Urban Meyer‘s first year as the Jaguars’ head coach/lead decision-maker has gone rather poorly. The team is 0-5, and Meyer has generated extensive off-field headlines. But the Jags are sticking with their sought-after HC, for now.
Shad Khan is not yet mulling a quick about-face on Meyer, but Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports notes many in the organization believe enough damage has occurred that will leave the owner no choice but to abandon this experiment after one season. The Jaguars’ London game is Sunday, creating a window for the franchise to reassess ahead of its Week 7 bye. Meyer said last week he would not resign.
The first-year NFL HC had encountered adjustment issues before the Ohio controversy earlier this month. Players and Jags coaches expressed confusion about Meyer’s temperament and decision-making before the season began. Meyer’s most recent run of bad press — centered on his decision not to travel back to Jacksonville from Cincinnati with the team and the ensuing video captured of him at a bar that weekend — led to more frustration among Jaguars players and staffers. Jags players are “laughing at” Meyer, one league source told La Canfora, who adds a team staffer called Meyer’s recent actions “pretty gutless.”
Khan issued a statement deeming Meyer’s actions inexcusable, and the team is still looking into them. Jaguars players and coaches did not know Meyer would not be on the team plane back to Jacksonville until he failed to show up for the flight, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk adds. Meyer said last week he had informed GM Trent Baalke about his plans to remain in Ohio post-Week 4 “way in advance.” But his decision continues to produce considerable fallout and has affected his standing with the team.
Meyer did not address his staying in Ohio after the Jags’ Week 4 loss, or the subsequent bar video, with the team until the following Wednesday. He canceled a Monday team meeting before discussing the issues. Once Meyer did meet with the team, coaches and some Jaguars core players were dissatisfied with the explanation, JLC adds. This came before the Jags endured their fourth double-digit loss of the season, a 37-19 defeat against the Titans. The Jaguars have now lost 20 consecutive games, marking the second-longest skid in NFL history (behind only the 1976-77 Buccaneers, who lost their first 26 games).
More on Meyer’s plate: the NFLPA is still investigating his comment on players’ COVID-19 vaccination statuses being considered when trimming the team’s roster to 53 players, La Canfora offers, adding that this process could well drag into 2022. While other teams likely factored vaccination statuses into their roster equations, Meyer saying the quiet part out loud expanded his growing list of controversies.
So when you spend a fortune on a franchise and a bundle on a coach it takes a trip to Europe and subsequent bye week to figure out if he’s the guy or not?!? OK…
I’ve watched about 38 minutes of college football in my life, but even I know this guy being a selfish coward who doesn’t really care about his team is the furthest thing from a surprise.
What makes a good college coach (the ability to use prestige, money under the table, freshman cheerleaders…under the table, a house for their parents, whatever you can, etc. to land the best players) doesn’t really help in the NFL with the draft and all.
Tim Tebow will be the interim head coach.
Imagine if Tebow were still on the team. That would have been quite the awkward apology…
LOL!!
Jags are close to the all time longest losing streak. And Shad is the fastest owner to 100 losses. What an abomination of a franchise.
Part of the problem is that there are no crappy MLB, NBA or NHL teams in Jacksonville to take some heat off Shad. He probably envies the Fords in Detroit.
The stadium is a joke-they really need to relocate this club
London,San Antonio,Birmingham,Salt Lake City,Toronto.
Renamed,new logo,colors,etc. A complete rebrand.
I actually like the name and colors
It’s different and unique from all the same boring combos.
They need a new stadium but I think a team can succeed in Jacksonville.
Didn’t they just build that stadium? What’s so bad about it?
San Antonio hosted the Saints post Katrina and sold out every game (65k+). Raiders had entertained the idea before Vegas and even conducted a survey. SATX has a good fan base that would support a team locally, but don’t have the TV ratings to go along with it. Sprinkle in the Cowboys rights for clearing another Texas team and it becomes a hurdle most owners don’t want to deal with.
Welcome to the NFL Urban. Sorry scumbag here you can’t yell and bully grown men, they smack back. You need to take your cheating, scumbag ways and find some Community College to hire you far , far away.
Except he’d get hired by a power 5 conference team by next year. Universities have no problem with scumbags if they win.
I think pretty much everyone knew from the beginning that this hire wouldn’t end well. But I think we’re all surprised just how quickly it’s gone south.
The Jaguars’ best hope is that they move on and hire a coach that can rescue Lawrence like firing Jeff Fisher and hiring McVay initially worked for Jared Goff. For their sake, hopefully this damage isn’t permanent.
Clown franchise. They will continue to be a joke long after this guy is gone.
Time for URBAN renewal in Jacksonville !!
