Urban Meyer received a villain’s welcome in Florida.At Hard Rock Stadium, site of Notre Dame’s 27-24 Orange Bowl victory over Penn State to clinch a bid in the National Championship Game, Meyer was loudly booed shortly before kickoff.
The former University of Florida and Ohio State football head coach, who flamed out in the NFL after less than a season with the Jaguars in 2021, was on the field being honored as an Orange Bowl Hall of Fame inductee.Meyer, also an analyst with Fox Sports, appeared on the stadium’s video board during the game, sparking a strong reaction from fans, who jeered the sight of him without hesitation.Meyer, when shown on the jumbotron in the stadium, appeared to chuckle at the reaction he drew.
He waved to the crowd anyway.Former USC quarterback and fellow Fox analyst Matt Leinart, also inducted into the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame, was also greeted with a series of boos.
The jeers underscored the polarizing nature of Meyer’s legacy.While he is celebrated by some for his illustrious college coaching career, which includes two national championships with Florida and one with Ohio State, others associate him with controversies that have followed him in recent years.Meyer’s brief tenure as head coach in Jacksonville was marred by poor performance and off-field issues, leaving a sour taste for many Jacksonville fans.
Despite his success at the collegiate level, his time in the NFL has contributed to a more divided perception of his career.Likely adding to the tension heard in Miami is Meyer’s connection to rival Florida, as well as his time at Ohio State, a Big Ten rival of Penn State, where he faced criticism for how off-field matters were handled....