"Family is so important to him" - When Tim Tebow revealed why Urban Meyer sought retirement despite huge success

Retired coach Urban Meyer was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame two weeks ago. The former coach won three national championships with the Florida Gators and the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Although he had a brief stint in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Meyer is best known for his time in college football.

The passionate Meyer was forced to step away from the sidelines twice in his career due to his health and family matters. The first time was in 2009 when he resigned as Gators coach, but changed his mind and returned to the sidelines for the 2010 Sugar Bowl.

Meyer resigned for the second time in 2018, paving the way for national championship-winning coach Ryan Day to take over the Ohio State job. During a 2018 segment of ESPN's "First Take," former Gators quarterback Tim Tebow revealed why Urban Meyer sought retirement (0:10).

"I wasn't that surprised," Tim Tebow said. "I talked to him (Urban Meyer) a lot throughout the way and when the sickness started getting worse, we talked about it a lot and it was even something that we prayed about and encouraged him with and he got a lot of people's opinions.

"But, family was so important to him and he wanted to not make this worse by the stress of the job and some people said, 'Why don't you just take it easy and not coach so hard and not be as intense.' Well, that's not coach, that's not him. If he's in, it's all the way, so for him, if he believes that was the right thing, I believe that was the right thing for him.

He added, in conclusion:

"We talked a couple of hours two days ago about it and he's doing the right thing for his family."

How Tim Tebow took care of Urban Meyer in Florida

Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer won two national championships together for the Florida Gators and shared a close relationship. During a 2018 segment of ESPN's "First Take," the former Gators quarterback revealed how he took care of the coach in Florida (1:30).

“I’ve been worried about his health since 2009, since the season when I saw him deteriorating every single week," Tebow said. "He was taking the stress of the job into every single game. During the weeks, I would go into his office (during lunch), and I would say, ‘Hey coach, eat. I’m sitting with you, so you will eat while I eat, so we eat lunch together.’

"And we did that for a year, because I wanted him to eat. I would bring him smoothies so that he would drink, because his health is something that matters so much to me and so many people, including his family.”

Urban Meyer joined ESPN as a college football analyst following his temporary retirement in 2011, before joining the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2012. He led them to the national championship in 2014.

After a short stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars from where he was fired in 2021, Meyer retired for good and is now a football analyst on the "Triple Option" podcast.