Urban Meyer will likely be considered one of the most successful coaches in Ohio State football history. Let’s just get that out of the way. Along with Woody Hayes and Jim Tressel, he is very clearly one of the top three.

Meyer won a National Championship (the inaugural College Football Playoff) for Ohio State at a time when the Buckeyes–and the Big Ten in general–were looked down on nationally. He redeemed the program in the eyes of the country, and that is still felt today.

Maybe, if we’re comparing him to Hayes and Tressel, we can point out that Meyer lacked their longevity. Ohio State claims five National Championships from Hayes’ tenure, which lasted almost 30 years. Tressel lasted a full decade, and appeared in a National Championship Game three times.

Meyer, meanwhile, only coached seven years (one with a bowl ban), and reached the College Football Playoff twice, winning it once. Meyer does have the best winning percentage of any coach in Ohio State history (excluding Ryan Day and his currently 3-0 record).

One angle that I think has been underplayed is that the secret sauce for Urban Meyer isn’t X’s and O’s. It’s his ability to diagnose the psychology of his team and motivate through mind games. It’s why he’s won two titles with younger teams, then underachieved after. — Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) August 23, 2018

Having said all that, it is very clear that Meyer’s tenure could have been a little better. The Buckeyes consistently underachieved with Meyer at the helm win more was expected. Winning more National Championships might not have been easy–but missing out on a chance to compete for them is a defining characteristic of the Urban Meyer regime.

Next … the losses