Cris Carter thought Urban Meyer might not retire. He thought Meyer might die on the sideline.
Meyer's college coaching career began in 1986 when he joined Earl Bruce's Ohio State staff as a grad assistant, working with tight ends and receivers. In the first of two years before leaving for Illinois State, Meyer coached Carter, then a junior, during his 69-reception, 1,127-yard season.
The pair maintained a relationship over the last three decades as Carter played 16 seasons in the NFL and Meyer bounced around the coaching ranks, eventually landing back at Ohio State in 2012. And as Meyer bounced, he encountered serious health concerns, which have led to two early retirements.
Those concerns led Carter to believe that Meyer might die on the sideline:
“I thought something else was going to happen on the sideline before we were able to get to this day," he said on First Things First on Tuesday. "He really can’t coach, he shouldn’t be coaching, and I would argue he shouldn’t have been coaching the last month.
"I was worried I was going to have to speak at my friend’s funeral."
