15 Years Ago Today, A Budding College Football Dynasty Was Snuffed Out
Things haven't been the same since Urban left town.
Dec. 8 was a bad day to be a Beatles fan, as we discussed earlier today, but it was also a pretty lousy day to be a Florida Gators fan as well.
On this day 15 years ago, one of the greatest coaches to ever don the Orange and Blue called it quits after six seasons and two national championships.
After a relatively down year (by Florida standards) of 8–5 in 2010, pressure was starting to mount on the then-46-year-old head coach.
Winning was no longer accompanied by joy, but rather relief, and the mounting losses were becoming increasingly agonizing by the week.
Following a 31-7 drubbing at the hands of in-state rival, Florida State, after which Meyer said he would "fix it," the pressure reached its tipping point.
Citing a myriad of health issues, including chest pains, as well as his desire to spend more time with his family, Urban Meyer stepped down as Florida head coach on Dec. 8, 2010.
"I'm stepping down as the head football coach of the University of Florida to focus on family and my other interests away from the sidelines."
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The words hit every Gator fan like a shotgun blast to the chest.
I was a senior in high school, and the news traveled about as fast as it could during the infancy of the smartphone, and by the time it reached me, I was devastated.
The program hasn't been the same since he left.
Florida has had flashes of brilliance in the past 15 years. A slew of top-10 finishes, a pair of SEC Championship Game appearances, but nothing close to the sustained dominance it enjoyed first under Steve Spurrier in the 90s and then again under Meyer in the following decade.
The Gators bottomed out recently under the dubious leadership of Billy Napier, posting the first losing record by a Florida head coach since World War II.
Time will tell if the Gators are able to recapture the magic of the Meyer years under new head coach Jon Sumrall, but statistics and probability aren't on his side.
Regardless of what happens moving forward, it's safe to say a budding college football dynasty died on this date 15 years ago.
In his six years of service in Gainesville, Meyer accrued two national titles, two more SEC championships, coached a Heisman Trophy winner in Tim Tebow, and had numerous first-round NFL Draft selections.
Had he stuck around, there's no telling how different things would look at Florida.
Nick Saban was in the process of building a dynasty of his own at Alabama, so no one knows for sure if Meyer's winning ways would have continued.
One thing is for sure, though. No coach has even come close to matching his short but sweet stint as a Gator.
The Florida football program has limped on ever since, trying desperately to capture that lightning in a bottle again.
It just goes to show that you have to appreciate greatness while it's here.
No Gator fan could've envisioned in 2008 that their shooting star of a head coach was going to be out the door just two years later.
Enjoy something while it lasts, otherwise you'll look up 15 years later and wonder where the time went.