Ohio State head football coach Urban Meyer will resign from his position after the Buckeyes play Washington in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, according to multiple reports.
Meyer, 54, leaves as one of the most successful coaches in college football history, accumulating a 186-32 record with three national championships — two at Florida and one with Ohio State.
This leave comes amid a season defined by an investigation into his role in a domestic abuse incident and his poor health.
It began in the summer, when a former assistant coach was fired amid domestic abuse allegations. Meyer was placed on administrative leave while officials aimed to discover if and what Meyer knew about the situation.
Meyer initially denied knowing about the allegations against his long-time assistant before admitting that he lied about that to reporters. As a result, he was suspended for the Buckeyes’ first three games of the season.
Later in the year, Meyer claimed to have been suffering from health problems stemming from a cyst on his brain that gave him crippling headaches. In 2014, Meyer had surgery to remove the pain, but the symptoms had returned in the past two seasons. At times, he could be seen on the sideline, dropping to a knee and grimacing.
Despite this, early reports claim that the driving factor in Meyer’s resignation is his contentedness with the success he has had with the Buckeyes and the current state of the program.
Ohio State went 82-9 in Meyer’s seven seasons. They won the 2014 national championship, have won the last two Big Ten Championships and have never lost to Michigan, the Buckeyes’ biggest rival which they beat 62-39 just 10 days ago.
Meyer will be succeeded by offensive coordinator Ryan Day, who acted as the interim coach while Meyer was suspended to start the season, leading Ohio State to a 3-0 record in that span.