Jags Owner Says Meyer Not 'Truthful' In Recent Interview

It appears as though it wasn't necessarily the 2-11 record that led to Urban Meyer's firing in Jacksonville, but rather his repeated issues with trust, respect and the truth.

Once again, Urban Meyer's name is circulating the headlines for all of the wrong reasons - this time regarding his brief stop in Jacksonville. Speaking with USA TODAY Sports, Jaguars owner Shad Khan shed on exactly why he felt compelled to fire Meyer less than one year into his coaching tenure...and it had nothing to do with wins and losses. 

“When you lose the respect, the trust and an issue of truthfulness, how can you work with someone like that?” Khan told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s not possible.”

“It was not about wins and losses,” said Khan, whose two coaches previous to Meyer, Doug Marrone and Gus Bradley, posted records of 25-44 and 14-48, respectively. “I think when you know someone is not truthful, how can you be around someone, OK? We had Doug Marrone here four years. We had Gus Bradley here four years. I have nothing but the utmost respect and friendship with them. That’s why they got the time, because it wasn’t a matter about respect or truth. It was a matter of wins and losses over four years. This is much bigger than that.”

Though a dreadful 2-11 start to the 2021 season certainly didn't help matters, Khan felt that the issues with Meyer went far deeper than anything that could be corrected on the field of play itself. At one point during the season, Meyer opted not to fly back to Jacksonville with his team following a loss in Cincinnati - leading to the infamous Urban Meyer bar video. Additional reports suggested that Meyer would often degrade his players and assistants coaches, even to the point of physical violence. 

"I’m in a lunge position. Left leg forward, right leg back," Lambo told the Tampa Bay Times. "While I’m in that stretch position, (Meyer) comes up to me and says, 'Hey (expletive), make your (expletive) kicks!’ And kicks me in the leg."

Lambo did concede that the kick wasn't as hard as Meyer probably could have, but that it also wasn't a friendly gesture from the head coach either. 

"It certainly wasn’t as hard as he could’ve done it (kicked), but it certainly wasn’t a love tap. Truthfully, I’d register it as a five (out of 10). Which in the workplace, I don’t care if it’s football or not, the boss can’t strike an employee. And for a second, I couldn’t believe it actually happened. Pardon my vulgarity, I said, ‘Don’t you ever f- king kick me again!’ And his response was, ‘I’m the head ball coach, I’ll kick you whenever the f--k I want.’"

With such a disastrous short-lived NFL career and his questionable ethics within the world of college athletics, it really makes you wonder why FOX is reportedly nearing a deal to bring Meyer back into the world of college athletics. According to a report by Front Office Sports, the network is pushing hard to bring Meyer back to the "Big Noon Kickoff" show on Fall Saturday's. Though the move is already causing a stir on social media, it doesn't appear that FOX is worried about any blowback it might receive by bringing back Meyer. 

From a college football fan standpoint, I get why FOX would think it would be a great idea to bring back Urban Meyer. Love him or hate him, his insight on "Big Noon Kickoff" was always something I found to be interesting at the very least. At the same time, college football is also in a precarious spot right now with NIL, the transfer portal and questionable actors who may or may not have the best interest of the student-athletes at heart. 

Whether it's in the booth, on the sidelines or in the locker room, it just feels like the worst thing college athletics can do right now is to welcome people like Urban Meyer back into the fold.

"Urban Meyer's had a winning record," U-M head coach Jim Harbaugh said of Meyer back in 2019. "A really phenomenal record everywhere he's been. But also, controversy follows everywhere he's been."