Urban Meyer has been away from college coaching for years, but every so often he says something that makes the old what-if feel real. This time, his point was simple: the expanded playoff would have made coaching less exhausting and maybe kept him around longer.

“I love the playoffs,” Urban Meyer said on The Triple Option. “I wish they were there when I was coaching because that keeps your good players playing.” 

For a coach who spent more than three decades on the sidelines, that perspective matters. Looking back at the old Bowl Championship Series era, he believes the expanded playoff could have changed the mood inside locker rooms and maybe even made coaching a little less draining. Urban Meyer continued by pointing to a reality many elite programs dealt with during the BCS years.

“Back in our era, the BCS era, you’re out of it,” he added. “A lot of good players didn’t go to bowl games. A lot of good players, all they’re thinking about after the junior year, and I don’t blame them. They’re gonna go; instead of eating peanut butter sandwiches, they’re gonna go to the NFL and make money.”

The old BCS system was brutal. Between 1998 and 2013, only the top two teams got a shot at the national title. Lose one big game and your championship hopes could disappear overnight. Finish No. 3? You were done. There was no playoff, no way back and no second chance if you slipped up early. 

The expanded playoff changed all that. More teams still have something to play for late in the season, so the games actually matter. Urban Meyer says the new playoff gives future NFL players a reason to stay with their team until the very end instead of skipping bowl games to prepare for the draft.

He’s speaking from experience, not guessing. Urban Meyer spent more than three decades coaching college football. He helped revive Bowling Green, made Utah a national story with its BCS run, won two national championships at Florida, then built Ohio State into a powerhouse. The Buckeyes went 83-9 under him and won the first College Football Playoff national title in 2014. He won that title in the very first season of the 4-team playoffs, showing he had no trouble adapting to the new format. 

Looking back now, his comments also line up with what he has said before about why he eventually walked away from coaching. Urban Meyer stepped away from Ohio State after the 2018 season, saying the job had worn him down physically and mentally. Years of recruiting battles, roster management, and the constant pressure to win had piled up. 

Did a bigger playoff system make him wonder if he would’ve stayed longer? Urban Meyer didn’t go that far. But his point was clear. More teams stay in the title hunt now, more star players stick around, and coaches have a better shot at keeping everyone locked in until the season is truly over.