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Jaguars owner rips Urban Meyer, lost ‘trust and respect’ for former head coach
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Urban Meyer’s time in the NFL didn’t last long but it might be remembered as one of the most dysfunctional times in the history of Jacksonville’s history. And that’s saying quite a bit.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan didn’t pull any punches when he talked about Meyer during a recent interview with USA TODAY. He says Meyer was almost impossible to work with after he lost “trust and respect” for the head coach.
“When you lose the respect, the trust and an issue of truthfulness, how can you work with someone like that?” Khan said. “It’s not possible.”
Meyer was terminated near the end of his first season with the franchise. Khan said it had nothing to do with Meyer’s record on the field but because of the lack of trust.
It was alleged that players in the locker room were unhappy with many of Meyer’s actions while in Jacksonville. He was fired after 13 games, posting a 2-11 record.
Khan says that Jacksonville has no intention of paying Meyer a buyout. The Jaguars says the head coach was fired with cause.
“It was not about wins and losses,” Khan said. “I think when you know someone is not truthful, how can you be around someone, OK? We had Doug Marrone here four years. We had Gus Bradley here four years. I have nothing but the utmost respect and friendship with them. That’s why they got the time, because it wasn’t a matter about respect or truth. It was a matter of wins and losses over four years. This is much bigger than that.”
Meyer is reportedly in “deep negotiations” with FOX to return as a studio analyst for its college football pregame show.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB