COLUMBUS, Ohio | As Urban Meyer walked off the field after Ohio State easily defeated Michigan, he was pondering his future and when the right time to make a decision about when to call it quits might be.
The 54-year-old Meyer, in fact, had been considering retiring since the middle of last season.
The pain he’s endured from headaches caused by an arachnoid cyst in his brain had grown worse this season. Off-the-field issues, including a three-game suspension handed down for mismanagement of an assistant coach accused of domestic violence, had taken its toll on him. And an ideal successor was already in place in Ryan Day, his 39-year-old offensive coordinator.
On Tuesday, two days after the Buckeyes beat Northwestern to earn their second consecutive Big Ten title, 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 packed 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 will leave at the top of his profession after three national championships in a career spanning 30 years, the last seven years at Ohio State, where he recorded an 82-9 record.
He had shown obvious 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 believed he could 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).”
