Jaguars owner Shad Khan announces firing of Urban Meyer

After weeks of tension brewing, the Jacksonville Jaguars have announced they have fired Urban Meyer after less than a year on the job. Adam Schefter of ESPN and Ian Rappoport of NFL Media first broke the news and owner Shad Khan later released a statement regarding the decision on social media and their official website. Here’s the aforementioned statement.

"Darrell Bevell will serve as interim head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars for the balance of the 2021 season. Darrell succeeds Urban Meyer. 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. 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.Trent Baalke continues as our general manager and will work with Darrell to ensure that our team will be inspired and competitive while representing Jacksonville proudly over our final four games of the season. 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."

The Jaguars hired Meyer earlier this year to replace Doug Marrone. However, his tenure was off to a bad start when the team announced they had hired Chris Doyle as the director of sports performance. That was only the tip of the iceberg though, as Meyer went on to make several questionable mistakes during his short stint in Jacksonville. The Jags fired Meyer the same day former kicker Josh Lambo opened up about a time the former head coach kicked him during warmups.

What’s next for the Jaguars after firing Urban Meyer?

Moving on from Meyer will bring some level of relief to the Jaguars. The truth is that the organization could no longer justify giving him employment after a series of incidents. Just a few days ago, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reported Meyer had belittled his assistant coaches and had gotten into a heated argument with Urban Meyer. Situations like those arose during his time at the helm.

Short-term, interim Darrell Bevell will need to get the team ready to take on the Houston Texans in Week 15. Long-term, the organization will have to conduct a search for their next head coach. There are several enticing candidates such as Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy or Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. Working in their favor is the fact that the NFL is now allowing teams to start interviewing potential candidates two weeks before the end of the season.

Khan recognized he made a mistake and instead of doubling down and forcing things to work out, he took swift action. The Jaguars have been looking for the right head coach to help them right the ship. Although they haven’t found him, at least they now know Urban Meyer isn’t it.

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