Urban Meyer sacked by Jacksonville Jaguars after just 13 games | Latest News Headlines

JACKSONVILLE, Fla – The Jacksonville Jaguars fired Urban Meyer early Thursday, ending his short term tenure as the team’s head coach amid numerous headaches and controversies.

The decision was made by owner Shad Khan just hours after kicker Josh Lambo, who was released by the Jaguars earlier this year, told the Tampa Bay weather that Meyer kicked him during a practice in August.

“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. , according to a statement posted on the team’s website. . “I informed Urban of the change tonight. As I said in October, regaining our trust and respect was essential. Unfortunately, that did not happen.”

FORMER JAGUARS KICKER JOSH LAMBO SAYS URBAN MEYER CUT HER DURING AOT TRAINING

“In the spirit of closing and recharging our players, staff and fans, I will not be commenting further until the end of the NFL season,” added the owner.

This season, the Jaguars have amassed just two wins in 13 games and have steadily made headlines for the wrong reasons since Meyer took over – after a prolific career in college football.

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence told The Associated Press on Wednesday that “you can’t always make headlines.”

Jacksonville Jaguars # 16 Trevor Lawrence meets head coach Urban Meyer and coach Brian Schottenheimer in the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on September 30, 2021, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
(Photo by Dylan Buell / Getty Images)

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

LAWRENCE ON THE JAGUARS DRAMA: YOU CAN’T ALWAYS MAKE THE TITLES

Lawrence and the Jaguars will have to go there without Meyer.

Khan has said offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell will be Jacksonville’s interim head coach for the final four games, starting Sunday against the Houston Texans. Trent Baalke will continue to serve as managing director, Khan added.

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.

SHAD KHAN, OWNER OF JAGUARS ON URBAN MEYER: “I WANT TO DO THE RIGHT THING FOR THE TEAM”

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 grown men on the pitch.

However, 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.

Bailing out his players showed how out of touch Meyer was to NFL standards. And that was just one of many dizzying 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 State of Ohio (2012-18).

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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.

The Associated Press contributed to this report