While his coaching successes mounted and his tough-as-nails reputation grew, Urban Meyer admits there was one thing he didn't pay much attention to - his health.

That hit home when chest pains sent him to the hospital after Alabama beat his Florida Gators in the Southeastern Conference championship game on December 5th. On Saturday, exactly three weeks later, the 45-year-old
Meyer shook all of college football by saying he was stepping down.
He resigned after five seasons and two national titles. In so many
words, he said he needed to get his priorities straight. He will coach his final game at the Sugar Bowl against Cincinnati on New Year's Day.

He leaves Florida with a 56-10 record that includes a 32-8
mark in league play and a school-record 22-game winning streak that
was snapped by the Crimson Tide in that SEC title game. "I have given my heart and soul to coaching college football and mentoring young men for the last 24-plus years and I have dedicated most of my waking moments the last five years to the Gator football program," Meyer said in a statement. "I have ignored my health for years, but recent developments have forced me to re-evaluate my priorities of faith and family."

By leaving, Meyer walks away from a program that has become one
of the jewels of college football and at a time when he is considered one of the best coaches in the nation. Meyer had maintained he would never coach as long as Florida State's Bobby Bowden or Penn State's Joe Paterno. He planned to go long before anyone asked him to leave. He probably didn't expect it to end like this, though. Meyer consulted with his family, doctors, school president Bernie Machen and athletic director Jeremy Foley before deciding it was in his best interest to focus on his health and family. He has scheduled a news conference in New Orleans on Sunday
afternoon.