Urban Meyer has retired twice from coaching college football.
The first time came when he left Florida after the 2010 season. He spent the following year off the sidelines for the first time since he began his coaching career at a high school in 1985.
When Ohio State came calling before the 2012 season, he jumped at the opportunity to coach his home-state school.
His second retirement came after the Buckeyes won the Rose Bowl in January.
Is there another coaching act in his future?
“I learned my lesson long ago,” he told Bill Rabinowitz of The Columbus Dispatch in his first interview since he left the Buckeyes in January. “All I’m going to say is I believe I’m done (coaching). I think I’m done.”
In a wide-ranging interview, Meyer, 54, addressed his adjustment to his post-coaching life.
“I am good with it,” Meyer said of his transition from coach to college administrator and television analyst, “but it’s still a process.”
He said he is settling in to his role as an assistant athletic director with the Buckeyes and learning on the job. He is mentoring Buckeyes coaches and meeting with team captains to talk to them about leadership and also assisting with fundraising.
“He’s been great. He is relaxed, tells great stories on his career and on leadership and really seems to be enjoying the direct connection with Buckeyes fans and supporters,” said Dan Cloran, the executive associate athletic director.
Meyer still must cope with the arachnoid cyst on his brain that led to his retirement, in part. The slower pace away from the daily grind of coaching is good for his condition, and he said it’s “just something I have to manage.”
He’s also getting familiar with the role he’ll play with Fox Sports on its college football studio show. He’s met with his fellow panelists, who include former Southern Cal players Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush. They already have talked to him to encourage him to be interested in the USC job, should it come open, eager for a coach with a 187-32 career record and three national championships to lead their Trojans.
He seemingly won’t commit to doing anything other than his current jobs and spending time with his wife, Shelley, his grandsons and his three children.
“Life is good,” he said.
