Urban Meyer Tells Mack Brown That Health Was 'Total Reason' Behind Retirement Decision
Prior to Ohio State's official announcement that coach Urban Meyer will retire after the Rose Bowl, he called new North Carolina coach Mack Brown to explain why he was making the decision, according to Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com.
Meyer reached out to Brown at 6 a.m. ET and said health was the "total reason" behind the call to move on from the Buckeyes. Back in October he told reporters that he has an arachnoid cyst in his brain, which causes frequent headaches. He had said then he was "committed to Ohio State, the football program, as long as I can."
"He told me he couldn't be animated at the level he needed to to energize his team," Brown told ESPN. "He said, 'If I can't coach like I need to coach, I'm not going to coach.'"
During the game against Indiana this season, Meyer collapsed down to one knee while holding his head in the fourth quarter.
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On Tuesday, Ohio State announced Meyer would be leaving following the conclusion of his seventh season with the team and offensive coordinator Ryan Day will become the new head coach.
During his time in Columbus, Meyer went 8–9 overall, 54–4 in Big Ten competition and 7-0 against Michigan. He helped guide the Buckeyes to winning the first ever College Football Playoff in 2014, and he's won three Big Ten titles, with the most recent coming this season.
Prior to coming to Ohio State, Meyer was at Florida for six seasons. But his time with the Gators was cut short following health scares involving chest pains. After the 2009 SEC championship, Meyer was taken to the hospital for his pain and he took some time away from the team before it played in the sugar Bowl to end that season. He left Florida the following year after the 2010 campaign and took a year away from coaching to spend time with his family.
In 17 seasons as a coach with Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State, Meyer has gone 186-32, earning him he third-best winning percentage in college football history at .853. In addition to the national championship he won in 2014, Meyer won two previously with the Gators by winning the BCS championship.
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Brown was recently named the new head coach at North Carolina. His last time on the sideline was in 2013 with Texas when he finished up his 29th season as a college head coach. Brown started at Tulane in 1985 before going to North Carolina, where he stayed from 1988 through 1997. He then went to Texas for 16 seasons, where he won a national title after going undefeated in the 2005 season.
Both coaches also worked as analysts for ESPN during their time away from the sidelines.
