So much for faith and family.
Less than 24 hours after announcing that he was stepping down has the head coach of the Florida Gators, Urban Meyer has now decided that he will not be resigning but instead will begin an indefinite leave of absence. The ESPN gang is speculating that he’ll be back by the beginning of next season, though nobody knows how long this will take.
What changed his mind? Earlier today his wife stated that Urban Meyer would NOT change his mind.
So what happened? A news conference will be starting shortly, so we’ll learn more soon. But I suspect the alumni went crazy, and I suspect that recruits were upset as well. The option of taking a leave of absence was always on the table, so he obviously had a change of heart after the reactions started coming through.
Needless to say, this is a fluid situation. Will Meyer be able to deal with his health issues while he stays involved? The guy is a control freak, and anything less than a clean break would seem to be difficult.
I guess anything is possible, but this story will be front and center for some time as Meyer, his family and the Florida athletic department work through these issues.
UPDATE: Urban Meyer is now speaking to the media. It sounds like he just couldn’t go through with his resignation after speaking to his players. He’s a hyper-competitive guy, so this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.
Meyer also said he expects to be on the field as head coach for the 2010 opener. Frankly, he looks and sounds a little like a boxer who doesn’t know when to hang things up.
