Multiple videos surfaced of a girl grinding on Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer at his restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, after the Jaguars’ loss to the Bengals on Thursday, Sept. 30.
Meyer decided against flying back with the team and stayed in Ohio to hang out with some friends at his restaurant.
Reportedly, an electrician that was in attendance recorded the footage that went viral of Myer’s interactions with several young ladies and started this whirlwind of drama.
Meyer, a 57-year-old married man, admitted that his actions were stupid and told reporters during his Monday news conference that “I explained everything that happened and owned it. … I should not have myself in that kind of position.”
https://youtu.be/EGWOlExWcFI
Healing The Wounds
Meyer said the ensuing conversations with his team, family, and ownership concerning his behavior last week have been horrible.
However, in typical pass-the-buck-fashion, Meyer added that it was the responsibility of the team leaders to keep the winless Jaguars focused. They are hoping to avoid the franchise’s 20th straight loss this weekend when they host the Tennessee Titans.
Meyer says it’s up to the team leaders to get everyone back on the same track: “The ownership of this team is with the players.”
— Mark Long (@APMarkLong) October 5, 2021
Meyers apologized to his players publicly on Monday. He followed up by directly addressing the entire team with another apology Wednesday.
According to multiple reports, Meyer expressed “remorse and responsibility” for the situation before stating that he “embarrassed” both his family and Jaguars players with his actions, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Aditi Kinkhabwala.
Are Jags Players Still Checking For Meyer?
The players on the team had their own message on social media in response to the latest fiasco. The Jags’ social media account tweeted a picture of the players in the huddle, no coaches in sight with the caption “Together.” Rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s commented underneath: “All We Need.”
Together#DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/PJBzXY05o6
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) October 4, 2021
In Like Flynn With Ownership
Meanwhile, owner Shad Khan, who moved mountains to get Urban Meyer to come lead his Jaguars franchise, released a statement denouncing Meyer’s actions, but showed no intentions of letting his prized acquisition go.
As for Meyer, he pledges to regain the respect of his team, but social media is making it very hard for him to begin to put this “behind” him.
Urban Meyer continues to make terrible decisions when it’s come to tight ends pic.twitter.com/FBZ19AoxJo
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) October 5, 2021
Urban Meyer balancing jaguars ownership, locker room, and fans pic.twitter.com/enw5X0nNPe
— kyle (@knicks_tape99) October 5, 2021
The temperature is rising in Jacksonville and a growing contingent of people, including NFL analysts and media members, are calling for Meyer to be fired.
“Shad Khan, you on the clock, bro. It's time for you to find another head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars!”@mspears96 sounds off on Urban Meyer 😳 pic.twitter.com/A6YmTsssc1
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) October 4, 2021
Second Chances, Redemption
It appears as if the master of high-wire acts has survived another potential fall, but more troublng than Meyer’s actions — which just happened to be caught on tape — is the culture of losing that has permeated the Jaguars’ franchise.
Jacksonville hasn’t won a game in over a season and that should bother a first-year coach who was brought in to change the culture.
He should be burning the midnight oil, searching for ways to gain an edge in this ultra-competitive NFL, where hard work and talent up and down the organization wins championships.
Meyer may know football, but he obviously lacks propriety. None of us are perfect. The bright side? Maybe we will look back at this after the Jaguars have advanced to the Super Bowl in three seasons and say it was a moment of growth. A revelation that changes Meyer’s entire outlook on coaching.
The Jaguars have lost 19 straight games.
It's tied for the 2nd-longest losing streak in NFL history. pic.twitter.com/0IRazzqhGv
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 1, 2021
As it stands right now, the only way Meyer can stop this landslide from smashing his brief NFL career is to start winning some games. Winning solves everything. When you are losing, your warts get exposed. Meyer hasn’t been able to figure that out over the first month of the 2021 NFL season.
