Report: Urban Meyer's Rumored Fox Return Opposed by Some After Jaguars Scandals

Fox Sports is reportedly facing "some internal opposition" as it prepares to rehire former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer as a college football studio analyst following his "disastrous tenure" with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars.

Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports reported Tuesday that Fox Sports management continues to move forward with plans for Meyer's return despite concerns from other on-air talent.

Meyer and Fox were "deep in negotiations" as of Saturday with the network operating under the belief the coach's issues with the Jags won't impact his ability to work on a college show, per Richard Deitsch of The Athletic. The network also expects the hire will be "pilloried" on social media.

If the hire is finalized, Meyer will rejoin the Big Noon Kickoff pregame show on Fox, according to McCarthy. Former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops, who replaced Meyer, left the program to take a coaching role with the XFL.

Meyer endured a scandal-plagued 11-month tenure with Jacksonville that ended in December, when he was fired while the team held a 2-11 record.

The announcement came one day after former Jags kicker Josh Lambo told Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times the coach kicked him during an August practice.

"I'm in a lunge position. Left leg forward, right leg back," Lambo said. "Urban Meyer, while I'm in that stretch position, comes up to me and says, 'Hey dips--t, make your f--king kicks!' And kicks me in the leg."

Earlier in the season, TMZ Sports posted video of Meyer and a woman who wasn't his wife dancing at an Ohio bar.

The video was taken after the 57-year-old Ohio native didn't fly home with the Jaguars after a Thursday Night Football loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4.

Jags owner Shad Khan reiterated to Jarrett Bell of USA Today the decision to fire Meyer had nothing to do with the team's struggles last season.

"When you lose the respect, the trust and an issue of truthfulness, how can you work with someone like that?" Khan said Tuesday. "It's not possible."

Before his short stint with Jacksonville, Meyer was a highly successful college coach with a 187-32 record across 17 years at Ohio State, Florida, Utah and Bowling Green. He won three national championships, two with the Gators and one with the Buckeyes.

He departed OSU after the 2018 season and spent the next two years on Big Noon Kickoff before accepting the Jags job.