Urban Meyer: 'I Believe I Will Not Coach Again'
Urban Meyer announced his plans to retire as head coach of Ohio State's football team on Tuesday afternoon in a press conference.
When asked if he would ever coach again, Meyer initially told reporters that was a "complicated question."
“It’s a complicated question, and I’ll try to answer it the best I can,” Meyer said. "This is home. This is where I grew up. It isn’t healthy but I came to work every day with fear of letting people like Archie Griffith and the our great state of Ohio down because this is home. I’m a graduate of Ohio State. We have the best fans in the land, and I didn’t want to let them down.
When pressed, Meyer gave a more concrete answer.
"I believe I will not coach again," he added that he was fairly certain in that response.
Meyer was also asked if his three-game suspension for the mishandling of the situation involving former wide receivers coach Zach Smith impacted his decision to retire or if it was a decision made due to his health. The 54-year-old coach revealed in October that he has an arachnoid cyst in his brain which causes frequent headaches.
“That was a very difficult time,” he said. “I have had to deal with headaches for many years and it came to a head in 2014 and again last year and this year. As difficult time as that was, it didn’t have as much of an impact on headaches, but it did have an impact.”
STAPLES: Urban Meyer Retires Knowing the Ohio State Machine He Built Will Keep Rolling
He added that conversations about how long he could coach at Ohio State began in 2014 and got more serious last year as his condition continued. Meyer said the cyst on his brain flared up in 2017, especially during the Penn State game, when his team nearly lost to the then-No. 2 Nittany Lions before securing a 39–38 comeback win.
“In 2014, I had that surgery and it recurred last year. I started dealing with some issues last year. I hired Ryan Day because I thought he was very good coach.”
The school announced earlier in the day that Meyer would step down after the Buckeyes' appearance in the Rose Bowl. Day, the team's offensive coordinator, will take over the program. He served as the Buckeyes interim head coach during Meyer's suspension earlier this season, leading the team to three wins.
"I’m honored to have represented my home state and this great university the past seven seasons," Meyer said. "I want to thank Buckeye Nation, our students and faculty, our state high school coaches, Gene Smith for giving me this opportunity, awesome family, and, most importantly, our staff and student-athlete for all they have done. My goal has always been to make this the premier and most comprehensive programs in America. It was always a goal to see a healthy strong program handed to an elite coach and person to make it even better. I want to congratulate Ryan Day and his family.”
Meyer has a 82–9 record during his time in Columbus, went 7-0 against Michigan and also finishes with a 54–4 record in Big Ten play.
The Buckeyes finished with a 12–1 record this season and only suffered a 29-point loss to Purdue. The loss ultimately kept them out of the College Football Playoff.
