Jaguars fire Urban Meyer after turbulent 13-game stint

By MARK LONG AP Pro Football Writer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Urban Meyer ne'er acceptable successful the NFL.

His mottos. His methods. Even his moods seemed to spell against what’s considered mean behaviour successful a league filled with professionals and grown men. He rubbed conscionable astir everyone the incorrect way: assistants, players and yet his bosses.

Meyer’s tumultuous tenure ended aft conscionable 13 games – and 2 victories – erstwhile the Jacksonville Jaguars fired him precocious Wednesday nighttime (PT) due to the fact that of an accumulation of missteps.

Owner Shad Khan made the determination hours aft erstwhile Jaguars subordinate Josh Lambo told a Florida paper Meyer kicked him during signifier successful August. It was the latest achromatic oculus – adding to an already lengthy database of embarrassments – for the three-time nationalist championship-winning assemblage manager who failed miserably to marque the modulation to the NFL.

“After deliberation implicit galore weeks and a thorough investigation of the entirety of Urban’s tenure with our team, I americium bitterly disappointed to get astatine the decision that an contiguous alteration is imperative for everyone,” Khan said successful a statement. “I informed Urban of the alteration this evening. As I stated successful October, regaining our spot and respect was essential. Regrettably, it did not happen.”

Meyer joins erstwhile Atlanta Falcons manager Bobby Petrino arsenic assemblage coaches whose NFL careers flamed retired successful stunningly swift fashion. Petrino resigned successful December 2007 to instrumentality implicit astatine Arkansas. He was 3-10 astatine the time.

Meyer went 2-11 successful his partial season, and the Jaguars truly started to unravel connected the violative broadside of the shot pursuing the team’s bye week. They averaged a measly 9.1 points successful Meyer’s last 7 games, which ended with a five-game skid.

Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell volition service arsenic Jacksonville’s interim caput manager for the last 4 games, opening Sunday against Houston (2-11).

Meyer’s biggest issues came disconnected the field, wherever helium tried to grip a nonrecreational squad similar helium was connected a assemblage campus. He splashed slogans and catchphrases astir the facility, instilled gimmicks successful signifier and repeated his misguided content that coaches manager for players and players play for coaches. He brought successful motivational speakers and kept blaming assistants for the team’s mounting losses alternatively of the guys really connected the field.

One of Meyer’s astir damning decisions came pursuing a Thursday nighttime crippled astatine Cincinnati successful precocious September. He chose to enactment down with household alternatively of flying location with his squad and past got caught connected video the pursuing nighttime behaving inappropriately with a pistillate astatine a barroom successful Columbus, Ohio. Khan publically reprimanded Meyer then, saying helium needed to regain the owner’s spot and respect.

“Just stupid, and truthful I explained everything that happened and owned it,” Meyer said. “Just stupid. Should not person myself successful that benignant of position.”

Roughly an hr aft Meyer’s apology successful the quality conference, different video emerged that appeared to amusement Meyer groping a woman’s bottommost portion helium was sitting astatine the bar. The pistillate appeared to beryllium wearing the aforesaid apparel – jeans and a achromatic apical – arsenic the pistillate successful the archetypal viral video.

Meyer said his household was understandably upset. His girl Gigi posted a connection of enactment connected her Instagram story, and his wife, Shelley, posted a connection connected Twitter and announced she was nary longer going to beryllium progressive connected the societal media platform.

Bailing connected his players showed conscionable however retired of interaction Meyer was with NFL norms. And it was conscionable 1 of galore head-scratching choices for the 57-year-old manager who recovered occurrence astatine each assemblage stop: Bowling Green (2001-02), Utah (2003-04), Florida (2005-10) and Ohio State (2012-18).

Meyer simply ne'er made the due adjustments to the pro level.

Lambo’s assertion seemingly proved excessively overmuch for Khan, who 2 days earlier said helium didn’t privation to marque an impulsive determination connected the coach’s future.

“What’s antithetic astir this happening is you person losses and you person drama,” Khan said then.

The Jags had mode much play than victories.

Lambo provided the latest erstwhile helium told the Tampa Bay Times that Meyer kicked him portion helium was stretching astatine the commencement of a practice. Lambo, the team’s place-kicker to unfastened the season, said helium told Meyer “don’t you ever (expletive) footwear maine again” and said the manager responded, “I’m the caput shot coach, I’ll footwear you whenever the (expletive) I want.”

Meyer released a connection done the squad denying the incidental happened the mode Lambo described it.

“Josh’s characterization of maine and this incidental is wholly inaccurate, and determination are eyewitnesses to refute his account,” Meyer said.

Lambo said helium reported the footwear to his agent, who contacted the Jaguars’ ineligible counsel the pursuing day.

“Jaguars ineligible counsel so acknowledged and responded instantly to the query made by Josh Lambo’s cause Friday, August 27, 2021,” the Jaguars said successful a statement. “Counsel offered to talk with Josh, oregon to assistance Josh successful speaking with coaching oregon immoderate different shot personnel, if helium was comfy with her sharing the information. Any proposition different is blatantly false.”

