The Jacksonville Jaguars have fired Urban Meyer, and he brought it upon himself with how he acted and everything that has gone on.
Move over Bobby Petrino and Nick Saban. At least for now, you don’t have to worry about being as loathed as Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer.
It lasted less than a year, it’s up there with how bad Petrino’s Falcons and Saban’s Dolphins tenures were, but Jacksonville finally decided to fire Meyer.
After less than one year in Jacksonville, Urban Meyer is out as the Jaguars’ head coach, sources tell ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 16, 2021
The breaking news in the middle of the night ends a drama-filled saga in Jacksonville. Moreover, it will undoubtedly have a number of former and current players in Jacksonville (2-11) breathing a sigh of relief.
Meyer’s tenure with the Jaguars was far from what owner Shad Khan envisioned when he entrusted Meyer to lead the team. Moreover, despite the hope around #1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence, his former head coach will not be around to benefit from those results.
Meyer is the first head coach since Petrino to not finish their 1st season after starting in Week 1. As we all know, Petrino bolted for Arkansas.
Off-field headlines dominated this season in Duval. Questions regarding Meyer’s decisions, such as benching James Robinson, hiring a trainer with a racist past, and personal conduct, including an infamous video of being in a bar, were more than enough to warrant a change, despite it being so early in his tenure.
However, the final straw comes from a story told by former Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo when he said Meyer kicked him in practice in August.
Jacksonville released a statement, citing that offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell will serve as interim head coach. General manager Trent Baalke will not be removed from his position.
Statement from the #Jaguars about the firing of Urban Meyerpic.twitter.com/DcKuTXprVK
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 16, 2021
The Jacksonville Jaguars should be grateful that things didn’t get much worse with Urban Meyer, but they are not innocent here either.
Khan may have fired Meyer, but given everything that has gone down, why was he even allowed to run the ship? The examples of Petrino and Saban were enough to make the Falcons and Dolphins look embarrassing, so why did Khan not get it right away?
The franchise has always been in purgatory. Even with a promising quarterback, they managed to hire the wrong coach, and early on, even before the hiring, several red flags were overlooked, and now, it has reared its ugly head.
In the end, the reality is apparent. Meyer’s tenure was a disaster. It continues to set a bad precedent for college coaches looking to make a jump to the NFL. Above all, Lawrence and his teammates deserve better. Hopefully, they get that with the next hire.