When I met Urban Meyer he was on a fast track to the top of his profession. It was 2004. He was 3-0 as the head coach at Utah, on his way to a 12-0 season, on his way to being chased by Notre Dame, on his way to being captured by Florida.
He crammed more success into the next five years than a coach could ask for in a lifetime. He inherited a Florida squad that went 7-5 in 2004 and had it winning the national title in 2006. He won another championship last year, becoming the only coach to win two Bowl Championship Series titles.
Saturday’s news that Meyer, only 45, was resigning for health-related reasons was shocking, but less so if too much stress factored into the decision.
Meyer used to shake his head when he thought of Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden coaching at their ages. That was never going to be Meyer.
No one knows yet the full story of why Meyer walked away, or whether he will one day walk back.
After Florida’s loss to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference title game, Meyer checked into a hospital for dehydration.
At some point, Meyer may have to tell us more.
Last month, Meyer revealed to Sports Illustrated that doctors had discovered a cyst on his brain in 1998, when he was an assistant coach at Notre Dame. Doctors told Meyer then they didn’t believe the cyst was life-threatening but that stressful situations could cause headaches.
Meyer’s life was encompassed by stress; it has become part and parcel of the modern coach’s life.
Meyer was a hands-on coach. He was involved in every aspect of the program and a man who cried over losing senior Tim Tebow to the rest of his life.
Meyer was less like Bowden and Paterno, who learned as company CEOs how to delegate responsibilities. And maybe that’s why they’re still coaching.
If Meyer never coaches again, it would be like Sandy Koufax being forced to leave the sport at the top of his game. His .848 winning percentage is the best in Florida history. His five-year record in Gainesville is 56-10. He was 32-2 in Southeastern Conference play. He reached his 50th win in his 59th game. Meyer was 11-3 vs. top-10 teams and his teams have been ranked in 82 consecutive polls, including 16 weeks at No. 1.
What happens next at Florida is a whopper of a question for after the shock wears off.
The job in Gainesville is a crown jewel and athletic directors at top programs should be nervous about receiving a call from athletic directory Jeremy Foley asking permission to speak to their coaches.
Urban Meyer, as Steve Spurrier had done in the 1990s, made Florida a super power.
Goodbye (for now) and good health to Urban Meyer.
Good luck to the man trying to replace him.
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