Urban Meyer Resigning Again?

So, yeah, there's this.

Here we go again: Urban Meyer is reportedly going to resign again as head coach of the University of Florida. There's no reason at this point to doubt the validity of this, given the number of sources that are reporting it and the supposed confirmation from the athletics department. So here's where this story will go in the next few hours.

First, is it true? That's the obvious question that we have to answer before we proceed to any of the rest of this. If so ...

Second, why? There's the issue of Meyer's health -- that's what caused last year's resignation and detirement. There's the 7-5 season this year, which falls largely on the offense, and all the blame that Meyer and Steve Addazio faced for that. And there's the usual strains that come with being a head coach in the SEC. You can't envy anyone all of the darts that come with the head coaching position, even if they're well-compensated for it.

Next, will it stick this time? It's a fair question to ask about someone who is about to announce his second retirement. We've seen this with Michael Jordan and Brett Favre -- guys who just get tired and need some time off before returning to the sport they love. If Florida can get Meyer to detire again, they'll do it. Of course, if the results are the same, Meyer might have to leave again and might not have the option of returning.

Next, who will Florida go to next? Dan Mullen and Charlie Strong are both presumably on the top of the list, and we'll see more names crop up in the next few days, if / when Florida launches its search. The Spurrier option is likely off the table this year -- there's no reason that he would leave Columbia with only a few years left in his career to try to rebuild another team after building one at South Carolina, and South Carolina will be willing to pay handsomely after the school's first SEC East championship.

Finally, the SEC East is now wide open. Georgia and South Carolina will likely be the favorites, with Tennessee not far behind. It's not impossible that the media will peg Florida at fourth in the division when they convene in Hoover next summer.