Former Gators coach Urban Meyer and his wife, Shelley, return to The Swamp on Saturday as Meyer prepares for his induction into College Football Hall of Fame. (Photo: UAA file)
Meyer Took Gators To Top, Sees A Program That Can Get Back There
Thursday, November 20, 2025 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Once he received the invitation to return to UF's campus and began to gather the specifics, Urban Meyer lit up over a single detail.
The schedule revealed that on Nov. 22, the Gators had a home game against Tennessee at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Meyer, set to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame next month in Las Vegas, will be honored during Saturday's game for his upcoming induction.
Meyer last coached the Gators 15 years ago, but once a Rocky Top enemy, always a Rocky Top enemy.
"The first thing I think about is Tennessee – we've got to beat Tennessee,'' Meyer said. "That's just the way I look at it when I first saw we were going to be invited back for the Tennessee game."
Meyer and his wife, Shelley, are eager to relive a Florida-Tennessee game at The Swamp and revive memories of Florida's domination of rivals during his six-year stint leading the program from 2005-10. Meyer went 6-0 against the Vols, and 16-2 overall against Florida's traditional rivals, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida State. Of course, Meyer (65-15) rarely lost to anyone while at Florida or anywhere else.
Before taking over the Gators, Meyer won big at Bowling Green and Utah, and after winning two national championships at UF and taking a season off, he won big at Ohio State. The 61-year-old Meyer won 85.4% of his games (187-32) and currently serves as a host and analyst on FOX's Big Noon Kickoff.
He will take part in the show on Saturday morning, then catch a flight to Gainesville. Meyer's first Southeastern Conference game as Florida's coach came against the Vols, a 16-7 victory on Sept. 17, 2005.
Ask Meyer what he recalls, and you get a details-obsessed head coach's response.
"Every snap. That's when I was first exposed to the size, strength and speed of the SEC,'' Meyer said.
Meyer is undoubtedly one of the great college football coaches in history, winning three national championships and reshaping the SEC with his spread offense. He led the Gators to a national title in his second season with freshman quarterback Tim Tebow used in specialty situations behind starter Chris Leak, and in 2008 with Tebow as the face of the sport and the UF roster stacked with future NFL players.
A master motivator, Meyer did it with a relentless work ethic and program vision. He wanted his teams to be tough mentally and physically.
He pushed and pushed them to fulfill his mission.
"My focus is always on the human spirit as much as it is strategy,'' he said. "I know we introduced the spread offense to the SEC, and I had really excellent coaches, but I also pushed so much the mindset and culture of a program. That's something that I think is a difference-maker between a win and a loss.
"Most people run the same plays — it's getting people to execute at an extremely high level and give great effort. Giving great effort is all about culture, and it's all about motivation. We spent a lot of time on that."
Gators interim head coach Billy Gonzales played for Meyer at Colorado State and served on his coaching staffs at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida. He called Meyer for advice last month when he took over for Billy Napier with five games left in the regular season.
Gonzales is grateful he will be around for Meyer's ceremony on Saturday.
"I think of him as a mentor,'' Gonzales said. "I don't call him Urban. He's my coach. I call him 'Coach' if I see him."
Meyer hasn't coached since a short stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021, and he last led a college team in 2018 at Ohio State. However, he remains close to the game with his TV work and weekly podcast "The Triple Option."
Meyer knows the sport has changed with the introduction of the transfer portal, NIL (name, image and likeness), and revenue-sharing since he last coached, but he is confident his methods could still produce results.
"I think you have to adapt. I have many colleagues and friends in the profession still, and it's much different. But at the end of the day, you have to somehow get that team to play really, really hard and not be selfish, and that's probably never been harder,'' Meyer said. "But you see teams doing it. You see some teams playing extremely hard and very unselfish, so I'd do it somewhat similarly, but I think you have to adapt."
While Ben Hill Griffin Stadium will look much the same to Meyer, the program has undergone a massive upgrade in facilities since he coached the Gators. He has seen most of them and considers the program's modernization a plus in today's landscape.
However, the Gators have lost three consecutive games and sit at 3-7 on the season, unimaginable during Meyer's tenure. His worst season was his last one in 2010, an 8-5 campaign that ended with a memorable win over Joe Paterno's Penn State team in the Outback Bowl.
Florida is down, but in no way out in Meyer's eyes.
"There is some transition going on,'' he said. "I think it's one of the best jobs in the country. I know they have gone through some hard times, but I think good times are around the corner. They have everything you need, starting with talent acquisition; it's all right there. They have great facilities, it's an elite academic school, great support, great town. You have everything you need to be successful.
"It's a great honor [to be coming back]. Shelley and I loved every second of our time there and love Gainesville."
