Urban Meyer always aimed for excellence. That got him three national championships during his stints with Florida and Ohio State. However, that didn’t come about without sacrifices. The former OSU head coach had to compromise in his duties as a father to achieve perfection on the football field.

“We would spend more time with each other than with our families,” Meyer said in the episode of the Breaking Sales Podcast on June 15. “I have three children at home, and I’m spending, during the season, 10 times more time with you [coaches and players] than with them. So, I expect a lot out of you, and you should expect a lot out of me. We’re in this thing for 8 hours a day, and I go home tonight, and especially my children are young.”

“I wouldn’t see them for a couple of weeks because I would leave before they got up, and I’d get home after they were in bed, and that broke your heart as a parent, but it’s also your job to win games, and we’re the ones who selected this profession.”

Meyer had an exceptional run with the Buckeyes, and in the 7 seasons he coached them, he had an 83-9 overall record (.902 winning percentage). The FOX analyst also led Ohio State to a national championship in 2014, despite two injured QBs, Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett. More than the championship title, Meyer is remembered for his perfect 7-0 record against the arch-rival Michigan Wolverines. But the cost was steep. While his record was exceptional, his family paid the price.

Meyer met his wife, Shelley Mather Meyer, in 1984 at a university fraternity party while both were attending the University of Cincinnati. They tied the knot in 1989. Shelly is a registered nurse who spent years teaching clinical and mental health nursing. Funnily, it came to light that before signing the contract with Ohio State, Shelly forced Meyer to sign a family contract, requiring him to prioritize family dinners, vacations, and health over work. But Meyer couldn’t keep that word with his 16-18-hour shifts in his job.

The couple has two daughters and one son, all of whom are grown up. Nicki Meyer Dennis played Div 1 volleyball at Georgia Tech and is now married to Corey Dennis, a former football player who later served as an offensive assistant under Urban at Ohio State.

The second daughter, Gisela “Gigi” Meyer Pruett, was also a Div. 1 volleyball player at Florida Gulf Coast University, like her older sister. The youngest son, Nathan “Nate” Meyer, initially attended the University of Cincinnati to play baseball, but in 2020, he switched careers and followed in his father’s footsteps, walking on to the Bearcats football team as a wide receiver.

The former OSU head coach is not the only one to have spoken about the personal sacrifices involved in such roles. Just last year, the Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald revealed that he gets to spend just 30 minutes with his newborn son during the week. “On Thursdays, I don’t get to see Jack throughout the week as much, so on Thursdays… I try to get home pretty quick to be with him, maybe a half-hour to an hour before he goes to bed,” Macdonald told King 5 Sports in January.

And such is the rigor required to achieve success in sports that coaches like Meyer wouldn’t have liked to do it any other way. However, the regret of sacrificing family time stays on.