Urban Meyer shocked the football world late Saturday when he announced he would be leaving Florida after the Sugar Bowl game against Cincinnati on New Year’s Day. Meyer, 45, had experienced chest pains which sent him to the hospital after Alabama beat Florida in the Southeastern Conference championship game on Dec. 5.
“I have given my heart and soul to coaching college football and mentoring young men for the last 24-plus years and I have dedicated most of my waking moments the last five years to the Gator football program,” Meyer said in a statement. “I have ignored my health for years, but recent developments have forced me to re-evaluate my priorities of faith and family.”
The New York Times quotes Meyer as saying:
“There was no heart damage,” Meyer said. “But I didn’t want there to be a bad day where there were three kids sitting around wondering what to do next. It was the pattern of what I was doing and how I was doing it. It was self-destructive.”
He leaves No. 5 Florida with a 56-10 record that includes a 32-8 mark in league play and a school-record 22-game winning streak that was snapped by the Crimson Tide in the SEC title game. Meyer won two National Championships in his five years at Florida (2006 and 2008), two Southeastern Conference Championships (2006 and 2008), three SEC Eastern Division crowns (2006, 2008 and 2009) and led Florida to five straight January bowl games, including three BCS bowl games. He was recently named Sporting News and Sports Illustrated “Coach of the Decade.”
The three-time National Coach of the Year, is currently the nation’s most active winningest coach, posting 95 victories against just 18 losses for a .841 winning percentage in his nine seasons.
The news sent shockwaves through the sport and will provide fodder for talk radio and blogs for a couple of weeks as everyone wonders who will replace Meyer in what some consider the best job in college football? The two top candidates will be Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops and Mississippi State Coach Dan Mullen. Both are former Florida assistant coaches: Stoops was the defensive coordinator during Steve Spurrier’s tenure, and Mullen left after last season to take over at Mississippi State. Other names to be considered include Boise State ’s Chris Petersen; Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh; Louisville’s Charlie Strong, who was Florida’s defensive coordinator until this month; and Utah’s Kyle Whittingham
Photo Credit: Nikonmadness at en.wikipedia
