Florida
Urban Meyer’s Florida success almost ruined him
Urban Meyer struggled during his best days as head football coach at the University of Florida.
In Netflix’s upcoming “Untold: Swamp Kings” docuseries — which explores the 2000s-era Florida Gators and Meyer’s militant-style system — he explained how the pressure and his obsession with winning took a major toll on his health.
A decade before his failed one-year tenure with the Jaguars, Meyer coached the Gators to two national championships in 2006 and 2008, with a 65-15 record in six seasons.
He also led the Buckeyes to the 2014 national title and compiled an 83-9 record in seven seasons at Ohio State.
But it was his time in Gainesville, Fla., where he said he became physically ill at times, sleep deprived, anxiety-ridden and addicted to Ambien, a sedative used to treat insomnia.
After the Gators defeated Oklahoma 24-14 to win the national championship in the 2008 season — after they beat Ohio State, 41–14, to win the national title in January 2007 — Urban didn’t celebrate with the team and instead, was obsessing over winning another one the following year.
“We go in the locker room and I remember grabbing my phone, locking the door, and I can hear them celebrating and I’m texting recruits worrying about the next class.
“Uh oh, that one’s over,” Meyer remembered thinking. “Do it again. Right after the game, it was over. Onto the next.
“We won two national championships out of the three years. This was an expectation now, An expectation we have to win it next year and then we have to win it the year after.
“You know, anything less than winning a national title, you’re a failure.”
When the 2009 season began, nothing was good enough for Meyer.
“We’d win a game by 14 points and I’d be so angry at our team because I thought we should’ve beaten them by 30 points,” he said.
“And the entire time I’m in anguish because we’re not perfect and it permeated down to our players. Our players weren’t enjoying it. I could tell.”
There came a point where players were just holding their breath, hoping they wouldn’t lose so they didn’t have to endure the wrath of Meyer — and more take-no-prisoner style drills.
“There was such pressure to do more, be more, finish on another level, to be the best ever,” said former star quarterback Tim Tebow, who was in his senior year in 2009.
“For me, it was all about the fear of losing that one game,” Meyer said. “Don’t screw this up. Don’t be a failure.”
Players eventually noticed that something was off with Meyer.
“I was in a really bad place for a long time,” Meyer recalled. “I started to lose weight and I became addicted to Ambien. I couldn’t sleep. It got to the point where I’d take two Ambien and drink a beer on top of it just to get four hours of sleep.
“I’d have those moments where I’d just sit there and start sweating and shaking like a panic attack, like something is going on here — ‘We’re not ready. we’re not ready.’”
The Gators ended that season undefeated but hit a roadblock in the SEC championship when they lost to undefeated Alabama, 32-13.
“I felt the dynasty slipping right there,” Meyer said. “I feel all this coming on me because it’s my team. I felt like a failure.
“I’m in deep depression. I couldn’t get out of bed. I was curled up. No energy, no desire I thought I was doing to die. That’s when I started thinking, I’m done.”
Meyer was rushed to a Gainesville hospital after his wife was unable to wake him up on the night after a Gators loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, according to ESPN.
At the time, he reportedly had been experiencing chest pains and suffered from dehydration.
Meyer later announced after Florida’s bowl game that he was stepping down after five seasons as head coach at the University of Florida for health reasons — but changed his mind the following day and instead said he would take a leave of absence.
In January 2010, Meyer was diagnosed with esophageal spasms, which caused the severe chest pains he had been experiencing, according to ESPN.
He resumed coaching at the start of spring practice in March 2010.
Meyer resigned again at the end of a disappointing 2010 season.
In an exclusive interview with The Post, Katharine English, the director of “Untold: Swamp Kings,” said she was surprised by Meyer’s candidness and willingness to relive the high highs and low lows of his time in Gainesville.
“I think it might have been kind of cathartic [for him],” she said. “I don’t know. I can’t speak for him. But his journey was quite unique.
“He really enjoyed remembering the moments. I think you can see that in some of the interviews that we did, he still doesn’t apologize for the program he ran. He’s very upfront. But not once did he really apologize for any aspect. I think, you know, he has huge regrets over certain events that are really tragic. But in terms of his management style, I think he stands by it.
“I mean, the quote that sort of sums him up is, ‘The pain of greatness is real and it’s not meant for everyone.’”
Elsewhere in the four-part docuseries, Meyer recalled the criticism he faced over his discipline style as 31 of his players were arrested during his six years as the Gators’ coach from 2005-10.
“Criticism started coming because people felt I should’ve started kicking players off the team,” he said. “I’m not doing that.”
Meyer recalled a situation where “we did throw a player to the street,” referring to former freshman cornerback Avery Atkins, who was the highest-ranked prospect in Meyer’s first recruiting class in 2005.
“The team loved him. We all loved him and he was really struggling,” Meyer said while praising the quick “tough as nails” player.
Meyer explained that he kicked Atkins off the team for hitting a girl he was in a relationship with — and a year later, Atkins was found dead after he overdosed on drugs.
“That will haunt me for the rest of my life,” Meyer said, adding that he cut Atkins because the Gators had a core value against hitting women.
“I did everything I can just to keep myself and that program going,” Meyer said at the end of the docuseries. “And I hope someday to apologize and say, ‘I wish it would’ve ended differently,’ but I can always look back and say we gave it our very best.”
