COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State coach Urban Meyer abruptly announced his retirement Tuesday, citing health reasons and a difficult year that included a three-game suspension over his handling of domestic violence allegations against a now-fired assistant coach. He will step down after the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.
Meyer is leaving at the top of his career after three national championships and seven years at the Big Ten school, where he has an 82-9 record. The 54-year-old Meyer has an arachnoid cyst in his brain that causes severe headaches, and had shown obvious effects of being in pain on the sideline this season.
At a packed news conference, Meyer explained that the headaches became severe last season during Ohio State's game at Penn State and have become a persistent problem this season. But he didn't blame only his health for stepping away. Meyer said he believed he could no longer coach the way he has always coached, from the early days at Bowling Green to Utah, Florida and finally with the Buckeyes.
"The style of coaching I've done for 33 years is very intense, very demanding. I tried to delegate more and CEO more and the product started to feel ...," he said, not finishing his thought. "I didn't feel I was doing right by our players and by Gene (Smith, the athletic director)."
Meyer said leaving would have been more difficult if the program wasn't healthy. The Buckeyes are 12-1 after winning the Big Ten and, and Meyer said he felt good that assistant coach Ryan Day will take over as the 25th coach of the storied program where Meyer won a national title in 2014 after two at Florida (2006, 2008).
"You want to hand it off to someone who could make it stronger," Meyer said.
It was Day who led the Buckeyes when Meyer was suspended for three games to start this season over his role in the handling of assistant coach Zach Smith, who was accused by his ex-wife of domestic abuse.
Meyer said he knew about the allegations against Smith -- grandson of former Ohio State coach Earle Bruce -- but wasn't sure they were true and kept Smith on staff because no criminal charges were filed. The university cited that lapse in suspending Meyer after an investigation.
A report issued by an investigative committee left a lasting stain, detailing behavior by Meyer that could have taken down a coach of lesser stature. The investigation showed he tolerated bad behavior for years from Smith, including domestic-violence accusations, drug addiction, lies and other acts that directly clash with the values Meyer touts publicly.
Meyer acknowledged the investigation was among the reasons for his decision: "The decision was the result of cumulative events."
Meyer was asked if the suspension will affect his legacy.
"I'm sure it will... I can lie to you and say it is not important to me," he said.
The announcement came as the Buckeyes begin preparations for the bowl game against Washington and less than three weeks before the early signing period, giving recruits time to change their minds. Meyer said his decision had to come before the Dec. 19 signing day.
Former players were full of praise for Meyer.
"Besides my parents, you were one of the most influential people to touch my life and I'm appreciative of that," former Buckeyes linebacker Joshua Perry wrote on Twitter.
The Buckeyes' strong finish this season belied on-the-field problems that made for a stressful season for Meyer and his staff. He lost star defensive end Nick Bosa to an early season-ending injury, and the defense never fully recovered.
The team alternated expected blowout wins with puzzling play that included a pair of one-point wins (Penn State, Maryland) and a closer-than-expected win over a struggling Nebraska team. A startling blowout loss at unranked Purdue on Oct. 20 pushed Ohio State to the fringe of the national championship chase and prompted questions about Meyer's future and he was forced to address speculation that he would step down at the end of the season.
"I plan on coaching," he said on Oct. 29. Asked if he would definitely return to Ohio State next year, he answered, "Yes."
Ohio State followed that with five straight wins, including a rout of archrival Michigan that gave the Buckeyes another division title and then pulled away for an easy win over Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship.
The success was nothing new for Meyer, who was a standout coach at Utah before he left for Florida in 2005 and rocketed to the top of the college football coaching ranks, a peer of Alabama coach Nick Saban in terms of respect and ability. After stepping down at Florida due to stress-related health concerns, he took the Ohio State job before the 2012 season after Jim Tressel was forced out for lying to the NCAA amid a memorabilia-for-tattoos scandal.
It appeared to be a dream job for the Toledo native. His contract was extended in April by two years through 2022, increasing Meyer's salary to $7.6 million in 2018 with annual 6 percent raises. Meyer has about $38 million left on his contract.
Ohio State will now turn to Day, a second-year Ohio State assistant who had never before been a head coach before he stepped in for Meyer this season.
Copyright 2018 by The Associated Press
