On an unsuspecting and calm Saturday evening the day after Christmas, Urban Meyer, could have possibly destroyed the holiday season for the Florida Gator nation while saving his life and family at the same time. The forty-five year old Gator coach decided after five successful seasons, two national championships, two SEC championships and a heisman trophy winner, to step down as head coach at the University of Florida.
Plenty of speculation is already circling as to why this decision was made and if there are reasons hidden behind the ones given (health, family, priorities). Meyer is going to remain at Florida in some capacity that will be determined at a later date. However, the biggest question now is "Who is going to take over this elite program?" Of course the immediate list that comes to mind is Bob Stoops, Dan Mullen and (in my opinion) Jon Gruden will get a call. Charlie Strong has to be pretty upset right now because one would think that had he not taken the Louisville job a couple of weeks ago, that he would be the front runner for the position. Not that he would get to be the next coach, but he would have definitely served his time to be first in line for an interview.
Some would call those three coaches above a dream list, but let's face it…the Gators will land one of those three if that's who they want. Stoops could use a change of scenery after this season at OU, Mullen leaving State for UF is a no brainer and Gruden would just have to decide if he wants to get back into coaching and if college is for him. Either way, the next couple of weeks will be very interesting in the sunshine state, and they better grab someone solid and fast for recruiting sake. But with Jeremy Foley's track record…that shouldn't be a problem. Oh yea…and with the Sugar Bowl being Meyer's last game to go along with Tebow and the two-deep defense…good luck Cincinnati.
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