Wow coach potatoes strike again. It is a shame there are only 32 jobs available, so many great minds being wasted
Urban should’ve jumped at the Dallas Job before they got McCarthy.
Dak Zeke Cooper (drafted in Lamb also) Jarwin and Schultz plus that o line and a decent defence.
Instead he ended up going to Jacksonville likely because they would’ve gave him more money and more control over the team. He got Trevor Lawrence and knew he was going to lose a lot in his first year but the way he’s acted off the field has been pretty bad.
He should’ve taken less money and power to go with the cowboys. Not that he’s some amazing coach but I think he could have them playing on another level and in the draft address the defence. You help turn Dallas into a title contender and you have the world as your oyster. Because he was greedy he is now trying to swim upstream in Jacksonville and i doubt he last till the end of next season
His antics wouldn’t have played any better in Dallas.. Or anywhere else for that matter.
I don’t think the lack of success has fuelled his antics and in Dallas under the control of Jerry Jones and with a actually good team he would’ve been less of an idiot.
I think as a coach he’s actually alright but as a person he doesn’t seem very good
No doubt he’s a good coach. By “antics” I meant his controlling style that just doesn’t fly at the NFL level. This and other articles mention how the players are laughing at him now. Maybe he’ll improve…
How could the “investigation” into Meyer’s vaccination comments drag into 2022? What more could there possibly be to figure?
Just tell us that you’re not punishing him or that you’re just waiting for him to be fired. Don’t insult our collective intelligence by dragging out the most simple investigation the NFL has likely EVER had in their hands.
Agreed. There’s no reason fir it to drag out and info 2022
I’d like to know what possible difference it makes whether a HC is on a plane with the team? The Jag players sound like a whining kindergarten class to me. Do these guys need their hand held 24/7? Most people have no appreciation of the pressures a NFL coach (especially an 0-5 coach) are under. If Urban visits a bar on occasion to relieve that pressure why is that a major crime?
Players sound jealous they didn’t get to do that which is what many of them do normally. Also, these are the things that come to light when the whole organization is a dumpster fire. If they’re winning the media spins the story how cool the coach is and it alleviates pressure.
The people who do appreciate said pressure, namely former NFL coaches, have been quite adamant that the head coach MUST be on the team plane and none can remember a situation where the coach was not. Ever.
Who are these former coaches and what was their explanation as to why a HC MUST be on the plane? Please provide a link to your source.
Every single coach, player and writer I’ve heard speak on this subject has said that they have never even once heard of a head coach not traveling home with the team and that the head coach sits at the front of the bus or the plane, accessible to his players.
Not once ever.
Is your argument that Meyer is an innovator rather than a derelict?
Or that he’s useless anyway so who cares?
My argument is that while it may be a tradition for the HC to travel back home with the team, there is no evidence whatsoever that a team is anyway affected if the coach is not in attendance on flights that in some cases last just a few hours. This is really just the media trying to bury Meyer. John Madden made no secret of his dislike for flying and if he had returned to Oakland from a game in San DIego in his motorcoach the media would have not made it into a big deal as they are trying to do here.
So, whether you agree with them or not…if half the team feels like he quit on them and then they quit on him…no big deal?
It’s their problem, not Meyer’s?
“If Urban visits a bar on occasion to relieve that pressure why is that a major crime?”
Well, at least from an ethical standpoint, that was someone over than his wife. Otherwise, he did not forewarn the team of his exodus and basically skipping out on the plane ride back without explanation looks pretty bad after a primetime loss
The outcome of a game isn’t going to change regardless of whether the coach is on the plane home or not. The majority of players use boring flight times to grab some zzzs so it certainly won’t matter to them if the coach is along for the ride. It seems pretty clear that there is a media element that just has it in for Meyers and doesn’t want him getting a fair chance to show what he can do.
You clearly have never played team sports or served in the military.
He’s just making sure they get the #1 overall pick next season.
Actually if he sticks no question eventually they will accrue at least 11 first round picks. :). Bottom line if none of your employees have your back it will be tough to succeed
I’m thinking he may answer the phone call from USC after all
Reading this article makes it seem like the bye week will be a good time in the season to say BYE to Urban.
It’s pretty clear that Meyer is nothing but a figurehead on this team. I suspect his ego is too big to quit in the middle of the year, thus he’ll stick it out until the offseason and then step down after making a lame speech about how he set the team up for long term success. After all, he’s got a bar to run and a side piece to keep happy…
Based on the past big-name/college coach disasters did anyone really expect this to develop differently? Especially since Meyer had already shown himself to be a bit of a loon at OSU/FL…
Great place for Gruden.