Zach Gelb isn’t afraid of a challenge from former college football coach Urban Meyer regarding Gelb’s reporting that Meyer had strong interest in the vacant head coaching position at Penn State.
Earlier this week, the Infinity Sports Network host reported that Meyer had “great interest” in the Nittany Lions job, but the two sides hit a wall over concerns related to name, image, and likeness (NIL) management. According to Gelb, Penn State leadership questioned whether Meyer was equipped to handle the realities of modern college football.
On Wednesday, Meyer addressed Gelb’s report on his Triple Option podcast. The former coach dismissed the report outright, saying no such meeting about Penn State ever took place. However, he did acknowledge meeting with Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick — a connection that fueled speculation Meyer might be exploring a return to the college sidelines.
“Who is the guy again? My phone started blowing up,” Meyer said with a laugh. “I give him credit. He had two sources that said I met with the Senator. We became friends. Rob, you were there with Dave McCormick when we covered a Penn State game. I stayed in touch with him, and we had breakfast at the Capitol and talked politics… But [that Penn State] conversation never happened.”
Meyer, who last coached at Ohio State in 2018 hasn’t coached since his brief and turbulent stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He continued to poke fun at the report, joking, “How do we get the two sources on our show? It just cracks me up when people sit at a whatever and make a story, man.”
Following Meyer’s comments, Gelb responded to Meyer saying his reporting is not made up. He also referenced that Meyer’s meeting with the Pennsylvania Senator was never mentioned in his reporting. Gelb reiterated his central claim — that Meyer had genuine interest in the Penn State job and that the university declined to move forward because of NIL concerns. He then wrapped up his comments with a challenge to the former Ohio State head football coach.
“How about you come into the studio, we’ll hook you up to a lie detector test, and I’ll ask, ‘Were you ever interested in the Penn State job?’” Gelb said. “If it’s erroneous, you should be able to say no and pass.”
Meyer has yet to respond to Gelb’s challenge.
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