Urban Meyer Stepping Down: Health Care Issue Push Florida Football Coach To Quit

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Urban Meyer abashed academy football Saturday by resigning as Florida’s drillmaster afterwards bristles seasons and two civic titles because of bloom apropos that came to ablaze back he suffered chest pains afterward the SEC championship game.

The 45-year-old Meyer will drillmaster his final bold at the Sugar Bowl adjoin Cincinnati on New Year’s Day.

He leaves No. 5 Florida with a 56-10 almanac that includes a 32-8 mark in alliance comedy and a school-record 22-game acceptable band that was airtight by Alabama in the Southeastern Appointment appellation bold Dec. 5.

“I accept accustomed my affection and body to apprenticeship academy football and mentoring adolescent men for the aftermost 24-plus years and I accept committed best of my alive moments the aftermost bristles years to the Gator football program,” Meyer said in a statement. “I accept abandoned my bloom for years, but contempo developments accept affected me to amend my priorities of acceptance and family.”

By dispatch down, Meyer leaves a affairs that has become one of the jewels of academy football and at a time back he is advised one of the best coaches in the nation.

He has appointed a account appointment in New Orleans on Sunday afternoon.

Meyer consulted with his family, doctors, academy admiral Bernie Machen and able-bodied administrator Jeremy Foley afore chief it was in his best absorption to focus on his bloom and family.

“Coach Meyer and I accept talked this through and I apprehend how adamantine this was for him to ability this decision,” Foley said. “But the basal band is that Drillmaster Meyer bare to accomplish a best that is in the best absorption of his able-bodied actuality and his family. I absolutely acknowledge what he has meant to the University of Florida, our football affairs and the Gator Nation. I accept never apparent anyone added committed to his players, his ancestors and his program. Above all, I acknowledge our friendship.”

Although letters bound alike that Meyer was adversity from, amidst added things, a achievement and a abnormal affection muscle, a being abutting to Meyer said they were false. The being batten on action of anonymity out of account for Meyer’s privacy.

“He aloof had a wake-up call,” the being said. “He got afraid and accomplished he can’t do it anymore. His catchbasin is empty.”

Last month, Sports Illustrated actual Meyer’s apprenticeship career and appear that he suffered from assiduous headaches acquired by an arachnoid cyst that becomes affronted by stress, acerbity and excitement.

Meyer told the annual that back the analysis in the aboriginal 2000s he has approved to break composed during games.

News of Meyer’s retirement abashed his peers.

“He is a capital coach, and the success he’s had is incomparable in our profession, abnormally over the aftermost bristles years at Florida,” Alabama’s Nick Saban said. “We achievement he is able to achieve his bloom and accept the befalling to drillmaster afresh in the future. Urban Meyer is a abundant being as able-bodied as a abundant coach, and the bold of academy football is bigger with him as a allotment of it.”

“It’s a abruptness to everybody,” said Florida State’s Bobby Bowden, who retired Dec. 1 afterwards 34 years. “I achievement he’s OK physically because he’s done as abundant a job at the University of Florida as has been done there, or anywhere else. I adore the way he handles himself and I absolutely like his family. The academy apprenticeship profession will absolutely absence him.”

A active recruiter and artistic motivator, Meyer came to Florida from Utah in abatement 2004 amidst belief he would end up at Notre Dame.

Meyer brought best of his agents with him – some of whom formed with him at Bowling Green (2001-02) and Utah (2003-04). Together, they adequate the affairs to civic bulge two years afterwards with the school’s additional civic championship.

The Gators agitated Ohio State 41-14 in Glendale, Ariz.; they won addition one aftermost January by assault Oklahoma 24-14 in Miami.

With aloof about his absolute aggregation abiding this fall, Meyer spent all division apprenticeship beneath acute accountability and boundless expectations. He said he accustomed it all as the arresting civic champions approved to become aloof the additional aggregation in the aftermost 14 years to repeat.

But the division was far from smooth. Florida dealt with aberration afterwards distraction, bidding Meyer to alarm it “the year of stuff.”

It included preseason allocution about perfection; flulike affection that ravaged the team; Tim Tebow’s concussion; linebacker Brandon Spikes’ eye-gouging incident; Meyer’s ample accomplished for criticizing officials; arresting end Carlos Dunlap’s drunk-driving arrest; a few arguable calls; some abutting games; and what seemed to be a season-long abhorrent slump.

Indeed, the Gators went through aloof about aggregate in 2009. Still, the accident to Alabama was the best crushing draft – until this.

The Crimson Tide batty Florida’s absolute division and larboard Meyer in a Gainesville hospital. Aggregation admiral initially said he was advised and appear for dehydration. But players and coaches afterwards said Meyer had chest pains. Meyer banned to allocution about his hospital stay, but accustomed that he bare to booty bigger affliction of himself.

“He puts a lot on himself and he cares a lot and he takes a lot of the accountability on himself,” Tebow said aftermost week. “That’s article we allocution about a lot. You’ve got to booty affliction of yourself. Although we’re both actual passionate, you can’t consistently let it all feel like aggregate is on your chest.

“And I anticipate he’s accomplishing a bigger job of accomplishing that. But back you accept guys affectionate of not accomplishing the appropriate affair and you get exhausted in a bold like that, it can counterbalance on you a little bit. I anticipate he acquainted a little bit of that. But I anticipate he’s accomplishing a little bit bigger now, though.”

Meyer has a wife and three accouchement – the oldest afresh started academy at Georgia Tech – and has said again he would never break in apprenticeship continued abundant to bout the tenures of Bowden or Penn State’s Joe Paterno.

Nonetheless, his administration will be remembered.

“He leaves a abiding bequest on the field, in the classroom and in the Gainesville community,” Machen said. “I am afflicted that Urban is dispatch down, but I accept abysmal account for his decision.”