Being a big name college football coach at a blue blood program carries with it a tremendous amount of pressure and scrutiny. Urban Meyer took what he had learned at Florida to excel at the job at Ohio State, but he could not have done so without the help and support from his family.
Meyer was extremely successful while at Florida, yet despite leading the Gators to a pair of national titles, the grind appeared to take a toll on him and that made him miserable.
“It was just a big mountain of pressure, stress, lack of control and not accepting what he couldn’t control,” Meyer’s wife, Shelley Meyer, said in a feature story published by Bleacher Report. “He was not accepting that he couldn’t control everything. He’s a perfectionist. He wants to win every game. He wants to win every championship. And that’s just not even clear thinking. You can’t. You just can’t.”
Meyer understood the pressures of coaching like few others do. There was one night he was convinced the job was literally killing him, when he experienced a health scare the night after lost the SEC Championship Game against Alabama in 2009. He briefly decided he should retire, but returned for another season to coach the Gators. He did step down as Gators head coach after the 2010 season.
The general consensus when Meyer stepped down as head coach at Florida at the end of the 2010 season was he was burned out from coaching and was ready to focus on reducing his stress. He also wanted to spend time with his family. Meyer had experienced chest pains as Florida’s head coach that brought some concern for the toll the job was taking on him in Gainesville. Meyer stepped into the broadcast booth for one season with ESPN, a job he handled fairly well if I recall, but that was all the time he needed away from coaching before getting the itch to take on the responsibility once more. It helped that a chance to come “home” to Ohio State was available in Columbus.
Before he accepted a job offer to coach the Buckeyes, his family made him signa contract with them first.
Shelley, daughters Nicki and Gigi and son Nate all had their terms, such as: My family will always come first. I will take care of myself and maintain good health. I will not go more than nine hours a day at the office. I will trust God’s plan and not be overanxious. I will eat three meals a day.
Nicki wrote it up on a now-famous page of pink notebook paper, and Urban signed.
Things have worked out well for Meyer since arriving at Ohio State in 2012. Meyer coached Ohio State to an undefeated season in his first year on the job, although the Buckeyes were on a one-year postseason ban so were unable to compete for a national title. A second straight undefeated regular season followed the next year before getting upset in the Big Ten Championship Game by Michigan State and a tough loss in the Orange Bowl against Clemson. The 2014 season would get off to a rough start with a home loss to Virginia Tech but would end with a surprising run to a national championship in the first year of the College Football Playoff.
“That was to see the joy in everyone’s faces, that they did what everyone said was illogical to do,” Meyer said. “And that was one of the greatest feelings I ever had in my life. Just to see these kids hold the trophy. I’ll never forget that, as long as I live.”
