Category: Josh Lambo

Former Jags kicker Josh Lambo elaborates on decision to go public with accusations that Urban Meyer kicked him

Lambo explained his decision to go public with the alleged Urban Meyer kicking incident shortly before the coach was dismissed.

After just 13 games, the Jacksonville Jaguars decided to fire first-year coach Urban Meyer early on Thursday morning. Meyer’s tenure in Jacksonville was marred with incident after incident, but things ramped up over the last week when reports surfaced detailing Meyer’s treatment of both his players and assistant coaches, painting a picture of an organization that was fed up with his actions at all levels.

However, the most damning story to come up (and the one that ultimately proved to be the finishing blow to Meyer’s time with the Jaguars) was reported on Wednesday by the Tampa Bay Times just hours before Meyer’s dismissal. Former Jags kicker Josh Lambo told the newspaper that when he was with the team, Meyer approached him in warm-ups, called him a “dips—” and told him to “make his f—ing kicks” before kicking him in the hamstring.

Lambo allegedly told Meyer to never kick him again, and Meyer’s response was “I’m the head ball coach, I’ll kick you whenever the f–k I want.”

In an interview with First Coast News on Wednesday night, Lambo elaborated on the incident, explaining why he chose to go public now. The interview was conducted before Meyer’s dismissal.

“He said if there is a source, that person is out of a job,” Lambo said. “I don’t remember the quote, but that is in essence was what he said. I don’t think he can deny that, and that’s what he did to me in August. It’s just unacceptable to intimate people into your narrative.

“He’s trying to shut everybody else up and he tried to shut me up once. I want to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

“Truthfully, I wanted to get it on record and see what happens, honestly. I’m not suing the Jaguars right now. I’m not trying to be negative toward the Jaguars at all. Again, I have a deep-felt appreciation for the Jacksonville Jaguars and the community.”

Though Lambo isn’t suing the Jaguars, he did reach out to the team’s legal counsel regarding the incident. He claims he never heard back from them, and the team disputed that.

“Jaguars legal counsel indeed acknowledged and responded immediately to the query made by Josh Lambo’s agent Friday, August 27, 2021,” the Jaguars said in a statement to the Tampa Bay Times. “Counsel offered to speak with Josh, or to assist Josh in speaking with coaching or any other football personnel, if he was comfortable with her sharing the information. Any suggestion otherwise is blatantly false.”

The fact that the team has been aware of these allegations since August but didn’t act on them until they were made public raises a lot of questions about the decision-making from those above Meyer, and this likely isn’t the last we’ve heard of this story.

Lambo says he didn’t speak out at the team out of fear of reprisal, as Meyer threatened to release him if he challenged him again. He said he believes the coach is unfit for an NFL job.

“My observation of it was he couldn’t stand being challenged,” Lambo said. “His manhood, his pride and his ego were challenged, and so he threatened me. He threatened my job, my livelihood so how was I supposed to come out and say that in preseason? I still need to make my money, make my living and I didn’t feel I could say that and keep my job.

“For me, I would say completely unfit and that is my observation from what I saw day in and day out for a lot of months this year. The way that he treats the guys in the locker room, there’s this pompous nature that he has that he can get away with anything. You know, I see myself as a Jaguar. And I certainly don’t see him that way.”

Lambo again reiterated that his going public with the story wasn’t intended to hurt the franchise but rather shed light on misbehavior from a coach he didn’t believe had the players’ best interests in mind.

“I feel like I’ve embodied the Jacksonville Jaguars DNA since I’ve been here,” he said. “I hope the fans have seen that, people in the community have seen that. I’m not trying to start a war with anybody. I’m not trying to pick a fight. But if someone’s going to pick a fight with my people, I’m not going to back down. And that’s why I feel that what I’m doing is not only acceptable, but important. I want the Jaguars to do well. I want that franchise to do well. As far as I’m concerned, they deserve a lot better.”

Meyer denies that the kicking incident occurred as described, and he claimed there were multiple eyewitnesses to refute Lambo’s account of events in a statement given to the Tampa Bay Times.

