Meyer surprisingly announced that he was giving up the job in 2009, but less than 24 hours later, he changed his mind and decided to instead take a leave of absence. In his second season in Gainesville, he led the Gators’ to a national championship. Meyer was hired away from Utah by Florida after he led the Utes to an undefeated season. “I just think Florida deserves the best, and I’m not sure we gave them my best this year,” he said. It was the most losses in Meyer’s 10-year coaching career. The Gators were near the bottom the SEC in every offensive category, got blown out in games against Alabama, South Carolina and Florida State, and finished 7-5. The decision to walk away was even tougher because of Florida’s struggles this season. He plans to catch his daughters’ volleyball matches - his oldest is a sophomore at Georgia Tech and the other will attend Florida Gulf Coast next fall - and catch more of his son’s athletic events. Meyer left open the possibility of returning to the sideline, but said it was not going to happen in the “immediacy.” Now he’s making decisions that are probably exactly what he needs to be doing.”Īdded former Florida Coach and current South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier: “I believe he will coach again some day, but if he doesn’t, he will go down as one of the best coaches in college football history.” He had major personal issues and health issues a year ago, and I’m sure that he did everything he could to fight it off. “The world of college football will miss Urban,” said former USC Coach Pete Carroll, who left his job for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. He’s doing it the right way.”ĪOL FanHouse first reported the resignation, and fellow coaches were quick to praise his efforts at Florida. “We’ll be fine,” said Loeffler, adding that Meyer was planning to meet with his staffWednesday night. Quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler told the AP he was “stunned” and that no one saw this coming. He called assistant coaches, many of whom were on the road recruiting, earlier this week to relay the news. Meyer’s announcement caught players, fans and the rest of college football by surprise. “I don’t see why it should take that long,” Foley said, adding that he has not contacted anyone yet. Petrino was Foley’s second choice behind Meyer in 2004.
Whittingham was Meyer’s defensive coordinator in Utah, and Mullen was the offensive coordinator under Meyer for four years at Florida. Meyer said he planned to be involved in the search, which could make Whittingham and Mullen front-runners. Although Foley declined to offer names, Utah’s Kyle Whittingham, Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen and Arkansas’ Bobby Petrino are likely on the list. I admire him for that.”įoley said the coaching search will begin immediately and hopes to have a new coach before Christmas. It’s his time to step back and spend time with his family. That’s 10 years of their lives, not to mention what he did before that as an assistant coach. It’s not just sacrifices here the last six years. He built one at Bowling Green, he built one at Utah, he built one here. This time, Foley doesn’t anticipate another change of heart. But Foley did agree to pay Meyer a $1 million retention bonus the coach would have received had he been employed on Jan. Meyer signed a six-year, $24 million extension in 2009, meaning he’s walking away from about $20 million in guaranteed salary. They met Tuesday to finalize his intentions. Meyer called Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley on Saturday to tell him he was contemplating retirement. “This year was just completely different.” “Last year was a knee-jerk reaction,” Meyer said. He had been hospitalized with chest pains after the Gators lost to Alabama in last season’s Southeastern Conference championship game. Meyer, 46, led Florida to two national titles but briefly resigned last December, citing health concerns. I missed two already with one away at college. “I’ve not seen my two girls play high school sports.They’re both very talented Division I-A volleyball players, so I missed those four years. “At the end of the day,I’m very convinced that you’re going to be judged on how you are as a husband and as a father, and not on how many bowl games we won,” Meyer said ata campus news conference. This time it’s to be a better husband and father. His first attempt, which lasted just a day, was forhealth reasons. He is stepping down for the second time in less than a year. Meyer resigned from Florida on Wednesday, but will coach the Gators in the Outback Bowl on Jan. With his wife and two of his three children sitting a few feet away, Urban Meyer didn’t have to look very far to be reminded why he’s leaving one of the premier jobs in college football.
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