Those close to Urban Meyer wonder how he will fill the void of not being on the sidelines. (Getty)

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A few minutes after a press conference formally announcing the shift of coaching power at Ohio State, the current Ohio State football coach and its future one passed in the hallway at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Urban Meyer and Ryan Day wore gray suits, looks of relief and departed in disparate directions.

Day embarked on the first afternoon of the rest of his life, as he scurried off on recruiting visits. His wife, Nina, joked with him on Monday that this was their last normal night before the glare of becoming the head coach at Ohio State. Meyer headed to his office to watch Washington’s punt units on tape and ponder his future, which involves transitioning to a life not measured by a scoreboard. For a football lifer who has struggled with health issues, it’s not a comfortable place.

Urban Meyer, who stepped down at age 54, has long reigned as college football’s most angsty soul. And on Tuesday evening, Meyer sat down with Yahoo Sports in his office for a final deep dive into his psyche as the Buckeyes coach.

Meyer reflected on why his legacy means so much to him, addressed the public assumption he’d soon return to the sideline and explained why he’d never be able to coach in the NFL.

“I never thought of it as scared, more anxious,” he said of the future. “I’m still relatively young. I’m a very passionate, hard-working person who is going to have to fill a void.”

[National Signing Day: Sign up for a Rivals subscription, get $99 worth of free team gear]

That void looms as one of the most captivating spaces in sports. Could it be golf that fills it? His second grandchild? More charity work? A gig on television? Meyer isn’t quite sure yet, although he’s spoken with OSU athletic director Gene Smith about a role mentoring coaches and athletes at Ohio State. That’s intriguing to Meyer, whose career has evolved to a job less about schematics and more about motivating players as the years have passed.

“There’s a little anxiety involved in what’s next,” he said. “I’ve thought about that. I’m not a wake-up late kind of guy. I hope I find a passion.”

Meyer was told the immediate reaction to the news he’d be retiring: A round of speculation about when and where he’d return. USC next season if Clay Helton gets let go? Notre Dame if Brian Kelly ever left? On and on it went. When Yahoo Sports asked Meyer if he’d ever come back, he answered: “I don’t think I am.”

Meyer has offered an array of reasons for stepping down – the strength of the program, his confidence in Day to execute an Oklahoma-esque Bob Stoops-to-Lincoln Riley transition, the aggressive headaches from the cyst in his brain, the fallout from his suspension this summer and his fear of evolving to a coaching CEO role antithetical to his obsessed ethos. The same traits that made Meyer great – intensity, tunnel vision and perfectionism – his health wouldn’t allow him to flex at full capacity.

After Ohio State’s 52-51 overtime win at Maryland, which looked and felt more like a loss most of the day, Meyer went to hug his wife, Shelley. He recalled her shaking and she had tears streaming down her face. “She knew that if we don’t win that game, our lives and my life is going to be so different,” he said. “When I come home, [that loss] would last for seven months.”

Meyer went on to joke he wished he could be more like coaches who can separate winning and losing from their daily lives. “That’s why I admire coaches who can just move on,” he said. “Mike Leach is my hero. First of all, I love him. We’re great friends. But he’s my absolute hero.” Meyer defined the difference between he and Leach this way: “I’m paranoid about everything.”

Those close to Meyer are genuinely curious how he’ll handle the transition from compulsive worker to retirement, the word both Meyer and Ohio State used in the press release. From his boss, Gene Smith, to his close friend and longtime strength coach, Mickey Marotti, there’s a fundamental concern of where that singular focus will be directed.

View photos Urban Meyer’s intense style of coaching has led to health concerns even on the sidelines. (AP) More

Story continues