“Josh’s characterization of me and this incident is completely inaccurate, and there are eyewitnesses to refute his account,” Meyer said. “(General manager) Trent (Baalke) and I met with him on multiple occasions to encourage his performance, and this was never brought up. I was fully supportive of Josh during his time with the team and wish him nothing but the best.”

With Meyer gone, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell will take over as interim head coach, and the Jags will look to put one of the most disastrous chapters — even for a franchise that has had a lot of them — in their history behind them.

Twitter reacts to latest Urban Meyer report about incident with Josh Lambo

With another Urban Meyer story hitting the web where he allegedly kicked a fan favorite, Josh Lambo, Twitter once again let it be known how they feel about the first-year coach.

Urban Meyer was the talk of this past weekend after NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero shared a damning report about incidents he had with both players and coaches over the recent weeks. With more than enough distractions in the way, the Jacksonville Jaguars also didn’t have the best week on the field, falling to their most despised rivals in the Tennessee Titans by a score of 20-0.

However, the drama has leaked into this week, too, after the Tampa Bay Times released a report of their own where former Jags kicker Josh Lambo claims that Meyer kicked him on the leg (and called him out of his name) during the Jags’ last preseason game in Dallas. According to Lambo, it was a tactic to get the struggling kicker to perform better.

Lambo also claimed that the first-year head coach told him that he could do whatever he wanted as the team’s head coach after the veteran told him not to ever do it again. Of course, the reactions of fans and reporters of the NFL community chimed in on the allegations, expressing their displeasure with what was said in the report.

Here are some of many reactions that came as a result of Rick Stroud’s report:

Former Jags kicker Josh Lambo says Urban Meyer once kicked him during warm-ups

Josh Lambo spoke on an incident in which Urban Meyer kicked him in warm-ups. The first-year head coach has disputed it, though.

Urban Meyer probably had the roughest weekend in the NFL as a damning report surfaced from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, which claims that he has been the key figure in the dysfunction of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The most eye-popping part of the report described a meeting where Meyer gathered his coaching staff together and asked them to defend their résumés while calling them “losers.” There was also an incident mentioned where Marvin Jones Jr. got into an argument with Meyer about his criticisms of the receivers group.

However, as most expected, the reports haven’t stopped, and a new one surfaced on Wednesday from Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times where former Jags kicker Josh Lambo said he was kicked by Meyer once during warm-ups (in the Jags last preseason game in Dallas).

“I’m in a lunge position. Left leg forward, right leg back,” Lambo said to Stroud. “… Urban Meyer, while I’m in that stretch position, comes up to me and says, ‘Hey Dips–t, make your f–king kicks!’ And kicks me in the leg.

“It certainly wasn’t as hard as he could’ve done it, 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.’”

Additionally, the former Jags kicker also said that Meyer didn’t refer to his specialist by their names, but instead by their positions or with an expletive.

“It was ‘Kicker, Punter, Long snapper,’” Lambo said. “Or S–tbag, Dips–t or whatever the hell it was.”

However, just as he’s mostly done with some of the previous allegations against him, Meyer denied the incident with the veteran kicker.

“Josh’s characterization of me and this incident is completely inaccurate, and there are eyewitnesses to refute his account,” Meyer said to Tampabay.com. “(General manager) Trent (Baalke) and I met with him on multiple occasions to encourage his performance, and this was never brought up. I was fully supportive of Josh during his time with the team and wish him nothing but the best.”

Lambo, who had been with the Jags since 2017 and was a beloved player, but was released on Oct. 19 after struggles that led to the Jags rolling with Matthew Wright. The decision came after Wright hit a game-winning field goal to give the Jags their first with Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins.

Whether others come out as witnesses to speak on the situation is yet to be determined, but it feels like there has been a nonstop cycle of incidents since Meyer took the job with the Jags in January. However, with this one involving a player, expect many others around the league to chime in, as well as the NFLPA to look into it — if they already haven’t.

Also, many eyes will continue to be on owner Shad Khan and a response from him. Earlier in the week, Khan said he wouldn’t make an abrupt decision on Meyer’s future, but a story like this (which comes from a beloved player for the organization) will garner more attention towards the franchise.

