The Urban Meyer tenure as Jacksonville Jaguars head coach is over only 13 games into a five year deal. Meyer has disgraced himself with poor conduct, poor play, and an off the field incident with a woman who is not his wife in a bar. The question now is, what’s next for the once great college football coach?
ESPN’s Louis Riddick doesn’t believe it will be coaching as he said Meyer’s career in the NFL is done.
.@LRiddickESPN did not hold back on Urban Meyer.
"This is the biggest failure of leadership, on the part of a coach, probably in the history in the NFL. … As far as his career in the NFL, it's over. It's done." pic.twitter.com/dCUCgU7cWT
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) December 16, 2021
Riddick isn’t wrong. Coaching is about leadership, character and self knowledge.
After horrendous exit from Jacksonville, an equally worse exit from The Ohio State University, and a poor exit from the University of Florida, Meyer is lacking in those qualities.
Meyer is a man in crisis right now. Either that or this is who he’s been all along. Regardless, he shouldn’t get any job offer to coach in the near or long-term.
What university could justify his hire, given his poor track record? Is this a man to whom you want to entrust the well-being of young people? Colleges and universities do a lot of dumb things in the name of athletics and the money college football generates, but hiring Meyer would be unconscionable.
Meyer could return to television as an analyst, but that’s just as bad of an idea. Sure he can break down X’s and O’s, but ultimately there will be times where he has to talk about the other stuff that goes into leading a team or a program. The culture side of things.
Is he credible, given what we’ve seen?
Well, this didn’t age well. 🙃
A year ago, Urban Meyer broke down why teams struggle. Wonder which was the culprit for the Jags? 🤔
🎥 @CFBONFOX pic.twitter.com/02ILVHPOPc
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) December 16, 2021
Meyer has been paid extremely well over the course of his career, he shouldn’t be rewarded with another seven-figure job. He was an embarrassment in Jacksonville and at Ohio State, that shouldn’t be rewarded.
The block’s a little too hot right now, so don’t expect anyone to hire Meyer into any high-profile position. But don’t expect him to go away quietly either.
Former Baylor head football coach Art Briles is an interesting case study when thinking about Meyer.
Failed Baylor Head Coach Art Briles’ Career Is A Case Study In Toxic Football Culture
Briles was terminated after it was uncovered that a culture of sexual assault, mainly perpetrated by football players, was allowed to persist for years while he was the head coach.
After his termination Briles was briefly hired by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. They quickly reversed course after receiving backlash, and Briles coached overseas in the Italian Football League. He made his way back to the U.S. coaching high school football in Texas.
How a man that allowed a culture of sexual assault to persist under his watch managed to coach high school football players again, sounds insane. But when you think about it. It makes perfect sense. It’s football and it’s Texas. There’s always a home for even a disgraced coach in football-obsessed Texas.
That could be a path Meyer chooses if he still wants to be a part of the game.
Or he could operate in the shadows somewhere for a year. By then the news cycle has long moved on. He could pop up as an assistant somewhere prominent, and next thing you know he’s back in the driver’s seat.
Meyer should take the time to reflect and get himself right. But that would require introspection and the strength of character to admit his shortcomings and work on change. Something he’s clearly lacking.
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