As Urban Meyer gets set to coach his last game at Ohio State, many still wonder if it’ll be his last game coaching, period. In fact, arguably the most noteworthy moment of the early-December press conference announcing another retirement came when Meyer was asked if he’s finished coaching.
“That’s a complicated question,” Meyer said, although he later added, when asked about his future in the profession, “I believe I will not coach again.” Even that last assertion, though, came with a qualifier that certainly left the door open in the minds of many observers.
“Fairly certain.”
Ahead of his first-ever appearance in the Rose Bowl in what’s presumably his last game ever as a head coach, Meyer was again asked about his future and reiterated that he doesn’t believe he’ll be on the sidelines beyond the New Year’s Day game.
“I believe this is it,” the 54-year-old Meyer said, by way of 247Sports.com, when asked about his coaching future on ESPN’s College GameDay show Saturday. “Once again, that’s between myself and my family, but I don’t believe I’ll coach football again. I feel like I am leaving on my own terms.
“I’ve been a Buckeye since I’ve been this big. I love this area. My dream was to hand it off to someone who I think is not only great but I think he’ll make us stronger.”
When he retired from coaching (twice) while at Florida, health concerns were cited as part of the reasoning behind Meyer‘s departure. Fast-forward nearly a decade, and health issues were again cited when the Ohio State head coach announced his retirement.
For years, Meyer has dealt with an arachnoid cyst that puts pressure on the coach’s brain and sometimes causes the kind of headaches that dropped him to one knee on the sidelines during the Indiana game earlier this season. At his retirement press conference earlier this month, Meyer pointed to the headaches as the primary impetus for his decision.
Saturday, Meyer again touched on the health aspect of his departure and how the uncertainty of the risks attached to continuing his career impacted his decision.
“I’ve dealt with some significant issues this year, really since 2014,” Meyer said. “When the word risk comes out of the doctor’s mouth, that checks your whole heart a little bit. And I asked the question, ‘what exactly is a risk?’ and (the doctor said), ‘We’re not sure, coach.’”
Over the weekend, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith confirmed that Meyer will become the university’s assistant athletic director next month. The specific details of Meyer’s duties in his new role haven’t been laid out, at least publicly.
Of course, there’s also the much-discussed class on character and leadership Meyer will be teaching as part of his post-retirement career.