The discussion around whether or not the Jacksonville Jaguars should consider firing Urban Meyer has heated up again, and it should really tell you something that this isn’t the first time we’re having this conversation in 2021.
After the latest report that Meyer has gotten in heated arguments with players and coaches, referring to the latter as “losers,” coupled with his lack of accountability and lack of seemingly knowing what his players are doing, a lot of people are starting to wonder if owner Shad Khan would just be better off cutting his losses and moving forward. Especially as the Jaguars continue to lose, Trevor Lawrence seems to be regressing, and you can count on one hand the number of fans he still has in the media.
However, Khan appears to be attempting to steady the ship in the midst of the media blitz. He reportedly met with assistant coaches to ask them not to leak anything to the media and he went public for the second time this season to say that he isn’t giving up on Meyer yet.
“I want to do the right thing for the team. I want to do the right thing for the city,” Khan said. “That, to me, is way more important than just acting helter-skelter on emotion. I think we have a history of really looking at the facts and then really doing the right thing.
“Gus Bradley was here four years. Doug Marrone was here four years. It was wins and losses and this is a little bit different but, you know, I’m going to reflect on all of that and do what’s the right thing for the team and the right thing for the city.”
ESPN’s Mina Kimes had the chance to review Khan’s comments and her response was, essentially, that it doesn’t really make any sense not to fire Meyer.
Urban Meyer’s time in Jacksonville has been a disaster of epic proportions. There’s no reason not to move on now. @FirstTake pic.twitter.com/9u8wWfERf0
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) December 14, 2021
“I have yet to hear a compelling reason for why Urban Meyer should continue to be the coach of this football team,” said Kimes on Tuesday. “Is there a football one? Obviously, the record speaks for itself. Trevor Lawrence’s lack of development speaks for itself. The sloppiness on offense speaks for itself. Urban Meyer speaks for himself when he constantly defers blame. When he is asked about players and seems unaware of whether or not they’ve even taken reps in games.
“You could argue, I guess, in favor of organizational stability midseason, but with all due respect, this is the least stable organization in the NFL right now. Maybe next to Las Vegas and what they’ve gone through. Largely because Urban Meyer has been a distraction. He was a distraction before the season. He’s been a distraction during the season. He’s a distraction now with these latest reports about him being disrespectful to his employees.
“I’m not sure what keeping him would accomplish other than rewarding mediocrity and denying accountability to a guy who has avoided accountability, frankly, for most of his career. I think ownership should act now and show leadership. And show your fans, your players, and your employees that you care about this season because it’s already lost.”
It doesn’t sound like Khan is going to heed that advice for now, although the situation might change if the Jaguars finish 2-15 or 3-14 and there are more reports to come about the way Meyer treats others around him.
