Former Jaguars HC Urban Meyer’s Tenure Worse Than Originally Thought

The continual losing with the Jacksonville Jaguars was the “worst experience” of Urban Meyer’s professional career, and he was fired after only one season as head coach in the NFL.

His 2-11 record as a head coach is in sharp contrast to his successful undergraduate career, during which he served as head coach at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida, and Ohio State.

He is considered one of the top coaches in collegiate football history, having amassed a 187-32 record and three national titles.

Former Jaguars HC Urban Meyer’s Tenure Worse Than Originally Thought

His Buckeyes went winless nine times during his seven years there. However, Meyer was in the news for more than just his disappointing performance with the Jaguars.

What was Jaguars Owner Shad Khan Thinking When He Hired Urban Meyer?

Jaguars owner Shad Khan was so obsessed with Urban Meyer that he failed to see all of Meyer’s flaws, and this is a classic example of a toxic relationship where the red flags were ignored.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk pointed out a while ago that when Khan approached Meyer, he was in the recruiting phase.

Not the hiring phase; instead of conducting a thorough background check, he was trying to persuade Meyer to become the team’s head coach.

That should’ve sounded alarm bells from the get-go. Giving Meyer so much authority didn’t improve problems.

The former Jaguars head coach regularly misused his position, but things might not have been as bad if there had been a check-in-balance kind of system in place.

It’s understandable if you look back and wonder what was going through Khan’s mind when he thought that employing Meyer would help the company cross the finish line.

Urban Meyer’s Tenure With the Jaguars Was Even Worse Than We Thought

Meyer was supposed to make Trevor Lawrence into a starting quarterback in the NFL, but he reportedly alienated his players and coaches with his unpredictable and harsh behaviour.

Meyer was either unable or unwilling to act in a professional manner, and as a result the Jaguars were often embarrassed.

This included, but was not limited to, disparaging his staff members to their faces, stating he was a winner and his assistants were losers, and reducing a player to tears.

The 57-year-old was an accomplished college coach, but his tenure in Jacksonville was marked by “the most poisonous environment I’ve ever been a part of,” according to an experienced member of the football operations staff.

Conclusion

Last year at this time, Jacksonville Jaguars fans weren’t sure what to expect from Urban Meyer and a rookie quarterback in Trevor Lawrence in Year 1. A year later, though, the team was surprised to be looking for a new head coach.