After leading the Buckeyes to a 28-23 victory over Washington, Urban Meyer stepped down as the OSU head coach in 2019. He immediately entered sports media and signed with FOX Sports to become a studio analyst. Despite coaching at a number of programs, Meyer’s loyalty to OSU stands above everything else. That developed a deep-rooted dislike for Michigan in the longtime OSU fan.

“When you’re the head coach at Ohio State, and you’re an Ohio guy, and you grew up in the 10-year war, the 7-0 is something that, please, don’t touch that one, man,” said Meyer during his Thursday appearance on The Script. “I mean, that’s something I’ll take with me the rest of my life. The hatred I had for that school. And notice I said ‘Had’. ‘I’m not in that chair anymore. When you’re in that chair, you feel it every day.'”

“Part of it was my fault. I mean, I made that whole facility all about that game. We never went more than a week without either talking about ‘The Game’ or practicing for ‘The Game.’ I would have Tim Hiton, one of our assistant coaches; that’s all he would do; he’d watch film, and I would be working on this game, and I’d always walk in and spend some time with him watching. And I’m talking about September,” added Meyer.

Meyer treated the OSU-Michigan rivalry as a 365-day-a-year obsession. When he became the head coach of OSU in 2012, he standardized that hatred into a psychological blueprint, yielding a flawless record against the Wolverines. When asked if he would sacrifice a perfect season just to guarantee a win over Michigan, Meyer responded, “Absolutely.”

The former OSU head coach created a strict environment from 2012 through 2018 at Woody Hayes to eliminate Michigan’s presence. The word “Michigan” was banned at the facility; players and staff were required to use “The Team Up North” to refer to the Wolverines. Interestingly, blue was entirely outlawed, and Meyer even banned blue ink pens from offices.

He also admitted that he was driven largely by a horror of losing “The Game.” That’s why Meyer randomly announced a “Wolverine Workout” to push players past their physical limits and keep them on edge during his tenure at OSU.

“I lived this rivalry even when I wasn’t coaching it,” said Meyer on the Todd McShay Show. “Did I take it to the extreme? I probably did. But there was a guy who coached for 28 years named Woody Hayes who took it pretty seriously.”

Born in Ashtabula, Ohio, Meyer grew up an OSU fan, and he began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at Ohio State in 1986. During his seven years as OSU head coach, he won the 2014 National Championship and had an 83–9 overall record, but he ranks his perfect streak against Michigan as his No. 1 achievement in Columbus. However, his finish with OSU wasn’t without controversy.

Urban Meyer’s exit came after major controversy

Urban Meyer’s tenure at OSU was marked by immense success. He won three B1G Championships and went undefeated in his debut season with the Buckeyes. Then, he went 5–2 in postseason bowl games. However, his final season with OSU brought a controversy.

During an investigation into his handling of domestic abuse allegations against his WRs coach, Zach Smith, Meyer was placed on administrative leave in August 2018. Ultimately, OSU suspended him for the first three games of that season for failing to manage the situation. But that might be the breaking point.

However, His decision to retire at the conclusion of the 2018 season was due to medical issues. During the 2018 season, Meyer wasn’t doing well. He collapsed to his knees in visible pain due to a flare-up during a game against Indiana. And ultimately, he decided to hand over the program to Ryan Day.

Since then, his commitment to OSU has been unshakable. He once stated that Ohio is the “one place where football is born in your blood.”