Former Jags kicker Josh Lambo signs with Steelers through their practice squad

Jags fan favorite Josh Lambo could be kicking on “Monday Night Football” if activated.

One of the hardest parts about this season for Jacksonville Jaguars fans was watching the team release kicker Josh Lambo, but many figured it wouldn’t be the end of his career. Now, just two weeks from his release he’s found a new home with the Pittsburgh Steelers through their practice squad.

Lambo’s signing comes as the Steelers’ starting kicker, Chris Boswell, suffered a concussion Sunday against the Cleveland Browns after taking a massive hit on a botched fake field goal attempt. With that being the case, the Steelers went to Lambo who brings seven years of experience to the table and was the most accurate kicker in Jags history.

Lambo will enter his tenure with the Steelers with an 81.7% field goal rate (128-of-147) and an 89.9% extra-point rate (143-of-159). He’ll also enter his tenure there with a career-long of 59 yards.

The Steelers next game isn’t until Monday and will take place against the Chicago Bears. That means the final injury report for Pittsburgh will come out on Saturday and the Steelers could add Lambo from the practice squad Sunday if needed.

Urban Meyer says Josh Lambo is “in a better place” but kicker competition continues

Meyer said Lambo is doing better after struggling mightily in the first three games. Still, the competition with Matthew Wright continued this week.

Jacksonville is 0-4, and while it has several problems that are holding it back right now, one of the biggest ones is finding someone capable of routinely kicking the ball through the goalposts.

Starting kicker Josh Lambo, who is the best placekicker the Jags have had since longtime franchise centerpiece Josh Scobee held the position, has had a rough start to the season. Lambo is 0-for-3 on field-goal tries this year, and he’s missed two of his seven point-after attempts.

He missed a large portion of last season with several hip injuries, and he hasn’t looked the same since returning to the field. He missed Thursday night’s game for “personal reasons,” and the team elevated kicker Matthew Wright from the practice squad to start the game. He didn’t attempt a field goal, but he was perfect on his three extra points.

While coach Urban Meyer said earlier this week that Lambo is in a better place mentally, he did confirm that the kicker competition is ongoing.

“He’s—him and Matt (Matthew Wright) are going to—there’s going to be a little competition to see who kicks,” he said. “But Josh (is in) a much better place right now.”

Lambo has been with the team since 2017 after he spent his first two seasons with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers. He was named a Second-Team All-Pro in 2019.

Meyer said that he respects Lambo and hopes that he will remain with the team moving forward, regardless of the outcoming of the competition.

“I hope not,” he said when asked if Lambo would be gone if he loses the competition. “I like Josh Lambo, I like his commitment to being a great player. He’s in a slump right now, but there’s also the reality. The reality is you’ve got to put it through the uprights. We are all pulling for him—I can tell you this, the whole team is pulling for him. He’s a great guy that works his you-know-what off.”

Those are certainly strong words of support from the head coach, but ultimately, Lambo will need to find a way to get back to his previous high-level kicking. Regardless of what Meyer says, using two roster spots on kickers isn’t a good tactical move, and whoever isn’t starting on Sunday will likely be heading to the practice squad, at least.

Jags add kicker Matthew Wright to practice squad

With Josh Lambo struggling as of late, the Jags have decided to bring in some competition at kicker.

With the struggles of kicker Josh Lambo bleeding into Week 3, the Jacksonville Jaguars finally added some competition for the veteran. On Monday, they signed third-year kicker Matthew Wright to their practice squad, who once was a collegiate player just south of Jacksonville at Central Florida.

Wright, 25, entered the league in 2019 as an undrafted rookie with the Pittsburgh Steelers but was waived during final cuts. After playing for the XFL’s Tampa Bay Vipers the following year, he got a second chance with the Steelers in the late part of 2020 (Weeks 13, 16, and 17).

While with Pittsburgh, Wright saw his only time on the field in an NFL regular season, and he took advantage of it by going 4-of-4 on his field-goal attempts and 7-of-7 on extra-point attempts. Wright’s longest kick during that stint was a 34-yarder (against Washington), though, so he has yet to register a field goal that’s 35 yards or longer.

