Urban Meyer Stepping Down at Florida

[DrumNFeather]

They just announced on ESPN at the Meinike bowl game that the Florida AD has confirmed that Urban Meyer is stepping down.

This could send HUGE shockwaves through college football.

Sounds like it is health related.

[il Padrino Ute]

Personally, as is his usual doing, Meyer is stepping down as coach because he told his team and the fans that he was going to be back.

[John McClain]

Wow. This puts athletics back in perspective. I disliked Urban (understandable as a BYU fan) but I pray for his health. I lost a Dad to cancer this year and my wife has been fighting a very rare disease for the past several years. Urban deserves our prayers and good will.

[DrumNFeather]

Wow. This puts athletics back in perspective. I disliked Urban (understandable as a BYU fan) but I pray for his health. I lost a Dad to cancer this year and my wife has been fighting a very rare disease for the past several years. Urban deserves our prayers and good will.

From his statements, it sounds like there is no immediate health issue, but I think it speaks to the toll these jobs take on these coaches. Sure, they reap a high reward, but it comes at a pretty serious price.

[Babs]

he's a smart man.

[Coach McGuirk]

Huh, I wonder if one of his coordinators is headed back. must be extremely serious to not just take a leave of absence.

[New Mexican Disaster]

Wow! I wonder how much more we'll hear about the back story in the coming days or whether this is truly health related.

[BoylenOver]

Remember that he was hospitalized after the SEC title game.

Unreal. He's one of the best coaches in CFB.

[Clark Addison]

I've never hated UM, hope all is well with him.

Selfishly, I am glad this news didn't come out during the LV Bowl. No one cares about NC-Pitt right now, and they won't get much play on SportsCenter.

One thing that is odd here, if there is really no "immediate" health issue, and he isn't going someplace else, why resign now instead of 2 weeks from now?

[Babs]

One thing that is odd here, if there is really no "immediate" health issue, and he isn't going someplace else, why resign now instead of 2 weeks from now?

Wow! I wonder how much more we'll hear about the back story in the coming days or whether this is truly health related.

It may not be "health related" in the sense of cancer or whatever. Given his determination and his circumstances, and the way he describes the decision, I wouldn't be surprised if it's something less concrete: an ongoing psychological or emotional battle of some kind. This is sheer speculation, of course. I can't imagine the kind of strain the coaches at these big name schools are under.

[FN Phat]

There was a nice write up of him in SI a few weeks ago. It stated that he struggles with these horrible headaches that make him physically ill. They are directly linked to high stress situations. I hope all is well.

Has he mentioned if this is a temporary thing? If so, would he be back at Florida?

[DrumNFeather]

There was a nice write up of him in SI a few weeks ago. It stated that he struggles with these horrible headaches that make him physically ill. They are directly linked to high stress situations. I hope all is well.

Has he mentioned if this is a temporary thing? If so, would he be back at Florida?

He said he would remain in Gainesville and remain "close" to the program...whatever that means. It'll be interesting to see who is on the short list for this job. They could bring back Charlie Strong, or Dan Mullen, or they could take a HC from another program, in which case there might be a ripple effect.

[Pheidippides]

he's a smart man.

I concur. I have a figure in my head that would cause me to never work again; I'm pretty sure he has said figure in the bank.

[Viking]

I recall he had a benign brain tumor at some point in life.

[DrumNFeather]

I concur. I have a figure in my head that would cause me to never work again; I'm pretty sure he has said figure in the bank.

He may also spend some time in the studio for ESPN. That seems to be a sweet gig for the main guys.