Jaguars Fired Urban Meyer With Cause, Have No Intention Of Paying Him Remainder Of Deal

Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington are reporting that the Jaguars fired former HC Urban Meyer for cause and with the intention of not paying him the remaining four years of his contract.

A source within the Jaguars organization tells ESPN that Jacksonville’s reasons for withholding the remaining guarantees are not tied to one specific incident but rather a cumulation of instances that Jacksonville’s officials believe justified the firing.

The report adds that the two parties could end up in a prolonged legal situation to negotiate some sort of settlement. 

Former Jaguars K Josh Lambo alleged that Meyer kicked him during pregame warmups this past August, which opened the door for Jacksonville to go this round. 

There were numerous other incidents during Meyer’s short time with the Jaguars and it had gotten to the point where change was inevitable. 

There was also the incident where Meyer opted to stay in Ohio and not fly back with the team following their loss. Pictures later surfaced of Meyer at a bar. 

Jacksonville opted to fire Meyer Wednesday night. 

Meyer, 56, got his start in coaching in 1986 as a graduate assistant at Ohio State. He worked as an assistant coach at Illinois State, Colorado State, and Notre Dame before getting his first head coaching position at Bowling Green in 2001. 

Meyer moved on to become the head coach at Utah in 2003. In 2005, he was hired as the head coach at Florida before retiring due to health reasons in 2010.

Meyer came out of retirement to take the lead job at Ohio State in 2012 and was in that position until 2018 before retiring again citing health reasons. 

It’s worth mentioning while Meyer has been hospitalized for chest pains and migraines, both of his health-related retirements have followed off-the-field controversies, including how he handled a domestic violence accusation for one of his assistant coaches at Ohio State. 

The Jaguars hired Meyer out of a TV analyst job to be their head coach in 2021. He agreed to a five-year contract. 

As a college head coach, Meyer has a career coaching record of 187-32 and has won three national titles at two different schools. 

Meyer posted a 2-11 record with the Jaguars.