Jaguars HC Urban Meyer and James Robinson smooth things over

The Jacksonville Jaguars have had a penchant for alienating their best players in recent years. Even though there are new decision-makers in place, it looks like things haven’t changed much, as running back James Robinson was recently benched even though he’s far from the Jags’ biggest issues right now.

Meyer met with the local media Wednesday and said he had a productive meeting — “A plus” in his own words — with Robinson after the running back told Action News Jax he felt he was benched.

"I went at one of our quality control guys make a cut of James, and then I had James come in and we watched it and he was one of the top five backs in the league. And then the heel happened in Seattle, and here’s one of the toughest guys on our team, one of the best players on the team. If he hasn’t been the same it’s because he hasn’t been able to practice the fundamentals of lock it, clamp it, all the thing. So not a good meeting a fantastic meeting. Then, I made a decision that we’re going to do that on all positions."

Later in the sitdown, Meyer was asked why Robinson was benched for longer when Hyde’s fumbles were worse. He said he doesn’t know. The thing is that he’s supposed to know as the head coach of the team. His lack of engagement with his coaching staff has been a reason why the team lacks discipline and has won just two games this season. If Meyer wants to turn things around, he will need to have a more hands-on approach and put his best players in a position to succeed.

Jaguars HC Urban Meyer needs to take responsibility moving forward.

Robinson has fumbled in back-to-back weeks but it seems like he’s the only Jaguars’ player that has been benched after making a mistake. Moreover, the former Illinois State Redbird is their most productive player on offense and there’s a significant drop in talent from him to Hyde, which makes the decision to take him out of the game even more puzzling.

Meyer said Monday he would be more involved with everything that happens on the sideline. However, he still refuses to take responsibility as he once again said he doesn’t micromanage his assistants and leaves them up to them to make decisions related to players rotation, who plays, and who doesn’t.

Don’t get things twisted, he can have a laid-back approach but that doesn’t mean he should be oblivious to whatever his assistants do. Think of Andy Reid. Everyone likes that man but his detailed-oriented approach has helped him have success, first with the Philadelphia Eagles and now with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Meyer has praised Robinsons several times and even called him a top-5 running back. That’s all fine and dandy but there’s only a way to show he means it: Let him play, show him with actions, no words that he’s a valuable player. Don’t bench him because he makes one mistake. As long as Meyer doesn’t do that, the Jaguars will continue to show things haven’t changed much despite the fact that there’s a new regime in place.