Seven years after becoming the youngest head coach in NCAA gymnastics history, Jordyn Wieber resigned from the Arkansas Razorbacks on Tuesday, saying she was stepping away to focus on her family and pursue other passions.
"I'm deeply grateful to our student-athletes, staff and Razorback fans for an unforgettable journey," Wieber, 30, said while reading from a prepared statement.
Her husband, Chris Brooks, was named as her successor.
"It's an important step for me to figure out what else I want to add into my identity as a human being, without gymnastics as a part of my daily life," Wieber, the 2011 all-around world champion, told ESPN on Wednesday. "I'm not leaving coaching to be a stay-at-home mom. I have so much respect for stay-at-home moms, but I love working. I just needed more balance. I get to have more time with [daughter] Gigi, but I also have other goals and passions and pursuits that I'm going to be moving towards."
Wieber, who was a member of the "Fierce Five" that won gold for the United States at the 2012 Olympics, said she made her decision to leave coaching with Brooks' support, knowing it could mean the end of his coaching career in Fayetteville.
"When a head coach leaves, the staff doesn't always get a guaranteed position on the other side of it," said Wieber, who guided the Razorbacks to a seventh-place finish at the NCAA championships this season for the second time. "But he told me, 'I want you to be happy. You and Gigi are the two most important things in my life. If that means I don't get to coach anymore, I'm okay with that. We'll figure it out.'"
Wieber said neither she nor Brooks, who was the captain of the U.S. men's team at the 2016 Olympics, expected what happened next.
"When I met with my boss, [Arkansas athletic director] Hunter [Yurachek], the first thing he said after I told him my decision was, 'Would Chris be interested in the job? We love the direction you've taken the program, and he's been such a big part of that.'"
Wieber said she and Brooks discussed Tuesday night what him taking over the program would look like for each of them, and Brooks accepted the job the next day.
"Chris never thought he would have this opportunity in his lifetime," Wieber said. "At the end of the day, I was so excited for Chris getting the opportunity. It's going to allow me the time to do some things I want to do, career-wise, and to keep our support system here in Fayetteville. It really was the best-case scenario for our whole family."
One day before Wieber shared her news with the team, Arkansas' top gymnast, Joscelyn Roberson, announced she was entering the transfer portal after two seasons.
"My decision comes from a place of love for all of you and respect for the University of Arkansas," Roberson, an alternate on the 2024 U.S. Olympic team, wrote in an Instagram post on Monday.
Wieber told ESPN she doesn't believe the staffing changes played a part in Roberson's decision to leave.
"She had a great couple of years at Arkansas," Wieber told ESPN. "She expressed to us her gratitude for us as a coaching staff, but I think she was ready for something new and different, and I wish her all the best."