As for Lambo, he didn’t get the opportunity to kick any field goals Sunday against Arizona but did miss 2-of-3 extra-point attempts. That only made fans and the staff more concerned as he was already 0-of-3 on field-goal attempts throughout the first two games.

As a result of another rough day for Lambo, the Jags pretty much had no choice but to bring in competition. When asked about it, Jags coach Urban Meyer said it wasn’t about Lambo’s work ethic, but more about not getting kicks through the field goal post.

“I haven’t seen him yet today,” Meyer said on Monday when asked if he’s spoken to the veteran. “We’re coming in here at 2:30 for a team meeting and I don’t believe I talked to him after the game. But I told you, the one thing I respect about him [is] he’s as hard working if not the hardest working specialist I’ve ever had. But there’s also the reality, you have to make kicks. There’s nothing about attitude, nothing about work ethic, but reality is that ball has to go through the uprights.”

It’s unknown if the Jags will give Lambo another shot during “Thursday Night Football,” but after three weeks of struggles, something will have to change soon.

Urban Meyer says he won’t give up on PK Josh Lambo despite his struggles

“I’m not giving up on Josh Lambo,” Urban Meyer said when asked about the veteran’s struggles.

The Jacksonville Jaguars fell to the Denver Broncos Sunday by a score of 23-13, and though they didn’t win, they at least looked better than they did Week 1. One player who didn’t improve, however, is kicker Josh Lambo, who has yet to hit his first field goal of the 2021 regular season and added two missed attempts (from ranges of 38 and 45) to the one he had against the Houston Texans.

Of course, with the veteran leaving six points on the board, he was one of the main topics when it came to Urban Meyer’s pregame press conference. And while he did admit that there was concern for Lambo, he let it be known that he wouldn’t give up on the veteran as his work ethic has proven to be second to none.

“Well, concern, but I made a comment that the one thing I admire about him, first of all he’s had a very good career, and he works his tail off,” Meyer said. “I’m not giving up on Josh Lambo. If he didn’t work hard, wasn’t a professional about everything he does, yeah, I’d have a problem with him, but he’s missing some kicks, and as a professional he’s got to make those kicks. I have confidence he will.”

During training camp, Meyer tested Lambo by putting him in a kicking competition against former kicker Aldrick Rosas, but eventually cut Rosas, which made Lambo the winner. In their last preseason game, Meyer told the media he has a lot of respect for Lambo, which explains his current stance on Lambo and unwillingness to give up on him.

“That’s as serious a kicker as I’ve been around… I’m pulling for him hard,” Meyer said last month. “When he follows through and hits that thing, he’s outstanding.”

Despite his faith in Lambo, Meyer didn’t rule out bringing in some competition. If the Jags do, it’s worth noting the Jags have a practice squad spot available after cutting running back Duke Johnson.

“I’m not sure [if we will sign a kicker] yet,” Meyer said. “It’s just all fresh. We just lost the game. I know he’ll be out there working again. I don’t know what the plan is as far as bringing someone else in.”

The Jags already have a lot to clean up heading forward with their young players, and they really can’t afford for their veterans to be adding to their problems, too. But if Lambo turns things around from this point heading forward, it would certainly make Meyer look like a genius in what has been a tough season.

Jags kicker Josh Lambo locked in a battle for his job

Aldrick Rosas, who played during Lambo’s absence last season, is reportedly pushing the incumbent starter for the job.

Josh Lambo has been one of the league’s best kickers since he signed with Jacksonville in 2017. In fact, his 95% conversion rate on field goals during his time in a Jaguars uniform (which ranks third in NFL history) is the best of any placekicker in the league during that span.

But that might not be enough to keep him on the roster. The seventh-year specialist missed 12 games last season with a hip injury, and one of the kickers who the team brought in during that time, Aldrick Rosas, is apparently pushing Lambo for the starting job.

