Urban Meyer has been fired as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In a move that most have seen coming for quite some time now, Jags owner Shad Kahn made the move official in the early morning hours while many were sleeping. The last staw seemly was a report that Meyer kicked Jacksonville kicker Josh Lambo prior to a preseason game, although Meyer claims the accusation was exaggerated.
It was just the latest in a sad saga that lasted less than one year. The former Ohio State head coach and third all-time winningest coach in NCAA football history seemed to be in over his head from the get-go. From hiring a coach who had been accused of racist language and actions, to signing Tim Tebow as a tight-end, to reports of calling his assistant coaches losers, it’s been a bad look for the first-year NFL coach.
Of course, maybe nothing was more damning than the encounter with a young woman, who was not his wife, after a Thursday night loss in Cincinnati. Meyer decided to stay in Ohio to see his grandkids instead of traveling back with the team. Only seeing the grandkids took a backseat to a video that surfaced of Meyer and the woman being a little too friendly at the bar. Most felt like Meyer’s days were numbered after the incident embarrassed the organization and team owner.
Since the 1970 merger, only 4 coaches haven’t finished their first season:
21 Urban Meyer, Jax
07 Bobby Petrino, Atl
78 Pete McCulley, SF
76 Lou Holtz, Jets @EliasSports— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) December 16, 2021
With so many coaching accolades, Meyer joins an elite club no head coach wants to be part of. He is one of only four NFL head coaches not to last at least one season before leaving. Not a club anyone would want to join.
It’s an entirely different ball game when going from college to the pros as a coach. Just ask the likes of Nick Saban and Steve Spurrier. Talent is equal across the board and a coach becomes more of a manager of million-dollar egos than that of an X’s and O’s mastermind.
Meyer didn’t seem to fully grasp that idea. With a psychology degree in hand, Meyer might have been able to use mind games on a 19-year-old kid who has nothing and will do anything to get where he wants to be. But to try to use those same tactics on grown men, most of whom have already reached the pinnacle of professional sports, isn’t going to produce the same results.
Urban Meyer will still go down as one of the all-time coaching greats in college football history, at least by the numbers. Most Ohio State fans will still be thankful for his seven years in Columbus and the 2014 national championship. But the luster has certainly worn off.
Will Meyer ever coach again? Not in the NFL. He’ll most likely end up back in front of a camera next year breaking down college football games. But it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if a program in desperate need of a big splash hire will make a pitch and try to lure the coach back to the sidelines. And he’ll probably accept the challenge… because some that have been involved in the game, have a hard time staying away from it.
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