After an almost three-year hiatus from coaching, Urban Meyer was hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars to the franchise’s sixth head coach. He signed a five-year deal with somewhere in the range of $10-12 million a year. On the whole, I thought that this was a great hire by Jaguars owner Shad Khan to hire Meyer. While I did not love the salary, it felt like this was a challenge that he could handle. On one hand, Meyer has coached the likes of defensive end Joey Bosa, offensive lineman Taylor Decker, and cornerback Denzel Ward.
On the other hand, he had zero NFL experience but neither did Jimmy Johnson when Jerry Jones hired him away from the University of Miami (FL) to coach the Cowboys in 1989. However, things went south fairly early for Meyer.
Urban Meyer and Chris Doyle
Chris Doyle and Urban Meyer. Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen/USA Today Network; Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY SportsMeyer hired former Iowa Hawkeyes strength coach Chris Doyle as the team’s director of sports performance. Many Black players who were at Iowa when Doyle was there stated he used prejudiced rhetoric and treated them much differently than their white teammates.
With this in mind, Doyle’s behavior extended beyond race. Iowa offensive lineman Jack Kallenberger said last June on Twitter that he left the sport of football in 2019 due to what he detailed as bullying concerning a learning disability.
Meyer said he vetted Doyle was reassured that it would not be a distraction. Doyle resigned in February 2021. The league fined Meyer $100,000 and the Jaguars $200,000 for breaching the no-contact rule for off-season practices in July.
Urban Meyer and the Bar
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach at an Ohio barTo point out, I am not in the business of telling adults what to do and not to do. Here, in this case, I think I can make an exception to that rule. Firstly, Meyer was not to be found on the team plane ride home after a difficult Week Four loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati. Secondly, he stayed behind at a restaurant & bar that he owns and was caught on video in a position that was non-football related with a woman not named Shelley Meyer, his wife.
All in all, not a great image to see an NFL head coach in, which is what I take umbrage to. I could care less about the woman in the video because that is between Meyer and his family. My issue is that you abandoned your team and preferred to stay behind at a bar. You are a head coach in the NFL, a job that only 32 people walking the Earth has. Meyer is in charge of a franchise that is worth 2.8 billion dollars. Whether you want to believe it or not, image is everything and Shad Khan seeing his head coach at a bar is not a great look.
The Jags are going to keep Urban Meyer “for now,” but conversations have been had about who to replace him with in-season (Sutton, Strong, Bevell), as well as if they part ways end of year.
FO wants to give him a chance to dig out of this.
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) October 5, 2021
As an illustration, could you do what Urban Meyer did and still have a job? Nope, especially if you work for a company that is worth billions of dollars. Meyer’s apologies are meaningless because I would assert that a nearly 60-year-old would know not to be at a place where everything in the place is younger than him.
Meyer Versus the Locker Room
Jaguars Head Coach Urban Meyer. Source: SIIn any event, this is the nail in the coffin in my eyes. There are claims that Meyer called his assistants “losers” while portraying himself as a success and inquired them to defend their track records as coaches. Concurrently, he allegedly had a disagreement with nine-year NFL veteran wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. As a matter of fact, Meyer straight up lied to reporters about the benching of running back James Robinson. The choice to bench Robinson was passed to running backs coach Bernie Parmelee, but it was Meyer’s decision.
At the present time, this is a 2-11 Jaguars team that will have their fourth straight losing season. No one expected Jacksonville to win the AFC South by any stretch.
Months of tension surrounding #Jaguars coach Urban Meyer has boiled over with multiple run-ins with players and other coaches in recent weeks, renewing questions in league circles about whether Meyer could be out after just one tumultuous season.https://t.co/9Eqdajvlg1
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 11, 2021
By the same token, no one saw the dysfunctional mood surrounding this team. It feels the players have quit on a head coach who they respect. To me, you can dislike your boss but still have a modicum of respect for them. Here, it is not the case as this team has lost all of it for him.
I get why Shad Khan is sticking with Meyer because if I gave someone upwards of $12 million a year, I would stick it out. Yet, Khan has to see that firing Meyer has to be an option, even if it is a 60 million dollar option. He looks out of his league and thinks he is still in Columbus coaching the Buckeyes. Hey, Urban: you’re not in Columbus anymore and, at this rate, you won’t be in Jacksonville much longer too.
Featured image: Head coach Urban Meyer of the Jacksonville Jaguars | Andy Lyons/Getty Images
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