can know this for sure, but Pat could very well be an even better college coach than Saban!

Jimmy Johnson? Of course he turned out to be quite an NFL success. I don’t remember what the exact consensus take on him was at the time, but I can imagine before coaching his first game in Big D, there being some doubt about him. Despite going undefeated and winning the NC in '87 against Switzer's Sooners - and being a controversial loss at South Bend from going 12-0 again in '88 - JJ may have had some critics who held it against him for losing back-to-back major bowls to much-less-talented Tennessee and Penn State in '85 and '86 respectively. But then again, Jimmy wasn't the one who made those fumbles and threw all those INTs in both games.

[JuggernautJ]

....He and Bear are the consensus top-two of all-time....

Rockne?
Wilkinson? Camp? Stagg? Blaik?
Probably half a dozen others if you include those who have since been disgraced (Paterno, Hayes et al) and those from smaller or neglected schools (Eddie Robinson)...

Not trying to be disagreeable and I am not the college football aficionado many here are but I think that'd be an interesting discussion and probably not a shoo-in...

[Brian wolf]

Woody Hayes preached fundamental football better than any coach before, or since.
He won games without ever producing an NFL-viable Quarterback ... unfortunately, the school still hasnt escaped that distinction.