Ron DeSantis spent three years turning New College of Florida into a conservative powerhouse.
Now he's handing a key board seat to a coach who got fired after calling his staff "losers."
And Ron DeSantis just replaced a conservative warrior with the NFL's biggest disaster.
Meyer replaces Rufo after successful conservative transformation
DeSantis announced Tuesday that former University of Florida and Ohio State head football coach Urban Meyer will join New College's Board of Trustees.
Meyer replaces Christopher Rufo, the Manhattan Institute senior fellow who spearheaded the 2023 conservative takeover of the once-progressive Sarasota liberal arts school.¹
"Urban Meyer brings a strategic mindset and national stature that will serve New College immeasurably," New College President Richard Corcoran said in a statement.²
Corcoran praised Meyer's "lifetime of leadership, building teams, mentoring young people, teaching excellence, and developing culture."³
https://twitter.com/CommiesOnCampus/status/2006365438083842269?s=20
That's one way to spin it.
Here's another: DeSantis just appointed a coach who went 2-11 with the Jacksonville Jaguars before getting fired midseason for creating what staffers called "the most toxic environment" they'd ever witnessed.⁴
Jacksonville disaster reveals Meyer's leadership style
Meyer's NFL stint lasted exactly 13 games in 2021.
The scandals started almost immediately after his hiring.
In February 2021, Meyer hired Chris Doyle as strength and conditioning coach despite Doyle being fired from Iowa after allegations of racist remarks and bullying Black players.⁵
Doyle resigned from the Jaguars one day later following massive backlash.
In October 2021, video surfaced showing Meyer at a Columbus bar with a young woman who wasn't his wife dancing provocatively near him.⁶
Meyer stayed in Ohio instead of flying home with his team after a loss to the Bengals.
Things got worse from there.
Former Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo publicly accused Meyer of repeatedly kicking him in the leg during practice and telling him to "make your f***ing kicks."⁷
When Lambo objected, Meyer allegedly replied: "I'm the head ball coach. I'll kick you whenever the f*** I want."⁸
Multiple reports emerged that Meyer called his assistant coaches "losers" during a staff meeting and questioned their résumés.⁹
Wide receiver Marvin Jones became so angry with Meyer's constant criticism he left the facility and had to be convinced to return.¹⁰
Receiver DJ Chark said Meyer "put us in very bad positions" and blamed others when questioned about failures.¹¹
"I feel like he put us in very bad positions and, when the questions came, he deferred the responsibility," Chark told The Athletic.¹²
The Jaguars fired Meyer in December 2021 with a 2-11 record after owner Shad Khan said Meyer failed to "regain our trust and respect."¹³
Pro Football Network ranked Meyer as the worst coaching hire in NFL history.¹⁴
https://twitter.com/Floridianpress/status/2006345987691098516?s=20
New College transformed under Rufo's leadership
Rufo's departure marks the end of an era for New College's conservative overhaul.
DeSantis appointed Rufo and five other conservative trustees in January 2023 to transform the struggling progressive school into what he called a "classical liberal arts university."¹⁵
The new board immediately fired the school's president and hired Corcoran at double the previous salary.
They abolished the gender studies major and eliminated DEI programs.
About 40 percent of faculty left through resignations and non-renewals.¹⁶
Rufo bragged the school became "the first public university in America to begin rolling back the encroachment of gender ideology and queer theory."¹⁷
Enrollment climbed to record levels above 900 students.¹⁸
The school implemented a new core curriculum centered on Western classics like Homer's Odyssey.
New College also announced plans to erect a statue honoring Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist assassinated in September.¹⁹
Conservatives hailed the transformation as proof that woke academia could be defeated through political will.
Even DeSantis' allies now question whether Meyer belongs on the board.
Meyer's college coaching record speaks for itself — three national championships, an 187-32 overall record, and Hall of Fame induction in 2025.²⁰
But his catastrophic NFL tenure revealed serious character flaws.
The same leadership style that worked bullying 18-year-olds collapsed when dealing with millionaire professional athletes.
https://twitter.com/SkylerSwisher/status/2006132160479019220?s=20
Sources told ESPN that Meyer was "unfamiliar with star players around the league" including Deebo Samuel, Jamal Adams, and Aaron Donald.²¹
One Jaguars staffer called it "the most toxic environment I've ever been a part of."²²
Meyer later admitted the Jacksonville experience was "the worst experience I've had in my professional lifetime" and caused him "depression."²³
DeSantis traded a brilliant conservative strategist who transformed New College's ideological direction for a washed-up coach who couldn't last one season in the NFL.
Rufo executed the kind of institutional change conservatives dream about — dismantling DEI bureaucracies, hiring conservative faculty, and rebuilding a failing school's reputation.
Meyer brings name recognition and fundraising potential.
But his track record suggests he's better at winning football games than building functioning institutions.
The real question is whether New College's conservative transformation can survive without the architect who made it happen.
¹ Gabrielle Russon, "Gov. DeSantis appoints Urban Meyer onto New College's trustees," Florida Politics, December 30, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ John Keim, "Urban Meyer's NFL debacle: New details show that ex-Jaguars coach was a total disaster in Jacksonville," CBS Sports, March 21, 2022.
⁵ Wayne Drash, "Urban Meyer fired as Jacksonville Jaguars' head coach," CNN, December 16, 2021.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Bill Chappell, "Urban Meyer is fired by the Jacksonville Jaguars," NPR, December 16, 2021.
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ John Keim, "Tension boiling over between coach Urban Meyer, Jaguars players, staff," NFL.com, December 2021.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ John Keim, "Urban Meyer's NFL debacle," CBS Sports, March 21, 2022.
¹² Ibid.
¹³ Wayne Drash, "Urban Meyer fired," CNN, December 16, 2021.
¹⁴ "Ex-Jaguars Head Coach Urban Meyer Named Worst Coaching Hire in NFL History," Sports Illustrated, June 17, 2024.
¹⁵ Christopher Rufo, "The Fight for New College," Christopher F. Rufo Substack, November 28, 2023.
¹⁶ Christopher Rufo, "The Difficult Work of Academic Reform," City Journal, August 25, 2024.
¹⁷ Emma Pettit, "New College of Florida's Board Starts to Dismantle Gender-Studies Program," The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 24, 2023.
¹⁸ Gabrielle Russon, "Gov. DeSantis appoints Urban Meyer," Florida Politics, December 30, 2025.
¹⁹ "New College of Florida Was Progressive. Then Gov. DeSantis Overhauled It," New York Times, December 29, 2025.
²⁰ Michael Costeines, "DeSantis Appoints Former Florida Gators Head Coach Urban Meyer to New College Board," Florida Politics, December 31, 2025.
²¹ John Keim, "Urban Meyer's NFL debacle," CBS Sports, March 21, 2022.
²² Ibid.
²³ "Urban Meyer," Wikipedia, December 2025.
