Jaguars: 3 biggest mistakes in HC Urban Meyer era

The Jacksonville Jaguars shouldn’t have hired Chris Doyle.

Besides hiring Urban Meyer, the Jaguars gave their coaching staff an overhaul. While they kept a few members from the previous regime, such as offensive line coach George Warhop, they also made a few additions and most of them look solid on paper. Nevertheless, there was one that stood out and not necessarily for good reasons.

The Jaguars announced all their coach staff additions at the same time, including director of sports performance Chris Doyle, who was the strength coach at Iowa. Right out of the gate, his hire raised questions, as Doyle was accused of racist remarks and abuse at Iowa.

When asked about it, Meyer said the team performed due diligence and felt comfortable with Doyle’s addition to the coaching staff. However, he ended up resigning, and looking back, this situation could’ve been avoided.

If the Jaguars’ brass really vetted Doyle, why did they move on from him anyway? If he was such a great asset to the team, the backlash shouldn’t have mattered. On the other hand, it’s possible they didn’t really think it through and didn’t think of the consequences Doyle’s hire would provoke. Regardless of whose idea it was to bring Doyle aboard, the team’s brass dropped the ball on this one.

Doyle is/was arguably one of the best strength coaches in the U.S. but he comes with baggage and if the Jaguars did their homework on him, they should’ve known it. Why not get the second or third-best strength coach in the country? The team didn’t hire someone else to fill Doyle’s vacancy but Anthony Schlegel is the head strength and conditioning coach. Was the gap between Doyle and Schlegel that big? Either way, it doesn’t justify Doyle’s hire.