Urban Meyer Resigns As Florida Football Coach

Urban Meyer has resigned as the head football coach at the University of Florida effective January 1, 2010 due to health reasons.

While it may come as a shock to most fans across the country, it won’t surprise anyone who has been associated with the Florida football program or anyone who has spent an extended covering the sport down south. Meyer is one of the most honest, family oriented individuals in the college game. He creates a winning culture wherever he goes but winning doesn’t necessarily change the culture of Florida football.

The average, blue collar football fan in Gainesville not only expects to win every game year in and year out but demands it. There is no offseason for the head football coach at Florida, there is no room for error and there is no true ceiling to reach. What could Urban Meyer have done this past season that wasn’t already expected of him?

Those of you who listen to Colin regularly will recall him referring to the Florida ‘culture’ that can physically beat a coach down. This culture hasn’t been bred solely in the Sunshine State but throughout the SEC. Gone are the days of Bear Bryant, a head coach that stays at an SEC program for twenty years, dominates on a continuous basis and is appreciated more with each passing year. Any Alabama fan that thinks Nick Saban is going to be your head coach for the next two decades is unreasonable.

‘Head Football Coach at the University of Florida’ is one of - if not ‘the’ - finest job titles you can ever receive in the college coaching profession. The baggage that comes along with that title isn’t always worth the tag or the hefty salary that follows. As a head coach, giving Gator football fans wins is akin to give Michael Jordan a pair of sneakers for Christmas.

This could be the best thing that ever happens to Gator fans. If Meyer is truthful about his health problems and they just so happen to be related to the overwhelming stress associated with being the head coach at the University of Florida, Gator Nation - and SEC fans as a whole - might be forced to look into the mirror and re-evaluate what is truly important in life. Then again, by asking irrational people to react to situations rationally, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

By no means is this an indictment on every Gator fan. We have consistently held to our stance that they have one of the best message boards - Gator Bait - in the country. The overwhelming majority of fans that post on their board bring legitimate questions or comments to the table and do not venomously attack opposing players or their own. While they’re opinionated, they certainly maintain a level of class that you don’t see at most football crazy programs. Unfortunately, they do not represent all Gator or SEC fans.

Urban Meyer is an exceptionally talented, generous, astute, young head coach who will surface -if not at Florida, elsewhere - in the very near future. Hopefully his health concerns are minor and can be taken care of with simple rest and relaxation.

For now, here are a few names to keep in mind: Greg Schiano, Chris Peterson, Jim Harbaugh and Bo Pelini. Perhaps associate head coach Steve Addazio runs the show for a year with the hopes that Meyer simply needs a year or two away from the game to het his body back to full health.

CHRIS FOWLER SPEAKS HONESTLY ABOUT THE JOB AS FOOTBALL COACH AT FLORIDA