Meyer might follow lead of others who retired

Prominent people aren’t good at retirement. Richard Nixon, having lost a race for California governor in 1962, walked away after a "final" press conference at which he bitterly told reporters, "You won’t have Nixon to kick around any more."

He was elected president six years later.

Rap artist Jay-Z announced his retirement in 2003, a barely discernible milepost considering that his career seemed to continue unabated.

Basketball great Michael Jordan retired three times, but only the last one stuck.

I bring this up, of course, because Urban Meyer has announced his retirement from coaching football at Ohio State University, primarily for health reasons.

"I believe I will not coach again," he said. "Fairly certain."

I believe he believes that, but should his health improve, who knows? History suggests that driven people have a hard time staying retired from that which drives them.

Cher had a farewell tour in 2002, yet you can buy a ticket for her Feb. 10 show at Nationwide Arena. It’s

part of the “Here We Go Again” tour that started in Australia last year and includes dozens of dates. She’s pretty busy for a 72-year-old retiree.

One need not be eligible for Social Security to retire, though.

Justin Bieber was 19 when he retired in 2013. “I think I’m probably gonna quit music,” he said. What he actually did was more akin to taking a weekend off.

Of course, “retirements” aren’t too risky for big-name entertainers who can depend on enthusiastic fan bases to buy comeback-tour tickets. But even politicians, who often leave the scene at points where most people are glad to see them go, retain at least some support.

Mark Sanford, the South Carolina governor famous for disappearing for several days in 2009 to be with his mistress in Argentina, dodged impeachment and left office in 2011 after a “farewell tour.” He said later that he assumed the tour would mark the end of his career in politics. By 2013, he’d been elected to Congress, where he is now serving his second term. (His bid for a third term fell short.)

And then there are the football coaches. In 1992, Joe Gibbs announced his retirement as coach of the Washington Redskins after a highly successful, 12-year tenure.

But then he came back 12 years later and coached another four years.

Dick Vermeil retired at 46 from coaching the Philadelphia Eagles after the 1982 season. He returned 14 seasons later to coach the St. Louis Rams, winning a Super Bowl during that tenure, then retiring, then unretiring to coach Kansas City.

Meyer is only 54. If he followed Vermeil’s timetable, he could take a decade and a half off and still be younger than 70 upon returning. He wouldn’t be the first person to retire from retirement.

Joe Blundo is a Dispatch columnist jblundo@dispatch.com @joeblundo