Urban Meyer Loses Grievance Against Jags

The Jags were permitted to fire Meyer for cause, according to the arbiter, and will be free of obligation regarding the final four years of the short-lived NFL HC’s contract. Jacksonville gave Meyer control of football operations in January 2021 but fired the successful college HC after 13 games, ending an infamous tenure that brought on-field struggles and a slew of off-field headlines.

At the time of the firing, the Jags cited a “culmination of events” in their decision to fire Meyer for cause and withhold his remaining money. Coaching contracts come guaranteed, and HCs are almost never fired for cause; thus, they collect money owed. Though, offset language regularly protects teams in the event a fired coach lands with another team or college program; Meyer, though, has not coached since his Jaguars firing. This case took more than four years to wrap, but the Jags can finally close the book on arguably the worst decision in franchise history.

Shad Khan hired Meyer after pursuing the former national championship-winning HC in the past, but the partnership drifted off course. In addition to reports indicating a bizarre lack of familiarity with NFL players, Meyer had issues with his staff and the team was fined for failure to comply with NFL offseason workout rules. The former Ohio State and Florida championship leader made the highly unusual decision to not travel back from a Thursday game with his team, only to be seen with a young woman at his restaurant in Columbus soon after. Khan fired Meyer after he started 2-11.

Meyer had previously hired a strength coach (Chris Doyle) who was part of a racial discrimination suit for alleged actions while at Iowa; Doyle resigned from the Jaguars not long after his hire. The U.S. District Court for Iowa’s Southern District subpoenaed Meyer in connection to the Doyle discrimination suit in 2021. Additionally, Meyer and Jaguars were later sued by former Jags kicker Josh Lambo. The veteran NFL specialist accused Meyer of kicking him while he was stretching before a preseason game. Lambo’s case is still pending, according to ESPN.com, and a trial date in Duval County is set for August 3.

Jacksonville has a 77-152 record during Khan’s ownership tenure. The owner has hired six head coaches (Mike Mularkey, Gus Bradley, Doug Marrone, Meyer, Doug Pederson and Liam Coen). Mularkey joined Meyer in lasting only one season. Meyer, 61, holds a role as a FOX Sports analyst following his brief NFL tenure.