Former Jaguars HC Urban Meyer goes into damage control mode

There aren’t many positives to talk about when discussing Urban Meyer’s stint as the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach. However, the list of blunders, slips, and questionable decisions when he was in charge is pretty lengthy. From allegedly kicking Josh Lambo to diminishing his assistants, Meyer turned the Jags into a toxic place and was a big reason they went 3-14 last season.

Meyer routinely asked his coaching staff to prepare the game plan and whenever something went wrong, he would try to shift the blame. Moreover, he wasn’t aware of what was going on on his sidelines or his opponents, often confusing players and calling the Arizona Cardinals “the Phoenix Cardinals” even though they changed names in 1993. Similarly, he was oblivious to who Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald is and only knew that “No. 99 could cause trouble“. However, the former Jaguars head coach denied that was the case in a recent appearance on The Tim May Podcast, via Yahoo! Sports.

"When I heard… someone told me that… I’ve heard silly things before in my life. It’s almost, you shouldn’t even address stuff like that, it’s so silly."

Donald is arguably the best defender, regardless of the position in the NFL right now. Not only was he part of the Rams team that won Super Bowl 52 but he’s of the best pass rushers in the league even though he doesn’t line up on the edge. Over the last eight seasons, the 2014 first-round pick has logged 98 sacks and made the Pro Bowl eight times. Moreover, he’s earned eight First-Team All-Pro designations and has been named Defensive Player of the Year three times. Nevertheless, it is indeed believable that Meyer didn’t know who Donald was.

Urban Meyer wasn’t particularly honest when he was the Jaguars HC.

Meyer gave his side of the story to Tim May but the truth is that he wasn’t honest during his time as the head coach of the Jaguars, so anything he says should be taken with a grain of salt.

After Jacksonville’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, he decided to stay in Ohio and not fly back with the teams, something unheard of. He was then caught acting inappropriately with a woman that wasn’t his wife but told players and his staff that a group wanted him to join them on the dance floor. This was an egregious explanation when you take into account that there was video evidence of the incident.

Similarly, Meyer wasn’t truthful about benching running back James Robinson against the Rams in Week 13. He first said he didn’t micromanage the team and wasn’t aware that had happened. However, he later revisited the story and said that he did give the order to take Robinson out of the game but communication broke along the way.

The Jaguars are relieved Meyer is gone and have already turned the page, hiring Doug Pederson to fill the vacancy he left. Had he stayed in place, it’s uncertain what other things he would’ve done. Based on how things unfolded, he won’t most likely get a head-coaching job in the NFL but he shouldn’t have gotten the one in Jacksonville in the first place.