Reacting to Urban Meyer’s Resignation Two Days Later

On Wednesday, Urban Meyer announced his resignation from the position of head coach at Florida.  I hope you already know this.  If you don’t, this probably isn’t a good place to start.  Go back to that day and go over this quickly and then come on back.  I’ll be waiting for you.

When I first heard the news, I went through about every emotional possible in a matter of only seconds.  I had stepped away for a few minutes to come back and see an email from one of those individuals I regularly debate sports with.  His email was short and to the point, Meyer had resigned and there would be a formal announcement later that day.  At first, I was shocked, surprised, disappointed, angry, and even a little sad.  Those emotions could also sum up how I felt when I heard the same news almost one year earlier.  Back then, they were all calmed fairly quickly as it took Meyer barely any time at all to realize he wanted to return.  This time around, they were calmed by the fact that I think this may be the best solution for everyone involved – Meyer, Jeremy Foley, the next Gator head coach, the players, the school, and the fans.

Before getting too much into how I feel, let’s go over a few things for those of you that today, two days later, are still angry at Meyer for leaving.  I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again, you have the right to feel however you want to feel.  I’m not going to say you can’t, but in voicing my opinion, I may try to get you to look at the other side of the coin.  Be as angry as you want to be, but if you are, I have to ask why?  What did Meyer do to you?  Well, to answer that question, he gave you a championship caliber team to cheer for.  In six seasons, he won two titles, led the Gators to three 13-1 seasons, and brought in the player that 100 years from now may still be the most recognizable figure in Florida history – Tim Tebow.  Did he leave after a 7-5 season?  Sure.  Was it the ideal time for him to step down?  From a football standpoint, of course not.  Do you suddenly despise the man?  Think about that one for a bit.

Sometimes you need to remove the word “loyalty” from these situations.  There are a number of fans out there that stopped worshipping Steve Spurrier the second he announced he was leaving.  In fact, many of them began hating him at that exact moment.  They feel he wasn’t loyal to his alma mater, to the place that made him as a player and a coach.  But what exactly is loyalty?  Try to remember that being a coach is a job.  It’s a profession.  The same as being a manager, a customer service representative, or a CEO.  For Spurrier, he saw another opportunity, one that if he were in another field no one would question him for taking.  For Meyer, he saw a chance to leave his job at a young age with the financial security most of us can only dream of to be with his family.  You can fault him for that if you want, but I can’t.  Sure, I wish it happened differently, but I don’t hate the man.  Instead I thank him for what Florida football was under his leadership and I dream of being able to do what he did in 15 years when I’m his age.

As for the timing of coming off of a down season in which Meyer looked almost uninterested at times, I actually think it’s for the best.  In a perfect world, it would be great to see him come back and rebuild in 2011, but this is the real world, not a perfect one.  I’m only guessing, but I believe that Meyer did want to step down one year ago.  He had his brief health scare and wanted to spend more time with his family and be there for his children.  I won’t go as far to say he was forced to come back for the 2010 season, but I will say he was heavily pushed.  I’m sure when he thought about it he realized he didn’t want to go out that abruptly, so he came back.  He didn’t want to put Foley and Florida against the wall having to start a search for a new head coach from scratch.  But he wasn’t fully in it and throughout the season he realized his mind was elsewhere and, as evidenced by what happened on the field, if he couldn’t give 100%, it wasn’t fair to anyone involved.

I’m sure there are some of you out there that think this announcement was just as abrupt as the last one and it was, but that’s just the announcement.  Foley was aware of what occurred last season and most likely had numerous conversations with Meyer over the course of the 2010 season and in the days before the resignation was made public.  Foley, being one the nation’s top athletic directors, was already planning.  He may not have had a number one choice, but he surely had a list.  He knew the Gators wouldn’t be led by Meyer for much longer.  Even if the head coach was returning for 2011, can any of you honestly say you thought he would have been around for much longer after that?  I set the over/under with those I talk college football with the most at 2.5 years after the regular season was over.  Obviously that was very high, but that’s as confident as I was that regardless of what happened.  Meyer wasn’t going to be at Florida for the long term.  He wants more out of life than just being a college football coach.  Meyer wants the time he missed with his family that he’ll never get back.

Now that it’s happened, Meyer’s resignation really is for the best.  Many may think he should have stuck it out to help Florida rebound, especially after he himself said he would.  Is that really what you would want though?  A head coach who really doesn’t want to be a head coach at the moment leading your team?  You don’t.  No one, Meyer included, wants to go through another season like 2010.  7-5 seasons will happen, but 7-5 seasons like that are sickening.  It’s best to cut ties now and get the next guy in there to start to build a program of his own.  Recruits may decommit and players may transfer, but we’ve been through this before.  Spurrier left after a reasonably successful 2001 season.  Only five seasons later, the Gators were winning the National Championship.  Remember, with or without Meyer, this is Florida.  Just look at the names being thrown out there as potential replacements.  This job isn’t a stepping stone, it’s a dream destination.  One many can only wish they could come do and have even half the success Meyer had in his short time with the Gators.  Each and every one of those would take Foley’s call and each and every one would consider moving to Gainesville.  They may turn it down, but every one of them will have a difficult time doing so.

I’ll always remember Meyer resigning, but I won’t remember him for it.  I’ll remember Meyer for his entire tenure at Florida.  He was, and still is, a great college football head coach.  One that when he was fully in it, was one of the best in the country.  And one that realized when he wasn’t, it truly was time to move on.  He wasn’t the first great Gator head coach and he won’t be the last, but he more than helped shape the program into what it is today, one of the nation’s best.