Homerism or Insight? Urban Meyer Ignites Firestorm by Snubbing Kirby Smart for Top Coaching Spot
In the high-stakes world of college football, the offseason is usually reserved for recruiting battles, transfer portal drama, and strength conditioning updates. It is a time for quiet optimism. However, former legendary head coach Urban Meyer apparently didn’t get the memo about staying quiet.
Instead, the three-time National Champion dropped a tactical nuke onto the college football landscape this week. Appearing on a recent episode of The Triple Option podcast, Meyer offered a ranking of the current top head coaches in the sport. The consensus expectation was boring but accurate: Kirby Smart, the architect of the modern Georgia Bulldogs dynasty, sitting comfortably at number one.
But in a twist that has enraged the SEC and confused pundits nationwide, Meyer went off-script. He relegated Smart to the runner-up spot, declaring instead that Ohio State head coach Ryan DayโMeyerโs former offensive coordinator and hand-picked successorโis currently the best head coach in college football.
The “Scarlet-Colored” Glasses
To understand the sheer audacity of this take, one must look at the context. Urban Meyer is an Ohio State legend. He hired Ryan Day. He groomed Ryan Day. When Meyer retired following the 2018 season, he handed the keys to the Ferrari that is the Ohio State football program directly to Day.
Therefore, when Meyer states, “I’m taking Ryan Day,” it is impossible to view the opinion as objective analysis. It reeks of loyalty, of a mentor protecting his legacy by boosting his protรฉgรฉ.
Meyerโs logic was predictably vague, centered on the idea of sustained excellence and roster management. “You’re the best until someone beats you,” is a phrase often tossed around in these debates. However, that logic collapses under the slightest scrutiny when applied to the current landscape. If you are the “best until someone beats you,” surely the coach with two recent National Championship rings and a stranglehold on the sportโs toughest conference holds that title?
By placing Day above Smart, Meyer isn’t just praising a good coach; he is rewriting the criteria for greatness to fit a specific narrative.
The Tale of the Tape: Smart vs. Day
Letโs strip away the biases and look at the cold, hard rรฉsumรฉ.
Kirby Smart took over a Georgia program that was consistently “good but not great” and turned it into the death star of college football. He conquered the demons of the Alabama rivalry, dethroned his own mentor Nick Saban (figuratively, before Sabanโs retirement), and delivered back-to-back national titles. Smart has built a defense that sends players to the NFL at a rate that defies logic. Under Smart, Georgia doesn’t just win; they suffocate opponents. They are the new standard.
On the other side of the ledger is Ryan Day. There is no denying Day is an elite coach. His winning percentage is historic. He recruits at a top-tier level. His offenses are fireworks factories. However, the “Day Era” at Ohio State is currently defined by what they haven’t done, rather than what they have.
The knock on Day is loud and persistent: he struggles to win the games that matter most. Three consecutive losses to arch-rival Michigan have stained his tenure. While Smart was hoisting trophies in confetti showers, Day was answering questions about why his team looked soft in Ann Arbor. To rank a coach who hasn’t conquered his own division above a coach who has conquered the entire sport feels less like analysis and more like a delusion.
The Social Media Meltdown
Naturally, Meyerโs comments acted as an accelerant on the dry brush of social media. The reaction from the Georgia faithful was immediate and visceral.
Bulldogs fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to accuse Meyer of “blatant homerism” and “disrespecting the crown.” Memes flooded the timeline, many pointing out that Smart has built a dynasty while Day was allegedlyโto borrow a famous phraseโ”born on third base and thought he hit a triple.”
Even neutral observers found it hard to defend Meyerโs position. In the court of public opinion, credibility is currency. By making a claim that is so easily refuted by a look at the trophy case, Meyer risks devaluing his insight as an analyst. It paints him not as an impartial expert, but as a hype man for the Buckeyes.
A Calculated Distraction?
There is, perhaps, a more Machiavellian angle to this story. Urban Meyer knows the media game better than almost anyone. He understands that Ryan Day is entering a “championship or bust” season. The pressure in Columbus is suffocating.
By making this outrageous claim, Meyer has successfully shifted the spotlight. He has drawn the heat onto himself and away from Day. He has given Ohio State a bulletin board material (albeit, a strange kind) and publicly instilled confidence in his former assistant. It is a classic coaching tactic: create an “us against the world” narrative, or in this case, a “my guy is the best regardless of what you say” narrative.
The Verdict
Ultimately, lists and podcast rankings fade away once the ball is kicked off. Kirby Smart likely won’t lose sleep over Urban Meyerโs opinion; he has championship rings to polish and recruits to sign.
But for the college football ecosystem, this is the perfect offseason fuel. It reignites the North vs. South debate. It adds spice to the inevitable postseason conversations. And it puts an even larger target on Ryan Dayโs back. If Day is truly the “best coach in America,” as Meyer claims, anything less than a National Championship this season will be viewed not just as a failure, but as a refutation of his mentorโs proclamation.
Urban Meyer has thrown the gauntlet down. Now, Ryan Day has to go out and prove he actually deserves to pick it up. Until then, the crown remains firmly in Athens, Georgia.
