Urban Meyer's name appears on at least one "short list" for an NFL coaching position, but the Ohio State coach won't say which.
He did, however, confirm Wednesday that an NFL club reached out to him to gauge his interest in a move to the professional coaching ranks, but said he declined.
"I was reached out to, asked if I would be interested, and I'm not," Meyer said during a Wednesday news conference.
Meyer's Buckeyes will face Notre Dame on Friday in the Fiesta Bowl.
Asked specifically if the Cleveland Browns were the club that dialed his number, Meyer declined to be specific. But he did address in general the possibility of coaching in the NFL.
"I really enjoy where I'm coaching and who I'm coaching. At this point, my son's in high school. We're where we need to be. I really love my athletic director. I think the future's bright. We're recruiting well, I'm very happy with where we're at," Meyer added. "The NFL, Chip Kelly is one of my closest friends, Greg Schiano is one of my closest friends. A lot of times they say college coaches don't make it very well. I don't know who makes it well. People are getting fired left and right. Pete Carroll has done very well."
It's a sentiment Meyer has expressed before, as recently as about three weeks ago, when it was reported that the Browns indeed had interest.
Among current NFL coaches, Carroll would certainly be the most compelling argument for college coaches having the right stuff to make the jump to the pros. But Kelly, who built a dominant program at Oregon, isn't the only one to learn he might be more suited to the college game. If there is any reason to doubt whether Meyer could make a successful transition to the NFL, Kelly's fate is it. Both have found big success in college running an offense that isn't the traditional pro style. But that doesn't necessarily mean Meyer would attempt to make a college offense work in the pros, as Kelly attempted.
Recruiting and drafting, to be sure, are very different challenges as well. Kelly and Meyer both excelled at the former, but mistakes with the latter are less forgiving. Carroll had no trouble at all getting impressive mileage out of draft picks with the Seattle Seahawks, a big reason for his NFL success.
Whether Meyer would be the next Carroll or the next Kelly in the NFL is anyone's guess, but he doesn't sound like a man interested in knowing himself.
Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter @ChaseGoodbread.
