Jacksonville Jaguars Make Big Decision on Urban Meyer Amid Rocky First Season
The Jacksonville Jaguars have made a big decision on Urban Meyer. On Thursday, the Jaguars announced they have fired Meyer as their head coach after 13 games. He was hired to be the head coach in January, and things have gone downhill for him and the team ever since.
"After deliberation over many weeks and a thorough analysis of the entirety of Urban's tenure with our team, I am bitterly disappointed to arrive at the conclusion that an immediate change is imperative for everyone," owner Shad Khan said in a statement released early Thursday. "I informed Urban of the change this evening. As I stated in October, regaining our trust and respect was essential. Regrettably, it did not happen. In the spirit of closure and recharging our players, staff and fan base, I will not comment further until some point following the conclusion of the NFL season."
Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell will serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. The Jaguars only won two games under Meyer and 10 of the losses were by double digits. And while that is a reason Meyer is gone, it's not the only reason. It's been reported that Meyer, who won two college football National Championships at Florida and one at Ohio State, has been accused of making racist remarks and bullying Black players. He was also seen with a woman who is not his wife at the bar shortly after a Jaguars game.
The most recent accusation came from former Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo who alleged Meyer kicked him in the leg while he was stretching before practice during the final week of preseason. And according to ESPN and the NFL Network, Jaguars receiver Marvin Jones left the team facility in response to Meyer's criticism of the wide receivers. Jones and Meyer reportedly had a heated exchange, and Jones had to be persuaded to return.
Meyer is also accused of calling his assistant coaches "losers" and questioning their resumes during a staff meeting. Meyer was asked about the allegations during a press conference and admitted to being hard on his staff. The final straw came on Sunday when the Jaguars lost to the Tennesee Titans 20-0, the fourth shutout loss in team history. If Meyer does coach again, it will likely be in college since he won 187 games and 12 bowl games with four different teams.