Urban Meyer led the Buckeyes to one national title, two College Football Playoff appearances, three Big Ten titles, and a 7-0 record against Michigan.
Tuesday, Meyer announced that he is retiring as Ohio State’s head football coach.
Offensive coordinator Ryan Day, who served as the interim head coach during Meyer’s three-game suspension at the beginning of the season, will take over as the full-time head coach.
Meyer will coach his final game with the Buckeyes at the 2019 Rose Bowl against Washington.
Tuesday, at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, Meyer officially announced his retirement.
He met with the media to discuss the change.
Then, new head coach Ryan Day discussed what’s next for the Buckeye program.
The press conference is scheduled to start at 2:00 pm Eastern. You can watch it live below.
First i would like to thank Coach Myer for his 7 years of service to The Ohio State University. And i understand the pressure that comes from taking on a program such as Ohio State football. It still is the toughest job in college football, still known as the “Grave Yard of Coaches” lore. I understand health and family goes hand in hand as top priority. Now for my opinion on a subject such as loyalty when it comes to the college coaches of today. They speak of loyalty to the players, to the universities and to the fan bases around the country. The coaches today are not as loyal as the coaches of the past , thus most chase the money that are offered up at the top universities to get winning programs to pay dividends back. And the coaches now make millions on top of millions. I look at some of the coaches today, who own a beautiful multi-million dollar home or homes, memberships in the top golf courses, along with private jet privileges, just to name a few of the nice quirks. And then i take a look back at coaches like Woody Hayes, a man who never thought of a raise for himself but only for his assistants. I remember one season the university had to explain to Woody he had to take a raise, as it was a compensation raise required by the league conference, so he took it. Coach Hayes often said , he didn’t care about the money, because he didn’t want that to get in the way of coaching. Look at the plain two story home that Woody lived in till his death. Also it was reported that his family found dozens of checks from speaking engagements still in his suit pockets that he never cashed.Loyalty, yes let’s talk about loyalty.(Watch Woody speak at the Ohio State graduation ceremony) I believe that Urban was loyal to all the places he has coached, but i don’t believe that its the same loyalty that coach Hayes had. I believe that the loyalty today is more self serving than it use to be and it sometimes is not as focused or prioritized as in the past. Thus the problem that caused more undue pressure on Urban this season, as more loyalty to Earl Bruce’s grandson than to Ohio State University. This adding to the pressure that i would say put coach Myer over the top to retire.There will be some who say , well the University wasn’t loyal to coach Myer. Well it is the job of the president, athletic director and the committee to be loyal to the University first and foremost, as The Ohio State University is bigger than any single entity. Next i do understand how times have changed, when it comes to college football and the pressures. Next i wish coach Day, all the best, but how good he really is , remains to be seen when the program and his recruits become HIS team. I remain steady today as always, that unless you are from Ohio, you still don’t totally understand the loyalty to the BUCKEYES. It’s in the blood, the genes, it can’t be transplanted. Hopefully with the help of Buckeye Nation and those at the university , coach Day will be successful. Now to coach Myer, i would like to see him stay on at the university and work as he may to continue to make it the great university that it is. As far as my own opinion, i believe after a couple years, the coaching bug within his system with provide too much of a bite, leading to him wanting to coach again. And according to my wife who works for a neurosurgeon, there are ways to correct his medical problem, but it takes some time to do and some rehab afterwards. Thus i believe that if Urban wants to take the time to do things to correct his health problem and still wants to coach , then some day i think we will see him back on the sidelines somewhere. Being only 54 , if you believe Urban is totally done, then you don’t remember the past, or you still believe in Santa Claus.
Why is Ryan Day’s face so red? He should do something about that.
Facial expressions say a lot. Urban was smiling frequently, Smith was somber and Day looked like he was assuming a huge challenge. It’s always nice to leave on top and on your own terms. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Drake replaced because the board was conflicted over his handling of the situation. The Ohio State football program has the momentum and will thrive with anyone competent at the helm. I am concerned by having only 15 verbally committed recruits and in a way it shows when Urban lost his enthusiasm off the field. Both Urban and Ms. Smith were abused but Urban in a much more visible way and by a University he loved. You just don’t treat people that way without repercussions and loyallty isn’t a one way street.