May 20, 2013

Urban Meyer’s Sudden Retirement Could Affect Ohio State’s Recruiting

December 27, 2009 by 10 Comments

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

The sudden and tragic announcement that 45-year-old Florida head coach Urban Meyer is stepping down after this season has to be one of the saddest news stories of the year. Citing various health concerns, Meyer shockingly announced to the public Saturday evening that the Sugar Bowl against Cincinnati will be his final game as head coach.

An Ohio native, former Bowling Green coach and Ohio State graduate assistant, Meyer has various local connections in the sports world. On another relative matter, it is not yet known what some recruits will do who had previously committed to his Gators football team. Several high school players, including corner back Joshua Shaw of California, recently made their final decision to attend Florida just over Ohio State. Other top tier-prospects such as Palm Beach athlete Matt Elam, brother of Browns safety Abe Elam, could also reconsider their decision because of his impending departure.

All in all, it will be a very strange change for the Florida Gators football program. Tim Tebow will be heading toward the NFL this spring with hopes of remaining a quarterback while their young successful coach walks away from the game as well. Keep an eye out in the meantime to see how everything shapes out with Florida’a recruiting class, currently ranked by ESPN.com as #1 in the nation. Ohio State, fairly far behind at #12, could benefit from this shocking development in retooling for the future.

“Holiday Excitement” [The Buckeye Battle Cry]
“UF’s Urban Meyer Steps Down as Head Football Coach” [Gator Zone]
“Will Urban Meyer Leaving Florida Steer Gator Recruits to Ohio State?” [Bleacher Report]

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  • MattyFos

    My theory is he quits, then jumps to the NFL to coach the Jaguars when Tebow gets drafted by them

  • DCBucks

    What a wuss. He just can’t stand the thought of coaching a team without the Glorious One on Most High Tebow. That’s the reconnecting with this faith part of his excuse. Now he’ll be available to coach him on his pro team.

  • MrCleaveland

    I have a feeling that he spent all day Christmas breaking down film or something and ignored his family and his wife had enough and gave him an ultimatum.

  • JackGonzo

    The wife and I know the medical condition…a broken heart. He can’t bear the pain of life without Tebow.

  • http://Waitingfornextyear.com Denny

    He is now on indefinite leave. Funny how 24 hours leads to a douchey change of heart. If he’s really worried about his health he should step down; otherwise don’t bring it up in the first place.

  • MrCleaveland

    I think the health problem he alluded to had something to do with his wife taking a 7 iron to him.

  • Steve

    Last time I checked he has twice as many national titles as tressel in less than half the time. Urban was a hell of a coach for them. Maybe in his off time he could teach tressel how to run a spread offense. Recruits are bound to start looking for 2nd options and osu could really benefit. Can’t wait to see how the next few weeks will unfold.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Denny

    @ Steve – he’s also on indefinite leave of absence from UF, not fully retired. He’ll return at some point, possibly as early as next season. I really doubt that he’ll spend time telling Tress how to run the spread, seeing as how he’ll return to Gainesville.

    That being said, recruiting could get a big bump with the uncertainty at UF.

  • Steve

    @ Denny
    Denny meet sarcasm.
    Sarcasm meet Denny.

    I made the “urban helping tressel run a spread offense” comment cuz tress looks about as comfortable running a spread offense as Varejao trying to answer a 2 part question after the game.
    Needless to say, there is some room for improvement.
    Florida seemed to struggle a bit on offense last year with Adazio (new interim coach) in his 1st year as o coordinator.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Denny

    @ Steve – I understand sarcasm. We also have a sarcasm font here (all caps).

    I also understand that Tress doesn’t like going to a spread, but he came close in 06. If you want to know what an OSU team would look like trying a new offense while still fielding the big hogs that are used to running power plays, look north to Ann Arbor. The results are ugly for a few years, and really there’s no need to fix what isn’t broken. The Bucks still are winning the conference every year, and that’s the goal they set out with every season.