Urban Meyer to Retire From Ohio State After Rose Bowl - The New York Times

Urban Meyer to Retire From Ohio State After Rose Bowl

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Urban Meyer led Ohio State to a national championship in 2014CreditCreditAj Mast/Associated Press

Dec. 4, 2018

Urban Meyer will leave Ohio State and retire from coaching after the Rose Bowl, the university announced Tuesday.

He will be replaced by Ryan Day, the Buckeyes’ 39-year-old offensive coordinator.

Meyer, 54, led Ohio State to the national championship in 2014 and had a 82-9 record in seven seasons. His success has made him one of the highest-paid coaches in the game, making $7.6 million a year. He was under contract through the 2022 season.

In August, Meyer was put on paid leave for the first three games of the season after he was accused of not informing supervisors of domestic violence allegations against an assistant coach, Zach Smith. “I followed my heart, not my head,” Mr. Meyer said. One Ohio State trustee resigned, saying the punishment should have been “more profound.”

Meyer characterized the result of the university’s investigation as largely exonerating him, saying he was not suspended for condoning domestic violence but rather for mismanaging the Smith situation. He apologized to Smith’s wife, Courtney.

Meyer returned from that to lead the Buckeyes to a 12-1 record and the Big Ten championship.

During a game with Indiana in October, Meyer knelt on the sideline in some distress. He later revealed that he had a bad headache caused by a brain cyst he has been dealing with for several years.

Meyer, 54, had previously won national titles in 2006 and 2008 with Florida. He was also the head coach at Utah, where he had an undefeated season, and Bowling Green. His overall record is 186-32. Big name players he has coached include Alex Smith at Utah, Tim Tebow at Florida and Ezekiel Elliott at Ohio State.

He left Florida in 2011 after a disappointing season, citing family and health concerns.

This season the Buckeyes are ranked No. 6 and bound for a Rose Bowl showdown with Washington on New Year’s Day. They barely missed out on the College Football Playoffs, despite the Big Ten championship.

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