Lambo was released aft helium missed his archetypal 3 field-goal attempts to commencement the season.

Lambo’s allegation came connected the heels of an NFL Network study which said Meyer created hostility with aggregate run-ins with players arsenic good arsenic assistants helium allegedly called “losers.” Citing unidentified sources, the study elaborate a heated speech betwixt Meyer and seasoned receiver Marvin Jones that stemmed from Meyer criticizing receivers by saying they weren’t winning capable one-on-one matchups oregon getting capable separation.

“I would conscionable accidental this: There was thing that was brought to my attraction that I didn’t similar excessively well,” Jones said Wednesday, his archetypal nationalist comments since the study was published Saturday. “I approached him astir it and we talked and we handled it similar grown men. And that’s each I person to accidental astir that.”

Jones denied threatening to permission signifier implicit the argument.

“I mean, shoot, erstwhile you lose, you’re ever going to beryllium the halfway of attraction successful a antagonistic way,” Jones said. “That conscionable is what it is. That’s each I person to say.”

Other issues for Meyer:

• He hired spot manager Chris Doyle successful February contempt accusations of racist behaviour and past had to fto him spell a time aboriginal due to the fact that of a pending lawsuit.

• Jacksonville was fined $200,000 and Meyer docked $100,000 connected July 1, a punishment that stemmed from an aboriginal June signifier successful which the league deemed receivers and antiaircraft backs had excessively overmuch interaction during 11-on-11 drills.

• Meyer signed 2007 Heisman Trophy-winning backmost Tim Tebow to play choky end, an experimentation that ended with Tebow looking mislaid successful the preseason opener against Cleveland.

• Meyer held a fake backmost contention betwixt Trevor Lawrence, a generational prospect, and Gardner Minshew successful grooming camp. Meyer and General Manager Trent Baalke traded Minshew to Philadelphia, wherever he’s a backup to Jalen Hurts.

• The NFL Players Association launched an probe aft Meyer said vaccination presumption factored into the team’s roster decisions.

• He repeatedly mishandled moving backmost James Robinson, allowing the team’s astir accordant violative subordinate to get benched doubly pursuing fumbles and botched trying to explicate wherefore Robinson got pulled and however agelong helium remained connected the sideline.

All the play became excessively overmuch for Lawrence.

“I bash deliberation that has to alteration and that’s thing that we request to enactment connected for sure,” Lawrence said Wednesday. “You can’t ever beryllium successful the headlines. You conscionable got to spell play football, and that’s wherever we’re trying to get, and I person nary uncertainty we’ll get there.”

Meyer compiled a 187-32 assemblage coaching record, including the 3 nationalist titles. He won 2 of those titles (2006, 2008) with Florida, which helium led to a 65-15 grounds successful six seasons. He besides led Ohio State to the 2014 nationalist rubric and compiled an 83-9 grounds successful 7 seasons successful Columbus, but his tenures astatine Florida and Ohio State were acold from uneventful.

The nighttime aft a nonaccomplishment to Alabama successful the SEC Championship Game, Meyer was rushed to a Gainesville infirmary aft his woman was incapable to aftermath him up. Meyer had been experiencing thorax pains and suffered from dehydration, and the incidental frightened him. Meyer aboriginal announced that helium was resigning aft Florida’s vessel crippled for wellness reasons but changed his caput the pursuing time and alternatively said helium would instrumentality a permission of absence.

Meyer was diagnosed successful January 2010 with esophageal spasms, which caused the terrible thorax pains helium had been experiencing. He began taking medication, made important manner changes and yet resumed coaching astatine the commencement of outpouring signifier successful March 2010.

One time aft the Gators’ last regular-season crippled successful 2010 – a 31-7 nonaccomplishment astatine Florida State – Meyer announced helium was resigning for bully and that his last crippled would beryllium the Outback Bowl.

Florida players besides had occupation with the instrumentality during Meyer’s tenure. Thirty-one players were arrested portion Meyer was the caput manager from 2005-10.

Meyer had different wellness scare successful 2018 erstwhile helium dropped to his knees connected the sideline during Ohio State’s crippled against Indiana with terrible symptom successful his head. Meyer aboriginal revealed that helium was dealing with an ongoing contented related to a congenital arachnoid cyst successful his brain, which included terrible headaches that had gotten worse implicit 2 years.

Meyer besides was placed connected paid administrative permission connected Aug. 1, 2018, successful his last play astatine Ohio State aft reports surfaced that helium knew astir spousal maltreatment allegations against adjunct manager Zach Smith. Ohio State had fired Smith the erstwhile week.

After an investigation, Meyer was suspended for the archetypal 3 games of the 2018 season. The Buckeyes went 12-1 but missed retired connected the College Football Playoff, and Meyer announced that helium was retiring from coaching aft the Rose Bowl for wellness reasons.

His sanction was often mentioned arsenic a imaginable campaigner for the USC occupation erstwhile Clay Helton was nether fire, but Meyer worked arsenic a assemblage shot workplace broadcaster for a fewer years earlier taking the Jacksonville job.