Urban Flight.

For the second year in a row, Urban Meyer has decided to step down from coaching.  Last year,  citing health concerns, he retired only to unretire the next day.  This time, he stated that it was a desire to spend more time with his family and interests away from football.  He seems to have his mind made up, but for how long will he stay retired?

There's a lot of speculation that he could unretire, again, and take up the vacant coaching spot for the Denver Broncos.  That would reunite him with Tim Tebow, the man who seemed to make Meyer's life as coach a lot easier.  It would also confirm what I've always believed; that Meyer couldn't seem to contemplate what his life would be without Tim Tebow, hence his decision to retire last year.  Let's be real, he misses the kid.

Tim Tebow was one of the most highly recruited players during his 2005 senior year.  Despite a strong pitch by Alabama, he chose Florida and attained a cult-like status from the day he set foot in Gainesville.  As a back up to Chris Leak during his freshman year, he was a key contributor toward the Gators championship run that season.  As a starting QB, he held a 35-6 record, won the Heisman Trophy and led Florida to the National Championship.  Altogether, Florida had a record of 48-7 during Tebow's 4 years on campus. 

In the year 1 P.T (Post Tebow), Florida has all but vanished from the college football map.  Along with John Brantley, Florida had to use Jordan Reed and Trey Burton in QB shuffle, as they struggled to a 7-5 record this past season.  Believe it or not, they were still in contention for the SEC East crown, but South Carolina quickly took care of that.

It's hard to believe that at one point, Cameron Newton was next in line after Tim Tebow.  Seeing the kind of impact that Newton has had on Auburn, one can only wonder what might have been, had he stuck around at Florida.  Had he stayed, and it was Florida going to the national championship instead of Auburn, would Urban Meyer have made this decision to walk away?  Also considering that Newton is a junior and would likely be back for his senior season (which could possibly be another national title run), would Urban Meyer have wanted to walk away from that too?

Following the 2008 season, Meyer has lost 2 key assistants that have gone on to fill head coaching vacancies; Dan Mullen to Mississippi State and Charlie Strong to Louisville.  After Mullen left, the offense hasn't quite been the same the last 2 years; and you can also see how much their defense misses Charlie Strong.  I guess that's the price you pay when you have a top program.  It is never easy to replace quality assistants, just ask Florida State.

In 10 years as head coach, Urban Meyer has coached at 3 schools while compiling a record of 103-23 (17-6 at Bowling Green, 22-2 at Utah, 64-15 at Florida).  That is as good as any record during that period.  His record in bowl games stands currently stands at 6-1.  His coaching highlights include leading Utah to a 12-0 record and a Fiesta Bowl win in the 2004 season (making Utah the first BCS buster),  and 2 national championships at Florida.  The man has indeed proven his worth as a head coach.

Should Meyer decide to return to coaching at some point, it won't be with Denver though (at least that's what I think).  My best guess is that he'll probably wait until Tressel steps down at Ohio State.  That makes sense to me, as Meyer is from Ohio.  What a homecoming that would be.

The Outback Bowl against Penn State will be Meyer's last game in charge.  Across the field will be Penn State's Joe Paterno, 83 years young.  The irony.