#2 Ohio State blew their perfect season in a lethargic performance at Purdue, but bigger questions about Urban Meyer’s health continue to be debated.
While Meyer’s arachnoid cyst did not create a massive headache for him on the sidelines like two weeks ago at Indiana, SEC expert and ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum, said the combination of health and outside pressure following his suspension at the start of the season is weighing on Meyer.
“I sense his time is coming to an end at Ohio State,” Finebaum said on the ESPN show Get Up! “This is observational. I’m watching him. Don’t forget the month of August, one of his worst months ever. I still feel like it’s a bad marriage.”
Urban Meyer dropped to his knees on the sidelines during a game against Indiana due to a massive headache.
It was after his three game suspension for his handling of domestic abuse allegations against former assistant coach Zach Smith that Meyer had a noticeable headache that brought him to his knees on the sidelines.
“We’re hearing him talk about his health,” said Finebaum. “Most coaches don’t talk about their health unless it’s a very serious situation. I think this is a precursor to him walking away at the end of the season much like he did 6 or 7 years ago at the University of Florida. The signs are there.”
When Meyer resigned as the Florida Gators head coach on December 9, 2010, he was worn out and gaunt.
He had coached the 2010 season after first resigning for health reasons in December 2009, then changing his mind and returning a day later; the aborted exit came a few weeks after Meyer had been rushed to the hospital with chest pains.
As for the headaches, now eight years later, he admitted after the Indiana game that he still takes medicine for the cyst and “it’s something we have to monitor.”
Finebaum is not alone, although he is the first to talk publicly about it, in his belief that quality of life could lead Meyer to again quit college football.
The Buckeye’s loss to an unranked Purdue team came after All-American defensive end Nick Bosa announced he has played his final down of football at Ohio State.
Bosa suffered an injury in OSU’s Sept. 15 win over TCU. He is projected as a certain first-round NFL draft pick in the 2019 draft.
It was originally hoped that Bosa would be able to return to action after surgery to repair a core muscle, but instead he determined that being ready for the NFL draft was more important.
Meyer’s health will be watched even more closely now that his team hit a wall against a much weaker opponent. The loss almost guarantees that Ohio State’s national championship dreams are over for the year.
Meyer is one of the highest profile coaches in college football, earning $7.5 million per year.
He is 77-9 since taking over in Columbus. The Buckeyes have won at least 11 games in each of the six seasons, claiming two B1G titles and a national championship in 2014.