Ohio State coach Meyer to retire after Rose Bowl
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer abruptly announced his retirement Tuesday, citing health reasons and a difficult year that included a three-game suspension over his handling of domestic violence allegations against a now-fired assistant coach. He will step down after the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.
Meyer is leaving at the top of his career after three national championships and seven years at the Big Ten school, where he has an 82-9 record. The 54-yearold Meyer has an arachnoid cyst in his brain that causes severe headaches, and had shown obvious effects of being in pain on the sideline this season.
At a packed news conference, 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. But he didn’t blame only his health for stepping away. Meyer said he believed he could no longer coach the way he has always coached, 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 after winning the Big Ten and, and Meyer said he felt good that assistant coach Ryan Day will take over as the 25th coach of the storied program where Meyer won a national title in 2014 after 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 for three games to start this season over his role in the handling of assistant coach Zach Smith, who was accused by his ex-wife of domestic abuse.
Meyer said he knew about the allegations against Smith - 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 lasting stain, detailing behaviour by Meyer that could have taken down a coach of lesser stature. The investigation showed he tolerated bad behaviour 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 his decision: “The decision was the result of cumulative events.”