One of the most successful coaches in college football, his short tenure in Jacksonville was marred by questionable conduct on and off the field.
Urban Meyer was fired as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, ending his turbulent tenure in the N.F.L. — which was marked by tensions with coaches and players, and questions about his off-the-field conduct — after less than a season. One of the most successful coaches in collegiate football history, Meyer was initially heralded as a savior for the troubled franchise. But his time in Jacksonville got off to a rocky start and only got worse on the field, where the Jaguars are 2-11. “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,” Shad Khan, the Jaguars’ owner, said in a statement issued after midnight Thursday in Jacksonville. Darrell Bevell, the offensive coordinator, will serve as interim head coach for the team’s remaining four games. Meyer,57, who won three national tittles as coach for Florida and Ohio State, was at the heart of off-the-field drama from his start with the Jaguars. The final straw appeared to come on Wednesday, when the Tampa Bay Times reported that the former Jaguars kicker, Josh Lambo, claimed that Meyer kicked him during warmups at a practice in August. Last week, an NFL Network report citing unnamed sources said that Meyer was condescending and contentious in his dealings with players and assistant coaches. in October, after a loss to the Bengals in Cincinnati, Meyer did not travel back with the team, saying he wanted to spend time with his grandchildren. A video soon circulated of a woman, who is not his wife, dancing near Meyer’s lap at a bar. The breach was highly embarrassing to the team, which was already off to a poor start.
