Urban Decay: Jaguars Fire Meyer After Just 13 Games
The Jacksonville Jaguars have officially ended the Urban Meyer era after only 13 games and 336 days, firing the first-year head coach in the early Thursday hours.
"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," Jaguars own Shad Khan said in a statement on Thursday. "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."
The incident Khan is referring to is, of course, Meyer's infamous bar incident in Columbus in the days following the Jaguars' Week 4 overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football.
Instead of flying back with the team, Meyer stayed behind to, as he described, visit with family. Instead, Meyer was caught on footage with a younger woman who was not his wife dancing near his lap. This wasn't the first in Meyer's laundry list of sins as Jaguars head coach, but it was one of the most significant as it led to Meyer losing the trust of his owner.
With Meyer fired with four games remaining, the 2-11 Jaguars will now be led by interim head coach/offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. Bevell performed in the same role with the Detroit Lions last season and is the only coach on the staff with any NFL head coaching experience.
"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," Khan said.
"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."
Meyer was hired in January in a move that was seen as a risky swing for the fences by Khan, but a move that was applauded within local and some national circles all the same. While Meyer came with baggage following controversial tenures at Florida and Ohio State, the three-time National Championship head coach also had the pedigree of a winner and a program builder with a focus on improving a team's culture.
Meyer did neither in Jacksonville, however, which led to his stint as Jaguars' head coach officially being the shortest of any non-interim head coach in franchise history, with Meyer coaching three fewer games than Mike Mularkey. Meyer's Jaguars teams never once scored 30 points, suffered two different five-game losing streams, are currently on pace to be the worst scoring offense in franchise history, and produced just nine passing touchdowns out of No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence in 13 games.
The Jaguars are currently tied for last place in the AFC with the Houston Texans, who beat the Jaguars by double-digits in Meyer's debut in Week 1.
Meyer talked the talk in January when he was first introduced as head coach, but the former collegiate head coach simply never adjusted to the NFL. The list of grievances surrounding him since his hiring include the bizarre hiring of Chris Doyle, signing Tim Tebow, forcing Lawrence to split first-team reps with Gardner Minshew despite Minshew never being in the running for the job, skipping the team flight, offseason fines and the lost of future offseason practices, run-ins with players and staff, and much, much more.
Simply put, it was a non-stop rollercoaster with very few high points, with Meyer instead taking the Jaguars lower and lower and more off track.
Now, the Jaguars will begin anew, without Meyer. The Jaguars are set to host the 2-11 Texans this Sunday at TIAA Bank Field in their first game without Meyer at the helm.
