Urban Meyer Apologizes to Jacksonville, Denies Kicking Josh Lambo

In an interview with NFL Network, former Jaguars coach Urban Meyer apologized to the city of Jacksonville, denied several accusations against him and gave his version of events after a short-lived first season in the NFL. Meyer was fired over the weekend after a tumultuous season, just hours after former Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo accused Meyer of kicking him at practice in a Tampa Bay Times report. 

“I just apologize to Jacksonville,” Meyer told NFL Network. “I love Jacksonville. It’s one of the reasons I took the job. I still think Shad’s a great owner. It’s heart-breaking. I just had a dream of it becoming a destination place with a new facility he agreed to build and some day to walk into that stadium where it's standing room only. Because I know how bad the people of Jacksonville want it. So, I’m just heartbroken that we weren't able to do that. I still believe it’s going to be done. It's too good of a place.”

Meyer denied Lambo’s accusation and said the incident never happened, according to NFL Network. Before that accusation, NFL Network reported that Meyer had called his assistant coaches “losers,” and insulted his wide receivers to the point that wideout Marvin Jones stormed out of the facility after a heated confrontation with his head coach. 

Meyer denied the alleged incident with his assistant coaches and said the incident with Jones was not accurately portrayed. The former college coach also faced criticism for benching running back James Robinson, one of the team’s best players, against the Rams. He said that was a direct result of poor communication with his staff. 

“When you see someone lose the ball or even see them be loose with the ball, get them out of the game, get their mind right and then get them back in,” he said. “When he fumbled, I said, ‘Take him out.’ We took him out and then we had lack of communication about when to put him back in.”

When asked what he’d do next, Meyer told NFL Network “to be determined.”

For more Jaguars news, head over to Jaguars Report.