Before ruling the SEC and building a powerhouse at Gainesville, Urban Meyer faced a crossroads in his journey. After taking Utah to a perfect 12-0 season, two programs, Notre Dame and Florida, were going neck and neck to hire him. Meyer ultimately believed Florida was the better fit for his ambitions and explained why the Fighting Irish weren’t.
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“We had two contracts sitting on our coffee table, one in Florida, and then at the 11th hour, Notre Dame comes flying in, and I’m an Irish Catholic,” Urban Meyer said on the Sidepiece show on August 21.
“I’m a huge Notre Dame fan. I loved it there, and then I just had to make a business decision. Notre Dame of 2005 is not the Notre Dame of 2026. I was there. The facilities were really, really poor. The investment in the student-athlete was not good. We didn’t have a training table. We didn’t pay the coaches, and it was almost like, “We’re Notre Dame, and we don’t do that.” I made the decision that I wanted to win and win now, and maybe try to win a national title, and we thought our chances would be better at Florida.”
Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley aggressively pursued Meyer to replace Ron Zook, presenting a contract first. At the same time, Notre Dame fired Tyrone Willingham in 2004.
Because Meyer was an Irish Catholic who publicly called Notre Dame his “dream job” and was well-versed in the program, the university thought it would be an easy hire. They entered the sweepstakes late, forcing Meyer to choose between the two active contracts sitting on his table.
But we all know how that ended. Meyer took the job at the Gators and led the team to 2 championships. The reason for declining Notre Dame’s offer was simple. The program that the college football fans see right now wasn’t the same back then.
When he was an assistant under Lou Holtz and Bob Davie for 4 years, the university administration actively resisted the “arms race” of college football facilities. Notre Dame rigidly maintained that athletes should eat exactly like average students. They lacked a dedicated athletic dining hall and tailored sports nutrition, which put them at a major disadvantage compared to SEC programs.
The school historically underpaid assistant coaches compared to standard Big Ten and SEC market rates. Instead, they relied on the “prestige” of coaching in South Bend to attract staff.
Meyer’s gamble that Florida offered a better path to “win now” proved correct. He took over a talent-rich Florida roster perfectly suited for his spread-option offense. They won national championships in the 2006 and 2008 seasons. Meanwhile, Notre Dame hired Charlie Weis in 2005 and failed to secure a national title.
Today, under Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame operates as a modern athletic juggernaut. They are a heavily competitive with NIL, have top-tier facilities, and a fully funded athletic framework. The Fighting Irish no longer force coaches to choose between the school’s heritage and a championship-ready infrastructure. Brian Kelly, who took over in 2009, also deserves credit for changing the program’s face.