Urban Meyer is out as head coach of theJacksonville Jaguars .- Meyer was less than a year into his deal with the team.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have fired head coach Urban Meyer less than one year into his contract with the team, according to multiple reports just after midnight on Thursday morning.
Meyer's jump to the
A media storm broke out earlier in the season after a video went viral of Meyer dancing with a woman who was not his wife at a bar in Ohio. The footage was taken after a 24-21 loss to the Bengals in Week 4, when Meyer did not take the team plane home with his players. Instead, he stayed in Ohio as the team flew back to Jacksonville.
After the embarrassing video earned headlines, Jaguars owner Shad Khan said that Meyer needed to "regain our trust and respect."
Instead, things only got worse.
This past Saturday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com published a blistering report breaking down the morale inside the Jaguars coaching staff. Things were not going well.
Per Pelissero:
"During a staff meeting, Meyer delivered a biting message that he's a winner and his assistant coaches are losers, according to several people informed of the contents of the meeting, challenging each coach individually to explain when they've ever won and forcing them to defend their résumés."
The situation finally became untenable on Wednesday, after former Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo accused Meyer of kicking him and berating him during practice.
Hours after the story came out, Meyer was fired.
Kahn was understandably unhappy with how things played out.
"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," Kahn said in a statement, per ESPN.
"I informed Urban of the change this evening. As I stated in October, regaining our trust and respect was essential. Regrettably, it did not happen."
The Jaguars were 2-11 under Meyer's watch.
Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell is set to take over the reins as interim head coach.