Urban Meyer knows a thing or two about coaching at the highest levels of college football. He also has an opinion on which current head coach is the best in college football this season.

During a recent episode of “Urban’s Take with Tim May,” the former head coach and current FOX broadcaster admitted he believes Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham is the best coach in the country.

Meyer and Whittingham actually worked together during Meyer’s tenure as head coach of the Utes. He has long viewed Whittingham as one of the best coaches in the sport, but Meyer now sees the current coach at Utah as tops in the nation.

“I’ve said many times Kyle Whittingham’s one of the best coaches in college football,” Meyer said. “Now he’s the best. He’s the best coach in college football.”

Meyer described Whittingham as “culture and discipline” and also said the leader of the Utes is “tough as nails.” Meyer even went on to share that he almost did not retain Whittingham as his DC at Utah.

After accepting the head coaching position with the Utes, Meyer said many people told him not to keep Whittingham. But, after Meyer realized the success of the defense and met with Whittingham, he ultimately felt it would be stupid not to keep Whittingham around.

“I got hired there and Kyle interviewed for the job when I did,” Meyer said. “Everybody told me, ‘don’t hire him.’ He’s kind of a unique personality and I had no plan of hiring him. Then once I got hired and I settled down, I realized how good they were on defense. I went to dinner with him and his wife and I’m sitting there looking like, ‘what am I stupid?’

“This guy knows the conference. He knows the personnel on our team. He’s a good person. Yeah, he’s a little different personality, but so am I. The two of us, I can’t imagine a better working relationship even to this day. That’s how close I am with him. That’s the respect the respect I have for him.”

Under Meyer’s guidance, the Utes went 23-2 while Whittingham has gone on to become the winningest coach in program history with a 160-75 overall record. At the end of the day, it looks like Meyer’s decision worked out just fine for everyone involved.