COLUMBUS, Ohio – For the third time since guiding his first Ohio State Buckeyes team to an undefeated, 12-0 season, Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer is a finalist for a national Coach of the Year award. Monday evening was named as one of six finalists for the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the year Award.
Finalists for the award, which is sponsored by the American Heart Association on behalf of Marathon Oil, include Meyer and James Franklin (Vanderebilt), Bill O’Brien (Penn State), David Shaw (Stanford), Bill Snyder (Kansas State) and Kevin Sumlin (Texas A&M). The winner will be named Jan. 17 at an event in Houston, Texas, while, at the same time, longtime Brigham Young University coach LaVell Edwards will receive the Paul “Bear” Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award.
Meyer is a finalist for the 2012 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award along with Brian Kelly (Notre Dame), Jim Mora (UCLA), O’Brien, Mark Richt (Georgia), Nick Saban (Alabama), Sumlin, Dabo Swinney (Clemson) and Charlie Strong (Louisville). The winner of this award will be announced Jan. 7.
And Meyer previously was a finalist for the Football Writers Association of America’s Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award (won by Kelly) along with these coaches: Gary Andersen (Utah State), Dave Doeren (Northern Illinois), Kelly, Will Muschamp (Florida), O’Brien, Shaw, Snyder and Sumlin.
Meyer is 116-23 in his 11 seasons as a head coach for a winning percentage – .835 – that is second-highest among active Football Bowl Subdivision coaches. His record includes a 65-7 home record, a 68-18 mark against conference competition, a 24-7 record against teams in the Top 25 and a 22-3 record in “rivalry games.”
Urban Meyer Coach of the Year(s) Honors
2000-09 Sporting News Coach of the Decade
2000-09 Sports Illustrated Coach of the Decade
2006 National Coach of the Year (All-American Football Foundation)
2004 National Coach of the Year (Home Depot, Maxwell Club, FWAA)
2004 Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year
2003 National Coach of the Year (Sporting News)
2003 Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year
2001 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year
