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.