Urban Meyer Admits Regret in Leaving Florida: 'I Never Should Have Left'

Urban Meyer coached at Florida from 2005-10, winning two national titles and two SEC titles in his time with the Gators.

Urban Meyer coached at Florida from 2005-10, winning two national titles and two SEC titles in his time with the Gators. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Former Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer is set to be inducted into the program's Ring of Honor this November, bringing the polarizing figure back to the forefront.

Meyer, who won a pair of national titles and a pair of SEC titles during his six-year tenure, brought the program back to the heights previously seen under Steve Spurrier. However, his sudden departure and return after the 2009 season, only for him to leave after the 2010 season, citing health concerns and wanting to focus on his family. He eventually returned to coaching in 2012 as Ohio State's head coach, causing dismay and anger among Florida's fanbase, especially given that Florida has had zero championships, five losing seasons, four fired head coaches and just four 10-win seasons since his departure.

While Meyer has since retired from coaching and has been more active within Florida's football program, including helping to hire first-year head coach Jon Sumrall, there are still some within the fanbase who have not fully forgiven him for his departure. Meyer addressed his departure from Florida in a recent interview with Hightop Sports, calling it the biggest regret of his career.

"There's a few regrets I have in my coaching career. None more than leaving Florida," Meyer said. "I never should have left."

Coach Meyer on one of his few regrets as a coach pic.twitter.com/Gsf15fE3mz

— Hightop Sports (@hightopsport) August 11, 2026

Meyer's health and stress while at Florida are well-documented. After the 2009 SEC Championship Game, Meyer was hospitalized with chest pains. Shortly after, Meyer announced his departure from the program, only to change his mind and instead take a leave of absence. He returned for the 2010 season but again announced his resignation ahead of the team's bowl game against Penn State.

In the Netflix documentary "Swamp Kings," Meyer also detailed the stress of the Florida job that revealed itself as early as the 2005 season, his first with the program. Florida went 9-3 before going 13-1 the next season with his first of two titles.

"I was going through some significant health stuff," Meyer recalled. "I was really convinced in my mind that I wasn't going to make a month. A friend of mine had a heart attack and passed away. I was having chest pains. It's well-documented, and I stepped away. But a month after I did, I'm like, 'Wait a minute. What the hell did I do?' And, I looked at Shelley, we were actually trying to get my strength back and working out a little bit, and I looked at her, and I said, 'I made a mistake.' She saw, you know, I lost 37 pounds. I was down to nothing by the time I stepped away, and I was getting stronger, and I was feeling good. And, she said, 'No, you need to take some time.'"

Meyer did not coach in 2011 but returned to coaching in 2012 at Ohio State, where he won three Big 10 titles (2014, 2017, 2018) and a national title (2014). Meyer also addressed critics who say he used his health as a way to leave Florida for other opportunities.

"What are you out of your mind? I left a seven-year contract or something on the table," he said. "I was in a survival mode, but I will always love Florida."

In the years after Meyer's departure, Florida has had fluctuating success. His successor, Will Muschamp, managed an impressive 11-2 campaign in 2012 only to go 4-8 in 2013 before being fired the following season. Meyer admitted that Muschamp was a "hell of a coach," but that the offenses in his four seasons were "just so bad."

Urban Meyer helped Florida hire new head football coach Jon Sumrall. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Jim McElwain followed suit and managed a 10-win season in 2015 with back-to-back SEC East Division titles in 2015 and 2016 but was fired midway through the 2017 season. Dan Mullen, Meyer's offensive coordinator for the bulk of his time at Florida, recorded back-to-back 10-win seasons and an appearance in the 2020 SEC title game, but after three straight losses to end 2020 and a lackluster 2021 campaign, he was also fired.

Billy Napier took the program to new lows after replacing Mullen, going 22-23 before being fired midway through the Gators' 4-8 campaign in 2025. Now enters Sumrall, a three-time conference champion in four years as a head coach, who looks to bring the program back to the heights it experienced under Spurrier and Meyer.

Throughout his early tenure, Sumrall has garnered comparisons to Meyer with his toughness and no-excuses style of coaching. Meyer saw that when he talked to Sumrall about the Florida job last season.

"I just did as much homework as I can. I called some colleagues that I know, and the word 'toughness' kept coming back to me," Meyer said. "... He was the first coach I've talked to in several years that didn't b*tch about NIL and transfer portal an all that. He talked abbout his offseason program. He talked about his strength coach. He talked about Tuesday practices... He talk about all the things that I know that's how you win.

".. I was kind of blown away by it."

Meyer is holding out on judgement until Sumrall coaches a game, but did admit that he has had an impressive offseason with the strength gains Florida has made in the offseason, which, as Meyer knows better than anybody, is key to compete for titles.

Florida opens the season on Sept. 5 against FAU, with Meyer's induction to the program's Ring of Honor set for its Nov. 7 matchup against Oklahoma.

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