Urban Meyer Scandal - Everything Urban Meyer and Jacksonville Jaguars

CONOR ORR The owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars on Tuesday released a statement suggesting he no longer trusts the head coach of his football team and that the coach must make an effort in the coming days and weeks to earn it back. While much of the Urban Meyer saga has been strange and uncomfortable (at best!), the latest development may have been the hardest to understand. Put aside Meyer’s transgressions for a moment. His ultimate problem in the context of being a football coach was that he was caught in the action and then, subsequently, caught in a lie about that action. His problem was that, over the course of two decades as a head coach, he has made a career out of masquerading as impeccable. This is easier to do in college, where any dissent is smashed by the all-powerful hand and any whispers to the contrary about the coach’s image or proclivities are buried under the floorboards. One cannot take Meyer’s wins away. One cannot remove his national championship banners or the number of draft picks he pipelined to the NFL. But Meyer’s image is not his own anymore and is up to the unintimidated interpretation of his players, staff and fans. The façade that has provided him so much access and power has clearly diminished. Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer looks down the sidelines during the fourth quarter. The Jacksonville Jaguars hosted the Arizona Cardinals at TIAA Bank Field Bob Sell/USA Today Network Prior to the release of a statement, a report suggested his initial attempts at wrangling this crisis produced little more than a few laughs. Another report suggested there has not been much actual coaching going on at all, merely an effort to quell a wildfire one solo cup of water at a time. So why not pull the plug before it’s too late? Why enter a nebulous evaluation period that will only serve to make the players and the staff uncomfortable, especially when the pieces most central to the development of Trevor Lawrence can be kept intact? In-depth analysis, unrivaled access. Get SPORTS ILLUSTRATED's best stories every weekday. Sign up now. What, in the absolute best-case scenario, is Meyer adding to the equation at this point? To be clear, this is not a call for fire and pitchforks. This is not the assembling of a moral army looking to sack a coach for whatever he does over a long weekend with some free time. Are we going to sit here and assert with complete confidence that his sins among his peers, and your peers, are unique? This is a call for realistic questions and answers about a coach we’re learning more about with each subsequent, mumbling press conference devoid of eye contact. In his initial apology press conference, for example, when asked about how the team took his words, Meyer invoked quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s bachelor party in Las Vegas. “I’ve always been so defensive of them. I remember when Trevor told me he was going to Las Vegas for his bachelor party, I said: ‘My gosh man, be careful and surround yourself. Because I’ve seen this happen,’” he said. Notice how he attempts to both shift the narrative and the blame for what had happened. What was the point of mentioning that Lawrence went out in Vegas? What did he mean by I’ve seen this happen? Was he suggesting at the time that this was a plot to frame him, tempt him or extort him? Subsequent video, of course, has made that difficult to believe. In his second apology press conference, Meyer said of getting the team ready to play a game after this: “I don’t believe that’s in my court. … The leaders on the team are going to make that decision. It depends on how much trust you have built up with them, how we structure everything this week and focus on winning that game…” Notice, again, a shift and a deflection. If the Jaguars get their doors blown off by an already ornery Titans team, it is not the fault of my actions. It is the inability of both the players and the staff to ignore the videos of me posted on social media. These words, about the importance of preparation, were uttered in all seriousness by a coach who, after starting his career 0–4, skipped a team flight home and proceeded to spend his time the way that he did. We’re not suggesting he shouldn’t have visited his family, or that he needs to spend all his time locked away studying film until the Jaguars emerge undefeated, but this has been the expectation he has had for so many others throughout his career. That was the idea of Meyer that Jacksonville had purchased, further complicating the optics. Keeping Meyer is placing hope in the idea that he can win back a locker room. What coaches have done that successfully? Keeping Meyer is placing hope in the idea that he can change. How many wildly successful 57-year-olds do you remember doing that? Keeping Meyer is placing hope that he can clean up his own image, and the perception of a franchise on fire before it comes time to spend a treasure trove of cap space and (quite likely) a top three draft pick. How has he been doing so far? In delaying a decision, the Jaguars are ignoring the troubling playbook Meyer has already provided for the weeks to come. In delaying that decision, the Jaguars are placing additional stress on the players who will continuously be asked to answer for his behavior, both on and off the record. They are placing additional stress on their support staff, who will be tasked with helping the coach repair his reputation and, somehow, appear presentable in a public facing role again. They are placing additional stress on their coaching staff, who have been confronting some difficult realities about their own longevity in Jacksonville in the wake of this week’s news. Meyer already said it himself. Beating the Titans is not up to him. What happens when he goes out, it seems, is not entirely up to him. So why not hand the keys over to those who will take that responsibility seriously?

