Urban Meyer steps down: Is college football life and death?

Much to the dismay of Florida Gator football fans across the country, head coach Urban Meyer announced last week that he’s officially stepping down as head coach of the Gators after their bowl game on Jan. 1.

If this sounds familiar, well, it’s because Meyer did this almost a year ago, just before his team hopped on a plane bound for New Orleans. Before playing his alma mater, Cincinnati, in the Sugar Bowl, Meyer announced he would step away from coaching because of health concerns.

He was back coaching the Gators this year.

Meyer cited health concerns again, according to a recent report by the Gainesville Sun. Former Texas defensive coordinator and head-coach-in-waiting Will Muschamp will be introduced as Florida head coach tomorrow.

Meyer stepping down because of health concerns might surprise some people, but to me, it’s just a case of a guy actually making a good move. Mark Dantonio (former UC head coach) suffered a heart attack after the Michigan State-Notre Dame game in September. A lot of focus was shifted onto the intense amount of pressure to win faced by college coaches each and every week.

So, is college football a matter of life and death? Some may argue that it isn’t.

Bucky Gleason, sports columnist for The Buffalo News, said, “The greater good would be putting Division I football on trial and examining how many other details are ignored in the pursuit of victory and big business. In a perfect world, college football would be a game for amateurs in pursuit of an education. That's how it was years ago, before it became life and death.”

Gleason was referring to the incident that took place in South Bend, Ind. on October 27 of this year. By now I know you’ve heard the story. Notre Dame student Declan Sullivan was killed when the lift he was filming practice in fell over.

Was it necessary to have practice outside? Is it necessary for coaches to risk lives (sometimes their own) to win football games? Urban Meyer decided it wasn’t, and although it might cost him millions of dollars in earnings, you can’t fault him for wanting to be happy and healthy with his family in the future.

So, kudos to Urban Meyer for making a life saving decision. It was smart. Now, if only all of college football was the same way, everyone would be much happier, and much healthier.