Meyer joined the Ohio State University in 2012 and won the 2014 national championship.
In 2021, he made his NFL debut as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars and was fired after 13 games following a string of on- and off-field controversies.
Netflix’s “Untold: Swamp Kings” premieres Aug. 23.
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Florida
Texas throttled by No. 5 Florida in 84-60 loss
As the Texas Longhorns made the program’s first trip to Gainesville in almost 30 years, the No. 5 Florida Gators chomped the Longhorns in a XX-XX victory that saw a seven-point halftime deficit reach as many as 24 points in the second half at the Exactech Arena.
If there’s any relief for the Longhorns after a brutal loss, it’s the end of the brutal start to SEC play that featured a road game against the No. 13, home games against the No. 1 and No. 2 teams, a road rivalry game, and the trip to Gainesville.
When Texas returns to Austin to play Missouri on Tuesday at the Moody Center, it will come against a program that merely received votes in the AP Top 25 poll last week.
Four players scored in double digits for the Horns, including 12 points from senior forward Ze’Rik Onyema and a team-high 16 points from freshman guard Tre Johnson, who was 1-of-5 shooting from three as Texas managed just four made threes on 16 attempts, finishing minus-12 in that category as Florida sunk eight from distance.
The biggest difference came in the paint, however — the Gators dominated around the basket, outscoring the Longhorns 44-20 in points in the paint with the help of 14 layups and five dunks.
Florida was also better in transition with a 12-4 edge in fast-break points.
The opening stretch of the game featured some ugly offensive play by both teams as the officiating crew allowed physical battles to take place in the paint — Texas was 2-of-8 shooting and Florida was 1-of-10 with five straight misses at the under-16 timeout as the Horns led 4-3. Both teams were having some trouble finishing defensive possessions with rebounds as the Gators corralled four offensive rebounds and the Longhorns turned two into a second-chance basket byOnyema.
Out of the timeout, both teams showed signs of finding some rhythm as Johnson and senior wing Tramon Mark hit threes for Texas and Florida made one of its own prior to a turnover. Johnson unquestionably found his rhythm in hitting consecutive jumpers to score nine of the first 14 points for the Longhorns.
By the time that Onyema made a layup on the final Texas possession before the second media break, the Horns had made six consecutive shots in addition to Onyema making two free throws to lead 18-13.
A scoring drought hit the Longhorns after the hot streak with the misses coming on contested shots around the rim or good looks from three as the Gators took a three-point lead and Texas head coach Rodney Terry had to use his use-it-or-lose-it timeout to slow the home team’s momentum following a layup.
But senior forward Jayson Kent had a careless turnover and another seal around the rim produced another layup by Florida as Texas went through a stretch that featured eight straight misses shots during a 15-0 run by the Gators that opened up a 10-point lead and threatened to bury the Horns.
An 8-2 response by Texas steadied the team and trips to the free-throw line by Mark and senior guard Julian Larry cut the deficit to five points. Florida took a seven-point lead into halftime after a layup, a poor, contested shot by Johnson that missed badly, and some luck for the Longhorns when a three-point attempt by the Gators at the halftime buzzer rimmed out.
Texas finished the half with only six three-point attempts, three offensive rebounds, and six turnovers as Pope, senior forward Kadin Shedrick, and senior forward Arthur Kaluma combined for two points on 0-of-7 shooting as Johnson paced the team with 11 points.
And while Onyema played well off the bench in scoring eight points, his best conference performance at Texas, but Larry, Kent, and sophomore wing Devon Pryor combined for two points and three turnovers as Pryor finished minus-10 in his three minutes on the court.
Kaluma finally scored on a three less than two minutes into the second half, but Florida kept producing quality looks against the Texas defense in extending the lead back to double digits as the Horns went into another scoring drought with turnovers a bigger problem than missed shots.
During that important stretch of the second half, Florida didn’t create more separation against Texas, but the Horns also didn’t cut into the deficit, so when the Gators hit a big three before the under-eight timeout, it pushed the margin back to 10 points because the Longhorns didn’t do better than a 5-0 run in the second half.
So when Texas missed six straight shots in a stretch of four and a half minutes without a made basket as Florida stretched the lead to 18 points on a made three in transition, prompting a timeout by Terry with 3:51 remaining and the game firmly out of reach.
Florida
Police continuing search for missing Florida man
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Police said they are continuing to search for a Florida man who went missing Tuesday.
The Ocoee Police Department said the man is 46-year-old Juan Manuel Leon.
Officials reported Leon’s family said he had been acting strangely and had not been home since Monday.
Police said Juan Leon has been missing since Tuesday. (Credit: Ocoee Police Department)
Where is Juan Manuel Leon?
The backstory:
Police said Leon last was seen Jan. 14 by officers on White Road in Ocoee.
Leon’s family reported him missing Jan. 17 from Hammocks Drive, records show.
What we know:
Officials reported Leon last was seen wearing a gray hoodie, black sweatpants, black and white shoes, and carrying a black backpack.
Leon has brown eyes and black hair, which officers said may be in braids.
Police said Leon is about 5 feet and 7 inches and weighs about 140 pounds.
What you can do:
Anyone with information on Leon’s location is asked to contact Detective Justin Hutchinson at jhutchinson@ocoee.org or (407) 905-3160.
STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 35 ORLANDO:
The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the Ocoee Police Department.
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