Urban Meyer’s decision to resign from the Florida football program last week came as a result of health issues that made it unsafe to continue coaching, the Gainesville Sun is reporting.
An unnamed source told the paper Saturday that Meyer’s doctors informed him that symptoms he has continued to experience — namely, a burning sensation in his chest — would “raise his cardiovascular risk factors.” As a result, the source said, Meyer chose to resign.
Last Wednesday, following the completion of a 7-5 regular season that will go down as the worst in his six-year tenure, Meyer said he was stepping down in an effort to spend more time with his family. The grind of college coaching, he said, had prevented him from attending the sporting of events of his three children, and making up for lost time was his top priority.
Asked whether there were absolutely no health concerns behind his decision, however, Meyer responded, “To say that there wasn’t a scare would be incorrect. But that’s not the reason for this press conference today.”
Later, when the university released a transcript of Meyer’s press conference, that question and quote were omitted.
Another source told Gator Country while it was true that Meyer had some health issues, they did not result directly as the main reason Meyer chose to leave Florida at this time.
Issues involving Meyer’s health first arose last December, when the coach was rushed to the hospital following his team’s loss to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference championship game. Less than a month later, he announced his retirement before changing his mind the following day and deciding instead to take a leave of absence and delegate more duties to assistant coaches. His health issues then were later diagnosed as esophageal spasms, a relatively non-serious issue that can lead suffers to feel like they’re suffering from a heart attack.
Another source told the Associated Press that Meyer can control the chest pain with “constant monitoring”, a process Meyer has already begun. The source also said that the spasms have been kept mostly under control, but added that other problems have persisted, causing Meyer to speak with doctors and family members and ultimately decide that retirement was the safest option.
Despite regular questions about his health, however, Meyer insisted throughout the 2010 season that it wasn’t an issue at all, and he had assured reporters three weeks ago that he was “absolutely” returning for a seventh season, speaking bluntly about the need to “get this thing turned around”.
On Saturday, Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp was named the Gators’ new head coach, although Meyer is expected to remain with the team in some capacity.