Urban Meyer describes 'heartbreaking' exit with Florida Gators, reflects on health, legacy

Urban Meyer admits the way his tenure at Florida ended is painful. The legendary football coach won two national championships with the Gators in 2006 and 2008 before his resignation in 2010. At the time, Meyer cited health concerns as a driving factor behind his decision, but it is still a chapter of his career that carries emotional weight.

"The good thing is that I'm surrounded by a lot of Gators and Gator fans," Meyer said on Another Dooley Noted Podcast. "And the way Urban Meyer left Florida is something that I can't change. It's heartbreaking, but it's also my life — it is what it is. I look back now, I was not in good shape. I look back now, I had to do that to get myself healthy again because it was awful."

In 2009, Meyer was hospitalized after experiencing chest pains following the SEC Championship Game loss to Alabama, prompting him to announce he was stepping down due to health concerns. He reversed course shortly after, instead taking an indefinite leave of absence before returning for the 2010 season. But the toll of the job lingered, and Meyer officially resigned for good at the end of that campaign — a decision he now says was necessary for his well-being, though still difficult to reconcile.

"I'm also at peace with the fact that as a Gator, if someone wants to come knock on my door and say, 'Man coach, I wish you guys would just work a little harder for Florida.' You know, that's a fight you're not gonna win. That's going to have a bad ending," Meyer continued. "If they said, 'You know, coach, I wish you would have stayed a few more years.' I get that. Or someone says you left the program a mess or something. I heard that, and I'm like, you just told me that one of the best rosters they've ever had in the Gators was the year after we left. They had great players everywhere.

"So, I think all of that has kind of moved on. And I know it's certainly moved on in my heart, other than the fact that I look back now, and I still have great relationships with a lot of those players. I just was with (Tim) Tebow the other day, I talk to (Brandon) Spikes all the time, and I'll never forget those great moments."

Meyer coached his final game at Florida in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1, 2011. The Gators defeated Penn State 37-24. He led Florida to a 65-15 overall record with a pair of SEC Championships in 2006 and 2008.

Meyer returned to the sidelines in 2012 as head coach at Ohio State, a position he held for seven seasons before retiring in December 2018, again citing health reasons. Meyer won a third national championship with the Buckeyes in 2014.