Urban Meyer Scandal - Everything Urban Meyer and Jacksonville Jaguars By Bryan DeArdo Urban Meyer discussed what has been a tumultuous week during his weekly radio show Tuesday night. Meyer, who publicly addressed his recent conduct inside a Columbus, Ohio restaurant/bar during Monday's press conference, said during his radio show that he has to earn back the trust of the Jaguars' organization. Meyer's comments came hours after Jaguars owner Shad Khan issued a statement that called Meyer's behavior last Friday night "inexcusable." Images and videos began appearing on social media over the weekend of Meyer having close contact with a young woman during his time at the Ohio establishment. More videos have come out since this past weekend that further shows the close contact between Meyer and the young woman. Meyer said during Monday's press conference that his family is "definitely upset" over his actions. Meyer said he had finished having dinner with his family before heading over to the neighboring establishment to take pictures. The situation escalated from there. "The fact that I became a distraction, I've got to earn their trust back from that," Meyer said, via ESPN's Michael DiRocco. "I admire [Shad Khan] so much. ... And so, that's what makes me so angry at myself. I believe that, and I failed. And I've got to get it back, and I will." Meyer added that the recent conversations about the situation with Jaguars coaches and players "have been horrible." When asked about preparing his team to play Sunday's game against the Titans amidst the distractions, Meyer pointed to the Jaguars' team leaders. "I don't believe that's in my court. … The leaders on the team are going to make that decision," he said, via Mark Long of the Associated Press. "It depends on how much trust you have built up with them, how we structure everything this week and focus on winning that game. ... "I'm going to be extremely clear as I can; our staff is working their tails off. But you know as well as I do that the ownership of this team is with the players." While Meyer works to rebuild trust, the longtime college coach will also have to win back any credibility he had previously had with his players. An unnamed Jaguars player told NFL reporter Michael Silver that Meyer "has zero credibility in that stadium. He had very little to begin with." Players were reportedly put off by Meyer canceling Monday's team meeting. "It's bad," the Jaguars player said of the current situation. "I don't know how he's gonna function." Along with his self-created distraction, Meyer has to figure out a way to snap the Jaguars' 19-game losing streak. (Meyer's name is next to four of those losses.) The Jaguars have upcoming games against Tennessee and Miami before heading into their Week 7 bye. One positive for the Jaguars has been the recent play of rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The No. 1 overall pick in the the 2021 draft, Lawrence ran for a score while going 17 of 24 with 204 yards and no turnovers during last Thursday's three-point loss to the Bengals. "He's fantastic," Meyer said of Lawrence during Monday's press conference. "The best thing is he took care of the ball, made great decisions, used his legs when necessary. He got down when he should have gotten down. He scored a touchdown. He's playing like the Trevor skillset. Fantastic. "The team sees it. They see it in practice. He's a marked improved player right now." Urban Meyer Scandal - Everything Urban Meyer and Jacksonville Jaguars ESPN's Michael DiRocco Jacksonville Jaguars coach Urban Meyer addressed his entire team Wednesday morning and apologized for his behavior last week, a source has confirmed to ESPN. Meyer's apology to the team was first reported Wednesday by NFL Network. The first-year coach told the players that he was sorry for embarrassing them, according to NFL Network. Meyer is scheduled to address reporters later Wednesday morning. His apology to the team came one day after Jaguars owner Shad Khan publicly reprimanded Meyer for his "inexcusable" actions last week at an Ohio bar. Meyer also publicly commented on the situation Tuesday night on his radio show on 1010XL in Jacksonville, acknowledging that he needs to regain the organization's trust. "I made a comment when I got here about the logo, about an owner who wants to win in the worst way," Meyer said. "That's one of the reasons I came here. I just, I admire that guy so much. ... And so, that's what makes me so angry at myself that I lived that, I believe that and I failed." EDITOR'S PICKS Meyer vows to regain Jags' trust after reprimand 12hMichael DiRocco Meyer apologizes to Jags, family after viral video 2dMichael DiRocco Meyer, 57, first apologized Monday morning for his actions on Friday, one day after the Jaguars' 24-21 loss at Cincinnati. Meyer said he and family members went to his restaurant -- Urban Meyer's Pint House -- and that people at a nearby event asked to take photos with him. Meyer said he should have left when people tried to get him to dance with them. A nine-second video showing Meyer sitting with his back to the bar in an Ohio State pullover while a young woman danced close to his lap was posted to social media Saturday night. Roughly an hour after his Monday news conference, however, another video emerged on social media that appeared to show Meyer touching a woman's bottom while he was sitting at the bar. The woman appeared to be wearing the same clothes -- jeans and a white top -- as the woman in the first viral video. Meyer said Tuesday on his radio show that the conversations he's had with people inside the organization about what he did have been "horrible." He also reiterated his concern that he's not sure how the incident will impact his ability to lead his team. "The fact that I became a distraction, I've got to earn their trust back from that," Meyer said. Meyer is in his first year with the Jaguars after leading Florida and Ohio State to three national titles. The slogan he has chosen for the rebuild of one of the league's worst franchises is "Own it." The Jaguars are 0-4 and have lost 19 consecutive games dating to a victory over the Indianapolis Colts in the 2020 season opener. The Jaguars host Tennessee on Sunday; they have lost seven of the past eight meetings with the Titans. A loss to Tennessee would give the Jaguars the second-longest losing streak in NFL history -- only Tampa Bay has a longer losing streak (26 consecutive losses over the 1976 and 1977 seasons).