Urban Meyer’s bizarre, attention-grabbing Christmas weekend timeline:

Dec. 25 – Has a life-changing evening with his family, decides he needs to quit football for “health reasons,” specifically, his heart.
Dec. 26 – Gators put out a press release around 6:45 pm saying that Meyer is quitting. Sports world goes ape shit, speculation begins on who the next coach will be. Lane Kiffin presumably sips scotch while calling UF recruits.
Dec. 27 – Meyer meets with the team before flying to New Orleans, and after seeing them take the practice field, he decides he isn’t quitting. He’s going to simply take a “leave of absence.”
Dec. 27 - At a strange press conference in NOLA, Meyer is asked if he’ll be coaching in the fall. “I do believe that’ll happen.”

In 24 hours, one of the most successful college football coaches in the modern era (95-19 in nine years) became a disappointing contradiction. The morning after Meyer “resigned,” his wife told the Orlando Sentinel there was “no chance” he would reconsider. Hours later he sat at a podium essentially saying he’ll take some time off and probably be back in the Fall.

Was Sunday’s press conference a move to assuage any fears recruits might have? Is he “pulling a Coach K” as some have surmised and taking a “break” prior to the program going into the tank (despite a joke of a schedule, they’re not winning nine or 10 games next year) for a year or two, only to revive it soonafter?

We thought Meyer came off as a drama queen this weekend. Quitting over his health was a shocker, but understandable. Choosing family first was admirable. But to take it all back less than 24 hours later? What caused the massive overreaction on Christmas night? How can you drop a quote like this – “I saw it as a sign from God that this was the right thing to do” to the NY Times after quitting, and then take it back the next day?

Meyer’s Next Move Could Define Him (Yahoo)