Ohio St.’s Meyer to retire after Rose Bowl
COLUMBUS, Ohio — As Urban Meyer walked off the field after Ohio State routed Michigan, he was pondering his future and when to make a decision about when to call it quits.
The 54-year-old Meyer, in fact, had been thinking about retiring since the middle of last season.
The pain from headaches caused by an arachnoid cyst in his brain had grown worse this season. Offthe-field issues — including a three-game suspension for the mismanagement of an assistant coach accused of domestic violence — also had worn on him. And an ideal successor just happened to be in place in Ryan Day, his 39-year-old offensive coordinator.
On Tuesday, two days after the Buckeyes beat Northwestern to earn a second consecutive Big Ten championship, Meyer announced he was stepping down after the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 and likely would never coach again.
“The decision was a result of cumulative events,” Meyer said during a news conference. “And health number one. The fact that we have an elite coach on our staff. The fact that our program is very healthy. We’ve recruited very well. All played a significant role in this.”
Meyer is leaving at the top of his profession after three national championships in a career spanning three decades, the last seven years at Ohio State, where he has an 82-9 record.
He had shown effects of being in pain on the sideline this season, leading to questions about his future. Meyer explained that the headaches became severe last season during Ohio State’s game at Penn State and have become a persistent problem this season.
Meyer said he can no longer coach the way he has from the early days at Bowling Green to Utah, Florida and, finally, with the Buckeyes.
“The style of coaching I’ve done for 33 years is very intense, very demanding. I tried to delegate more and CEO more and the product started to feel …,” he said, not finishing his thought. “I didn’t feel I was doing right by our players and by Gene [Smith, the athletic director].”
Meyer said leaving would have been more difficult if the program wasn’t healthy. The Buckeyes are 12-1 and Meyer said he felt good about his replacement. Day will take over as the 25th coach of the storied program where Meyer won a national title in 2014 after winning two at Florida (2006, 2008).
“You want to hand it off to someone who could make it stronger,” Meyer said.
It was Day who led the Buckeyes when Meyer was suspended before the season opener over his role in the handling of now-fired assistant Zach Smith, who was accused by his ex-wife of domestic abuse. Meyer said he knew about the allegations against Smith — a grandson of former Ohio State coach Earle Bruce — but wasn’t sure they were true and kept Smith on staff because no criminal charges were filed. The university cited that lapse in suspending Meyer after an investigation.
A report issued by an investigative committee left a stain, detailing behavior by Meyer that could have taken
down a coach of lesser stature. The investigation showed he tolerated bad behavior for years from Smith, including domestic-violence accusations, drug addiction, lies and other acts that directly clash with the values Meyer touts publicly.
Meyer acknowledged the investigation was among the reasons for stepping down, and he was asked whether the suspension will affect his legacy.
“I’m sure it will,” he said. “I can lie to you and say it is not important to me.”