COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — As Urban Meyer walked off the field after Ohio State routed Michigan, he was pondering his future and when to make a decision about when to call it quits.

The 54-year-old Meyer, in fact, had been thinking about retiring since the middle of last season.

The pain from headaches caused by an arachnoid cyst in his brain had grown worse this season. Off-the-field issues, including a three-game suspension for mismanagement of an assistant coach accused of domestic violence, had worn on him. And an ideal successor just happened to already be in place in the person of Ryan Day, his 39-year-old offensive coordinator.

On Tuesday, two days after the Buckeyes beat Northwestern to earn a second consecutive Big Ten championship, Meyer announced he was stepping down after the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 and likely would never coach again.

“The decision was a result of cumulative events,” Meyer said during a packed news conference. “And health number one. The fact that we have an elite coach on our staff. The fact that our program is very healthy. We’ve recruited very well. All played a significant role in this.”

Meyer is leaving at the top of his profession after three national championships in a career spanning three decades, the last seven years at Ohio State, where he has an 82-9 record.