Urban Meyer has created negative headlines for himself and the Jacksonville Jaguars over the last several days, and the first-year head coach took a step toward trying to earn back the trust of his players on Wednesday.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media says Meyer addressed the Jaguars in a team meeting early Wednesday morning. The 57-year-old apologized to his players and coaching staff and expressed regret for embarrassing both his family and the team.
“Meyer was, from what I understand, honest and pretty forthright,” Rapoport said. “He expressed remorse and asked for forgiveness from his team. He basically took responsibility for what he did. He told his team he believed in them and loved them and said he cares about two things, really — football and family. He says he embarrassed them both.”
Meyer obviously needed to address the team. One anonymous Jaguars player said Tuesday that the coach tried to do that already and completely botched it. The team had better hope his Wednesday speech was better received.
A video went viral over the weekend that showed a woman rubbing against Meyer at his bar/restaurant in Ohio. Meyer appeared to have his arm serving as a barrier between him and the woman, but another angle that surfaced on Monday was a much worse look for him.
Many people have pointed out that it was baffling for Meyer to not travel back to Jacksonville with the Jaguars after their tough loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last Thursday night. His own wife defended him over that, but it’s tough to remember any situation quite like it in the NFL.
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