“We’ve got two guys and they’re both very good kickers and they’re competing to win the job,” new special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen said, per ESPN’s Mike DiRocco. “That’s what we’re doing every day and they’ve both been great.”

Rosas’ career field-goal percentage sits at 81.4%, but he went to the Pro Bowl in 2018 as a member of the New York Giants, hitting 32 of 33 attempts that season. The Giants released him last summer after he was charged with three misdemeanors stemming from an alleged hit-and-run, to which he later pled no contest.

The Jaguars signed him to the practice squad on Sept. 28 and elevated him to the active roster less than a week later, and he made four field goals in his debut. He was released on Oct. 30, and the next day, the NFL suspended him for four games for the hit-and-run incident. Jacksonville brought him back while he was still under suspension, and after it was lifted, he started five of the final six games.

“We have two guys that are very talented kickers, very talented,” coach Urban Meyer said. “And we’re going to do that quite often before we have to make a decision.”

Rosas was re-signed in March, and according to DiRocco, they each made 58-yarders on the first day of mandatory minicamp on Monday, with Lambo going 5-of-5 and Rosas going 4-of-5 during the field goal portion of Tuesday’s practice.

Given Lambo’s productivity, he’s unlikely to lose the battle with Rosas, assuming he’s fully recovered. But either way, it seems this showdown will continue much further into camp.

Jags snag PK Chase McLaughlin from Vikings’ practice squad

The Jags have zoomed in on a new starting kicker as Josh Lambo is now out for the season.

The Jacksonville Jaguars signed second-year place kicker Chase McLaughlin from the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad to their active roster Tuesday. The transaction came after the Jags placed veteran Josh Lambo (gluteus medius) on injured reserve for a second time, ending his 2020 season.

However, before McLaughin can join the active roster, he’ll have to spend some time on the exempt/commissioner permission list until he goes through all of the necessary testing for COVID-19.

McLaughin entered the league in 2019 (with the Bills) as an undrafted player and has participated in 11 games, which were dispersed amongst his time with the Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Chargers, and San Francisco 49ers last season. He’ll enter his tenure with the Jags with a 78.3% field goal conversion rate (18-of-23) and a 100% extra point attempt rate (26-of-26).

With the injury being a severe one, the Jags placed Lambo on IR and began their search for a new kicker. He sustained the injury on the Jags’ last play of Week 9’s game against Houston where they tried to retain possession with an on-side kick but failed. While hustling to the ball, Lambo re-aggravated the injury which he missed time for after the Jags’ Week 2 meeting against the Tennessee Titans to Week 7’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Report: Jags expected to place PK Josh Lambo on IR again, which would end his season

Despite coming up short by a score of 27-25 against the Houston Texans, the Jacksonville Jaguars made the game interesting and were competitive unlike in some of the games they’ve had earlier in the season. However, the game seemingly didn’t come …

Despite coming up short by a score of 27-25 against the Houston Texans, the Jacksonville Jaguars made the game interesting and were competitive unlike in some of the games they’ve had earlier in the season. However, the game seemingly didn’t come without its casualties as kicker Josh Lambo is now set to be out for the season.

Per NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the veteran kicker is headed to injured reserve after injuring his gluteus medius muscle Sunday. With it being his second time having an IR designation, that means he won’t be able to return again until 2021.

This is a big blow to the Jags not only because Lambo is an elite kicker, but also because they’ve struggle without him. He also went on IR before Week 3’s game against the Miami Dolphins due to the injury and the Jags went through several kickers (four to be exact) trying to find the answer. None could fill his void and struggled in Lambo’s place, and now the team might turn back to Jon Brown (from their practice squad). As many fans can recall, Brown was a player who the Jags got a look at in Lambo’s absence as he started Week 6 against the Detroit Lions.

In Sunday’s game, Lambo was 2-of-2 on his field goals, one of which tied Josh Scobee for the longest in team history for 59-yards. The veteran did miss an extra point attempt, however, putting him at 1-of-2 for the day.

Lambo injured himself on the Jags’ last play, which was an onside kick. In addition to the injury, the kick was recovered by the Texans allowing them to take a knee and claim the victory.