In case you didn’t hear, Urban Meyer announced that he will resign following the Florida Gators Outback Bowl game against Penn State on Jan. 1. It’s the second time he’s announced his resignation in less than a year, citing family reasons. After six years and two national championships, Meyer has decided he wants to spend more time with his family and leave the pressure of coaching college football. Meyer retired the day after Christmas last year amid health concerns, but said he made a mistake and returned to coaching with 24 hours.
It seems that this decision is final after Meyer emphasized the time demands over and over as his reason. Florida’s 7-5 record, capped off by a disappointing 31-7 loss to rival Florida State could have something to do with his resignation, but I won’t believe it until after the Outback Bowl. There are no odds out on it yet, but in the meantime, let’s take a look at the likely candidates for the coaching gig at Florida (in alphabetical order).
John Gruden (Monday Night Football color analyst)
The word last week was Gruden was mentioned for the open University of Miami coaching position, so he’s a prime candidate because of his ties throughout the state of Florida. After all, he won a Super Bowl as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Dan Mullen (Mississippi State head coach)
Mullen should’ve been on Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley’s speed dial. He has done well in two seasons at Mississippi State, including an 8-4 record this year. Florida’s offense hasn’t been the same since he left as offensive coordinator.
Chris Petersen (Boise State head coach)
Petersen has done wonders at Boise State. Because of that, he has received plenty of head coaching offers from other schools, but hasn’t moved. However, none of them were as high profile as Florida. The Gators had success with an innovative, offensive-minded Meyer from Utah. They might try to duplicate that and go West again with Petersen.
Bobby Petrino (Arkansas head coach)
After three years at Arkansas, Petrino has the school in its first ever BCS bowl game. He was on Foley’s radar in 2005 when Meyer was hired. You can be sure he still is. Petrino is another great offensive-minded coach that would thrive under Florida’s recruiting machine, but there is a $3 million buyout if he leaves before the end of the year.
Bob Stoops (Oklahoma head coach)
Stoops has been at Oklahoma for over a decade, but he was Steve Spurrier’s defensive coordinator before that. Foley likes him and he would be a good fit as well-known name throughout college football. Stoops was also one of the front-runners for job in 2005.
Charlie Strong (Louisville head coach)
Strong is a good candidate because he hasn’t been gone that long. Like Mullen, he was a former assistant under Meyer and has done well in his first head coaching job. Louisville is even in a bowl game. He’s a good recruiter and was a defensive genius at Florida.