The schedule revealed that on Nov. 22, the Gators had a home game against Tennessee at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Meyer, set to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame next month in Las Vegas, will be honored during Saturday's game for his upcoming induction.
Meyer last coached the Gators 15 years ago, but once a Rocky Top enemy, always a Rocky Top enemy.
"The first thing I think about is Tennessee – we've got to beat Tennessee,'' Meyer said. "That's just the way I look at it when I first saw we were going to be invited back for the Tennessee game."
Meyer and his wife, Shelley, are eager to relive a Florida-Tennessee game at The Swamp and revive memories of Florida's domination of rivals during his six-year stint leading the program from 2005-10. Meyer went 6-0 against the Vols, and 16-2 overall against Florida's traditional rivals, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida State. Of course, Meyer (65-15) rarely lost to anyone while at Florida or anywhere else.
Gator Nation, thank you for every moment and every memory. Excited to be back in The Swamp with you all this Saturday. Go Gators! 🐊🏟️ pic.twitter.com/5fSDbw4XnI
— Urban Meyer (@CoachUrbanMeyer) November 17, 2025
Before taking over the Gators, Meyer won big at Bowling Green and Utah, and after winning two national championships at UF and taking a season off, he won big at Ohio State. The 61-year-old Meyer won 85.4% of his games (187-32) and currently serves as a host and analyst on FOX's Big Noon Kickoff.
He will take part in the show on Saturday morning, then catch a flight to Gainesville. Meyer's first Southeastern Conference game as Florida's coach came against the Vols, a 16-7 victory on Sept. 17, 2005.
Ask Meyer what he recalls, and you get a details-obsessed head coach's response.
"Every snap. That's when I was first exposed to the size, strength and speed of the SEC,'' Meyer said.
Meyer is undoubtedly one of the great college football coaches in history, winning three national championships and reshaping the SEC with his spread offense. He led the Gators to a national title in his second season with freshman quarterback Tim Tebow used in specialty situations behind starter Chris Leak, and in 2008 with Tebow as the face of the sport and the UF roster stacked with future NFL players.
A master motivator, Meyer did it with a relentless work ethic and program vision. He wanted his teams to be tough mentally and physically.
He pushed and pushed them to fulfill his mission.
"My focus is always on the human spirit as much as it is strategy,'' he said. "I know we introduced the spread offense to the SEC, and I had really excellent coaches, but I also pushed so much the mindset and culture of a program. That's something that I think is a difference-maker between a win and a loss.
"Most people run the same plays — it's getting people to execute at an extremely high level and give great effort. Giving great effort is all about culture, and it's all about motivation. We spent a lot of time on that."
Gators interim head coach Billy Gonzales played for Meyer at Colorado State and served on his coaching staffs at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida. He called Meyer for advice last month when he took over for Billy Napier with five games left in the regular season.
Gonzales is grateful he will be around for Meyer's ceremony on Saturday.
"I think of him as a mentor,'' Gonzales said. "I don't call him Urban. He's my coach. I call him 'Coach' if I see him."
Meyer hasn't coached since a short stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021, and he last led a college team in 2018 at Ohio State. However, he remains close to the game with his TV work and weekly podcast "The Triple Option."
Meyer knows the sport has changed with the introduction of the transfer portal, NIL (name, image and likeness), and revenue-sharing since he last coached, but he is confident his methods could still produce results.
"I think you have to adapt. I have many colleagues and friends in the profession still, and it's much different. But at the end of the day, you have to somehow get that team to play really, really hard and not be selfish, and that's probably never been harder,'' Meyer said. "But you see teams doing it. You see some teams playing extremely hard and very unselfish, so I'd do it somewhat similarly, but I think you have to adapt."
While Ben Hill Griffin Stadium will look much the same to Meyer, the program has undergone a massive upgrade in facilities since he coached the Gators. He has seen most of them and considers the program's modernization a plus in today's landscape.
However, the Gators have lost three consecutive games and sit at 3-7 on the season, unimaginable during Meyer's tenure. His worst season was his last one in 2010, an 8-5 campaign that ended with a memorable win over Joe Paterno's Penn State team in the Outback Bowl.
Florida is down, but in no way out in Meyer's eyes.
"There is some transition going on,'' he said. "I think it's one of the best jobs in the country. I know they have gone through some hard times, but I think good times are around the corner. They have everything you need, starting with talent acquisition; it's all right there. They have great facilities, it's an elite academic school, great support, great town. You have everything you need to be successful.
"It's a great honor [to be coming back]. Shelley and I loved every second of our time there and love Gainesville."
"Thank You, Gator Nation!" | Urban and Shelley Meyer Reflect On Their Time In The Swamp.
Thursday, November 20
Florida Football | Interim Head Coach Billy Gonzales Media Availaibility | Tennessee
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Play Breakdown presented by Tower Hill Insurance (November 19, 2025)
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