Jaguars fire Urban Meyer after 13 games, countless missteps | News Today

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Urban Meyer has never been in the NFL.

Its currencies. His methods. Even his moods seemed to go against what is considered normal behavior in a league filled with professionals and grown men. He rubbed just about everyone the wrong way: the assistants, the players and ultimately his bosses.

Meyer’s tumultuous tenure ended after just 13 games – and two wins – when the Jacksonville Jaguars sacked him early Thursday due to an accumulation of missteps.

Owner Shad Khan moved out hours after former Jaguars player Josh Lambo told a Florida newspaper Meyer kicked him during practice in August. It was the last black eye – adding to an already long list of embarrassment – for the three-time National Championship-winning varsity coach who miserably failed to make the transition to the NFL.

“After weeks of deliberations and a thorough analysis of Urban’s entire mandate with our team, I am bitterly disappointed to come to the conclusion that immediate change is imperative for everyone,” Khan said. in a press release. “I informed Urban of the change tonight. As I said in October, regaining our trust and respect was essential. Unfortunately, this did not happen. “

Meyer joins former Atlanta Falcons coach Bobby Petrino as college coaches whose NFL careers have flared up incredibly quickly. Petrino resigned in December 2007 to take charge of Arkansas. He was 3-10 at the time.

Meyer went 2-11 in his partial season, and the Jaguars really started shedding the offensive end of the ball after the team’s week off. They have averaged 9.1 points in Meyer’s last seven games, which ended in a five-game slippage.

Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell will be Jacksonville’s interim head coach for the final four games, starting Sunday against Houston (2-11).

Meyer’s biggest problems came from the field, where he tried to run a professional team like he was on a college campus. He splashed slogans and catchphrases around the facility, instilled gimmicks into practice, and reiterated his mistaken belief that coaches coach for players and players play for coaches. He brought in motivational speakers and continued to blame the assistants for the team’s growing losses instead of the guys actually on the pitch.

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One of Meyer’s most damning decisions came after a Thursday night game in Cincinnati in late September. He chose to stay with his family instead of returning home with his team, and then was filmed the following night behaving inappropriately with a woman at a bar in Columbus, Ohio. Khan then publicly berated Meyer, saying he needed to regain the owner’s trust and respect.

Bailing out his players showed how out of touch Meyer was to NFL standards. And that was just one of many breathtaking choices for the 57-year-old coach who has found success at every college stage: Bowling Green (2001-02), Utah (2003-04), Florida ( 2005-10) and Ohio State (2012-18).

Meyer just never made the proper adjustments at the pro level.

Lambo’s claim apparently turned out to be too much for Khan, who had said two days earlier that he did not want to make an impulsive decision on the future of the coach.

“What’s different about this thing is you have losses and you have drama,” Khan said then.

The Jags have had more drama than victories.

Lambo provided the latest information when he told the Tampa Bay Times that Meyer kicked him as he stretched at the start of a workout. Lambo, the team’s season-opener, said he told Meyer “Never hit me again (expletive)” and said the coach replied: “I’m the coach. main of the ball, I’ll kick you every time the (expletive) I want.

Meyer released a statement through the team denying that the incident happened the way Lambo described it.

“Josh’s characterization of me and this incident is completely inaccurate, and there are eyewitnesses to refute his account,” Meyer said.

Lambo said he reported the kick to his agent, who contacted Jaguars legal counsel the next day.

“Jaguar’s legal counsel did indeed recognize and immediately responded to Josh Lambo’s agent request on Friday, August 27, 2021,” the Jaguars said in a statement. “The lawyer offered to speak to Josh, or help Josh speak with the coach or other football staff, if he was comfortable with her sharing the information. the contrary is manifestly false.

Lambo was released after missing his first three field goal attempts to start the season.

Lambo’s allegation follows an NFL Network report that Meyer has created tensions with multiple run-ins with players as well as assistants he allegedly called “losers.” Citing unidentified sources, the report details a heated exchange between Meyer and veteran wide receiver Marvin Jones that stemmed from Meyer criticizing receivers for not winning enough head-to-head matches or not. were not getting enough separation.

“I would just say this: There was something that came to my attention that I didn’t like too much,” Jones said on Wednesday, his first public comments since the report was released on Saturday. “I approached him about it and we talked and we handled it like grown men. And that’s all I have to say about it.

Jones has denied threatening to quit training because of the argument.

“I mean, shoot, when you lose you’re always going to be the center of attention in a negative way,” Jones said. “It’s just what it is. That’s all I have to say. “

Other problems for Meyer:

–He hired strength trainer Chris Doyle in February despite accusations of racist behavior, then had to let him go a day later due to an ongoing lawsuit.

– Jacksonville was fined $ 200,000 and Meyer was fined $ 100,000 on July 1, a punishment that resulted from training in early June in which the league considered receivers and defensive backs to have too much contact during 11 against 11 exercises.

– Meyer hired 2007 Heisman Trophy-winner quarterback Tim Tebow to play on the close-end, an experience that ended with Tebow looking lost in the pre-season opener against Cleveland.

– Meyer organized a fake QB competition between Trevor Lawrence, a generational prospect, and Gardner Minshew at training camp. Meyer and general manager Trent Baalke traded Minshew to Philadelphia, where he replaces Jalen Hurts.

– The NFL Players Association launched an investigation after Meyer said vaccination status was factored into team decisions.

– He repeatedly mismanaged running back James Robinson, allowing the team’s most consistent offensive player to be put on the bench twice after fumbles and sloppy trying to explain why Robinson was called out and how long he was on the sidelines.

The whole drama has become too much for Lawrence.

“I think that needs to change and it’s something we need to work on for sure,” Lawrence said on Wednesday. “You can’t always make the headlines. You just have to go play soccer, and that’s where we’re trying to get there, and I have no doubt we’ll get there.

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