Ohio State Football Coaching News: Urban Meyer Extended Through 2020, Given Lucrative Raise
ByOhio State University (OSU) has announced a lucrative pay raise and contract extension for their head football coach Urban Meyer.
According to ESPN, Meyer is now the second-highest paid coach in college football after Alabama's Nick Saban. At the helm of the reigning Nation Champion Buckeyes, Meyer is now under contract through the 2020 season with an average annual salary of $6.5 million.
"Urban Meyer has done an excellent job strengthening our culture of commitment to academics, career development and winning championships," OSU athletic director Gene Smith said in a statement. "Our young men continue to thrive under his leadership, whether on the playing field where they are national champions, through life skills pursuits like Real Life Wednesdays, internships and job fairs, and academically through program-wide efforts to monitor the progress of every student-athlete which has helped the team achieve its highest graduation success rate at 78 percent.
"Additionally, he continues to develop his coaches and attract talented leaders when needed."
Meyer's salary for the past season was bumped from $4.9 million to $5.8 million and will rise to $6.5 million a year for the following six years.
After losing QB Braxton Miller last season before he even took a meaningful snap, the Buckeyes rallied from a disastrous week two loss to Virginia Tech to finish the season undefeated. In the first year of the College Football Playoff, they grabbed the fourth-overall ranking on the last week of the season.
They then beat Alabama and Oregon - the top two seeds - to win the title. Before coming to OSU, Meyer led QB Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators to two National Titles. He became the eighth football coach in college football history to win at least three Championships.
"I am honored to serve as football coach at The Ohio State University and to represent this great university," Meyer said in the statement. "It is a privilege to coach and mentor the young men in this program, and I want to thank President Drake and Mr. Smith for their support and their trust in me."