BREAKING NEWS: Jaguars Fire Urban Meyer

NFL Week 15 – A lot of football coaches have been fired for losing football games. Some have been fired for disgracing their team or the league. A few have even failed to complete their first season on the job. But I don’t recall one ever being fired in the middle of the night, three days before a game.

The statement from Jaguars owner Shad Khan announcing Meyer’s dismissal was posted on the team’s website at 12:51 a.m. on December 16. “Darrell Bevell will serve as interim head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars for the balance of the 2021 season,” it begins. “Darrell succeeds Urban Meyer. 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. 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 statement added that general manager Trent Baalke would be retained.

Between his hiring in January and his firing 11 months later, Meyer hired a racist and abusive assistant coach who resigned a day later; ran overly violent practices, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and the forfeiture of two off-field activities in 2022; suggested that players’ vaccination status would have an impact on final roster cuts, spurring an NFLPA investigation; stayed behind in Ohio after a loss to Cincinnati, going to bar and being filmed dancing with and groping a young woman who was not his wife; and reportedly insulted and demeaned his assistant coaches and players. Oh, and on the field, Meyer’s went 2-11. The two wins came against Miami and Buffalo, by a total of six points.