Report: Jaguars Fired Urban Meyer For Cause

ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington have reported the Jaguars fired Urban Meyer for cause, an attempt to not have to pay Meyer for the final four years of his contract.

In an unsurprising move, the Jacksonville Jaguars are attempting to stop having to pay for the embarrassing Urban Meyer tenure. 

The Jaguars were paying heavily in headlines and losses during Meyer's controversial 11-month tenure before firing Meyer in the early hours on Thursday morning. And on Saturday, ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington reported the Jaguars fired Meyer with cause, with the intention of now having to pay Meyer for the rest of his contract.

"A source within the organization said the Jaguars' 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," ESPN reported. 

Khan hired Meyer in January and signed the three-time national championship-winning college coach to a five-year deal that made him the face and voice of the franchise. Meyer quickly wore out his welcome in the NFL, however, starting with his hiring of Chris Doyle at the start of his tenure and ending with this week's report from the Tampa Bay Times on Josh Lambo alleging Meyer kicked him during a practice. 

Lambo's account of Meyer's conduct came just hours before Meyer was ultimately fired, with many connecting the two and presuming Lambo's interview was the final straw for Meyer, who was fired after midnight. 

With the timeline of Meyer's firing in question, Jim Woodcock, a spokesman for Khan, told the Associated Press that Khan decided to fire Meyer before the Lambo story was published, with the story not playing a part in the timing of the firing. 

“It was determined to wait until the conclusion of previously scheduled appointments that week to make the announcement,” Woodcock told the AP. “Those appointments included an employee staff luncheon and meeting with Jacksonville media, both to recognize the 10th anniversary of Shad’s purchase of the Jaguars, on Monday as well as NFL meetings in Dallas on December 14 and 15.”

“The announcement was made at 12:35 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, December 16, to provide coaches and staff alike a fresh start upon reporting to the stadium that morning,” Woodcock said. “Contrary to incorrect assumptions and widespread egregious reporting, the dismissal was not triggered by a single newspaper report late Wednesday afternoon related to a claim made by a former player.

“To repeat from Shad’s official statement, the decision was reached ‘after deliberation over many weeks and a thorough analysis of the entirety of Urban’s tenure with our team.’”

Meyer compiled a 2-11 record in his lone season as Jaguars' head coach, finishing with the shortest tenure in Jaguars' history and tied for the fourth shortest tenure of any NFL coach in the league's history. While the hiring of Meyer was a swing for the fences that reenergized the organization before the season began, things quickly began to spiral downhill as the Jaguars stacked losses and controversies.

From the James Robinson benching to reports of run-ins with Marvin Jones and assistant coaches to Meyer's viral bar video from Columbus following the team's Week 4 loss, the Meyer tenure was controversy after controversy. That doesn't even speak to the times Meyer was fined by the league or even looked into after controversial comments such as the ones he made about basing roster decisions off of vaccination statuses. 

The Jaguars named offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell the interim head coach in place of Meyer. The Jaguars will hold their first game of the season without Meyer against the Houston Texans at TIAA Bank Field on Sunday, while the Jaguars and Khan won't speak more to the team's coaching search until after the season concludes.

"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. 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," Khan said in a statement after firing Meyer.

"Trent Baalke continues as our general manager and will work with Darrell to ensure that our team will be inspired and competitive while representing Jacksonville proudly over our final four games of the season. In the spirit of closure and recharging our players, staff and fan base, I will not comment further until some point following the conclusion of the NFL season."