On Saturday night the football world received word that Urban Meyer would be stepping down as the head coach of the Florida Gators. The most successful coach in the country in the last five years, Meyer accumulated a 95-18 record (84.1%) at Florida while also taking home two BCS National Championships. With two National Championships in three years with the Gators, Meyer’s legacy will likely stand right alongside his quarterback’s when we look back and try to interpret what the Florida Gators of the late 2000’s meant to college football; was it the decade of Urban Meyer, having had a 17-6 record at Bowling Green and a 22-2 record at Utah before heading to Gainesville, or was it the decade that revolved around Tim Tebow, quite possibly one of the most impressive players that college football has ever seen, both on and off the field.

Urban Meyer leaves the college football world with an astonishing record of 134-26 over the past decade,

including going 5-1 in bowl games. He’s re-built three programs over the past ten years and has revolutionized the game with his new version of the spread offense, made famous by quarterback Tim Tebow. The impact that Meyer has had on college football is hard to evaluate the day after he resigned from coaching one of the top teams in the country. However, a few years down the road, when we look back at the type of coach that Meyer was during this decade, we’ll see that few can rival the type of success that he had.

For the Gators, it remains to be seen who will take over for Meyer. The Gators’ defensive coordinator Charlie Strong recently signed with Louisville to be their head coach, and while he could leave to coach the Gators, that does not appear to be likely. Names that have surfaced include the Stoops brothers (Bob from Oklahoma and Mike from Arizona) and possibly Mike Shanahan. Whoever it is will have their work cut out for them; with expectations at an ultimate high for the Gator program, in addition to losing one of the greatest quarterbacks in college football history, the Gators are also likely going to lose several underclassmen to the 2010 Draft with the news that their head coach is gone.

Among the juniors that could declare or have already said that they may leave are: cornerback Joe Haden,

defensive end Carlos Dunlap, center Maurkice Pouncey, guard Mike Pouncey, tight end Aaron Hernandez, and safeties Ahmad Black and Major Wright are both possibilities. These players, in addition to seniors Tebow, linebacker Brandon Spikes, defensive end Jermaine Cunningham, wide receiver Riley Cooper, wide receiver David Nelson, and linebacker Ryan Stamper could all be gone. While the team has a quarterback in place, John Brantley, to take over for Tebow, and still have some of their speedy running backs, this has the potential to be a major re-building project if most of these players end up leaving.

The final question is what will Meyer do? Some media outlets have reported that he could go into the TV booth as well as do public speaking, two jobs that would not present anywhere near the pressure and stress that forced Meyer out of the game due to health issues. Meyer has roots at Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Cincinnati, three major programs in today’s college football world; if/when he ever wants to jump back into college football, these schools would all have to be under consideration if he opted not to return to Florida.

College football has lost not one, but two major figures in Florida this season. Between Bobby Bowden retiring and Urban Meyer stepping down, we will have a major shift in the college football landscape as both of these teams clearly won’t look the same without their respective head coaches. The 2010 season is going to be one with major changes, that is for sure.