Urban Meyer won two national championships as head coach of the University of Florida from 2005 to 2010, but he is not expected to return to Gainesville for a possible second attempt at leading the program.

With Florida head coach Billy Napier’s job in more demand than ever, there has been much discussion about the school’s potential coaching vacancy in recent months. Florida’s 1-2 start to the 2024 season certainly hasn’t helped Napier’s cause.

But could Meyer return to the sidelines in Gainesville? Don’t count on it.

“The ship has sailed,” Meyer said on The triple option Podcast this week. “I want this program to be successful so badly. I know so many people there and we have dedicated a lot of our lives to this program. But that ship has sailed.”

Since leading Florida to multiple national titles, Meyer spent seven seasons at Ohio State and also won a national title in Columbus. He left college after the 2018 season to focus on his health, but returned to the Jacksonville Jaguars as coach in 2021. It was a disastrous NFL tenure in which he went 2-11 as a coach before being fired before the end of his first season.

But unless Meyer flatly refuses an interview from Florida, it is hard to believe that the ship Strictly speaking Meyer has a lot of history and success at UF, so don’t be surprised if his name comes up as an outside candidate if Napier is fired.