The 2018 season has not gone according to plan for Urban Meyer and his Ohio State football team.
It all started with a three-game suspension for mishandling the situation involving former assistant coach Zach Smith.
Then, many fans thought Meyer looked pained or distressed during and even after games.
Meyer even fell to his knees on the sidelines during the Buckeyes’ closer-than-expected win over Indiana.
He later explained that it was a result of headaches he suffers due to an arachnoid cyst on his brain.
Meyer’s history of health issues dating back to his time at Florida inspired speculation from some corners of the national media that the coach could retire after this season.
Monday, Meyer denied that he was even considering it.
A transcript of his exchange with a reporter is below.
Q. I’ve seen some people in the media implying that you could retire after this season. I’m sure if that’s not true you would like to respond to that. What is your response when you hear things like that?
URBAN MEYER: I plan on coaching.
Q. You plan on coaching?
URBAN MEYER: Yes.
Q. Can you say for sure you’ll be back next year at Ohio State?
URBAN MEYER: Yes.
Meyer’s wife Shelley was even more forceful with her denial. In a since-deleted tweet, she went right at ESPN’s Paul Finebaum, who has repeatedly speculated that Urban Meyer may be on his way out.
“Ummmm, newsflash? Or Maybe not. He gets NONE OF MY ATTENTION. Should get no one else’s either. I don’t listen or watch him or his network anymore,” Shelley Meyer wrote.
That was in response to a hit Finebaum did on ESPN, where he said:
I’m hearing a lot of whispers that this will be Urban Meyer’s final season in Columbus. You go back to August with the controversy over Zach Smith, you talk about Gene Smith, the tension between them — you saw it at that press conference.
You also know by now that a member of the Board of Trustees wanted more severe punishment and ended up resigning.
That was before the season started, and of course Urban missed the first couple games, and since he’s been back Ohio State had won until Saturday night — coming from behind to beat Penn State — but they have not looked good.
Urban Meyer’s demeanor on the sidelines has been curious. He’s complained several times of headaches. And having covered Urban Meyer at the University of Florida, Kate, this looks like a rerun, this looks like déjà vu.
Urban Meyer walked away down there when the pressure got too much, and I believe he’ll do the same thing at the end of the season here.