Ohio State coach Urban Meyer confirmed Tuesday that he will step down after the Buckeyes' Rose Bowl game against Washington on January 1. Now ranked No. 6, the Buckeyes will face Washington in the Rose Bowl.
Pressed further, Meyer then said he is "fairly certain" he will not coach again.
And he will be replaced by OSU offensive coordinator Ryan Day, who served as interim coach when Meyer was suspended for three games at the beginning of this season.
Late last month, it was reported that Urban Meyer would address his coaching future following the Big Ten championship game. Meyer had been dealing with painful headaches due to a cyst on his brain.
In 2009, he announced he was resigning from his job at the University of Florida only to clarify the next day he was taking a leave of absence.
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The announcement came as the Buckeyes begin preparations for the bowl game against Washington and less than three weeks before schools can sign a fresh batch of recruits. Meyer led the program to a New Year's Six/BCS bowl in every year in which the Buckeyes were eligible during his tenure in Columbus, Ohio. Perhaps just as important as all of that, Meyer never lost to MI. Asked if he would definitely return to Ohio State next year, he answered, "Yes". "His strengths really come in the classroom and to be able to teach you and understand the game plan of what you want to accomplish and why you want to get that accomplished so you're successful".
It had been reported in late October that there was "friction" between Meyer/the football staff "and athletics leadership as well as within the program itself"; the head coach subsequently attempted to knock down that report, for what it's worth.
Meyer, whose resume finishes second only to that of Nick Saban among active college football coaches, announced he will retire after the Rose Bowl. It is a game Ohio State has won 14 of the last 15 times.
While the defense struggled, Day's offense was breaking records left and right, including the Big Ten single-season passing touchdown record, which quarterback Dwayne Haskins took from former Purdue QB Drew Brees.
Just for kicks, here's a look at what the odds are of Meyer becoming the next head coach in Cleveland. After stepping down at Florida because of 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. He coached for two years at Bowling Green and two years at Utah before joining Florida in 2005.
