Michigan State football: How realistic is all the Urban Meyer talk?

We’re all wondering who the next Michigan State football coach will be. How realistic is all the Urban Meyer talk?

There’s been some heavy chatter on social media lately in regards to the vacant Michigan State football coaching job. Names have been thrown around left and right, but none bigger than Urban. Meyer.

When I first heard the name being connected to Michigan State, I laughed it off. It was a pipe dream and something that never in a million years would happen. There’s no way the retired three-time national champion and top-five coach of all time would be interested in returning to rebuild Michigan State. And while I still firmly believe he won’t be the next head coach, I’m not so certain that it’s a 100 percent impossibility.

Rumors have been swirling on social media recently with talks of “mutual interest” between both sides and while I take any social media rumor with a grain of salt, it got me thinking. How realistic is this scenario?

On one side, you have a Michigan State football program that desperately needs guidance. The program was found in a bad place by Mel Tucker and then once again left in a bad place with his departure. Two straight sudden coaching departures have left a lot of questions swirling around the program. There needs to be a steadying force to right the ship. Not many coaches could come in right away and fix things. Heck, only a handful of coaches could win right away and repair the winning culture. Urban is one of those coaches.

Yes, Urban has a shaky reputation after what happened with his NFL job and some off-field controversies. He’s been called “classless” and a “scumbag” by just about every rival fan in the country. But how bad does Michigan State want to win — and win now?

I don’t think it’s entirely unrealistic that Urban Meyer may be interested in returning to college football. I also don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that the Michigan State job intrigues him. There are solid resources here and with his recruiting, he could win titles at MSU.

But would Alan Haller take the chance and get slammed by the media for hiring a guy with a tarnished reputation, following up the Tucker saga just to win games? That’s the $10 million question.

If you’re a Michigan State fan, you should definitely want a top-five coach of all time running the program. The effects he could have on Michigan State wouldn’t just last for his tenure, but it would improve the outlook of the program for decades.

Imagine Meyer comes in, wins a national title and recruits at an elite level, and then he decides to hang it up again. He leaves the next coach with a quality title-contending roster proof that you can win titles in East Lansing. What rising coach would say no?

Do I think the Meyer talk is all that realistic? Not really as of right now. It’s too early to tell. However, I’m not of the belief that Michigan State is some middle-of-the-road Power Five job that can’t draw Urban’s attention. I do think it has plenty of draws, including money, new facilities, rich tradition, and an assistant coach pool that rivals all the major programs. That has to be enough of a draw for someone like Meyer who wouldn’t mind trying to repair his optically-damaged reputation before retiring for good.

Also, if Urban wants to coach at Michigan State, who says no?