Jaguars' Marvin Jones Gives His Side to Urban Meyer Report
In a week in which reports and anonymous sources have formed a dark and unavoidable cloud over everything the Jacksonville Jaguars have done, the only named player said reports gave his side of the story on Wednesday.
“I’ll just say this: there was something that was brought to my attention that I didn’t like too well," wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. said on Wednesday.
"I approached him [Head Coach Urban Meyer] about it and we talked, and we handled it like grown men. That’s all I have to say about that. That was now two and a half weeks ago.”
The incident Jones is referring to, of course, is from NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero's report on rumored turmoil inside TIAA Bank Field between head coach Urban Meyer, members of his staff, and players in the locker room such as Jones.
It was Jones who was specifically mentioned in Pelissero's report on Saturday, with Pelissero reporting of an argument between Meyer and the ninth-year veteran, who is in his first year with the Jaguars since signing as a free agent in March.
"Receiver Marvin Jones -- one of the locker room's most respected and mild-mannered veterans -- became so angry with Meyer's public and private criticism of the receiver group that he left the facility until other staff members convinced him to come back and had a heated argument with Meyer during practice," Pelissero reported.
Meyer has since denied that him and Jones had a heated argument, saying both on Sunday after the team's 20-0 loss and on Monday that he and Jones had a discussion, but never one that would be classified as a heated argument.
"Marvin Jones had a conversation because he came to me and said that there was something in the media, and I said, what's that, and I didn't read it, and he said that people were blaming the receivers for all the issues on offense. And I went back and I looked at it, and it was about -- I think I said something like we have some injury issues and some lack of consistency. We talked about that, and he's great," Meyer said on Sunday.
"We moved on, and he just -- one thing about Marvin (Jones), and there's a lot of players, especially these professional veterans, there's a lot of pride. Some guys aren't used to this, and he's one of them. But he's fantastic and we have a fantastic relationship, and I started hearing that, and Marvin looked at me -- he walked by yesterday when I saw something on TV, like a heated argument, and he goes, I guess we're not allowed to talk anymore, are we, and started laughing about it. So there's nothing.
“Sorry, so he doubled down on that I had a heated argument with [Marvin Jones Jr.]? That didn’t happen. We have to move on," Meyer said on Monday when asked again about the report.
On Wednesday, four questions on the topic were all Jones had to talk about, with the veteran receiver noting his role as an offensive and veteran leader directly results in a number of conversations with Meyer.
“That’s the thing about me and the position that I’m in right now being the old head. We have a lot of conversations, me and him [Head Coach Urban Meyer], talking about the team," Jones said.
"He confides in me, he talks to me, asking me questions about what should go on here, what should go on there. [I’m] kind of the voice of the locker room, me as well as a few other old heads and stuff like that. We have those conversations, and we handle them and go on from there. That’s all I have to say about that.”
“Did I threaten to leave practice? I did not. I practiced. You guys see me out there," Jones said when asked if he left a practice at any point.
The 2-11 Jaguars have found themselves in headline after headline this season, ranging from the offseason controversies of Chris Doyle and Tim Tebow to Meyer's own controversy when he was videotaped dancing with a younger woman who was not his wife in a Columbus bar the day after the Jaguars' Week 4 loss.
Last weekend's reports -- which came out just over 24 hours before the Jaguars kicked off in Nashville against the Titans -- is just the latest in what has been a long string of storylines. The only difference is this time, actual members of the locker room such as Jones are being mentioned, leading to both him and his head coach having to address said reports this week.
“I mean shoot, when you lose, you’re always going to be the center of attention in a negative way. That just is what it is," Jones said. "That’s all I have to say. I’ve seen the elephant, he just left so I guess I’m going to leave too.”
