Why Was Urban Meyer Fired? Kicking Josh Lambo, Bar Video, Tim Tebow Signing Influenced Jaguars’ Decision

Urban Meyer has been fired just 13 games into his tenure as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coach. The announcement doesn’t exactly come as a shock, considering the numerous missteps Meyer has taken in his lone, disastrous NFL season.

Meyer’s firing became official just a few hours after former Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo told the Tampa Bay Times that the coach kicked him in the leg one day during warmups. On Saturday, NFL Network reported that Meyer had a run-in with wide receiver Marvin Jones, who had to be convinced to return to the team facility and had a heated argument with the coach.

The tensions in Jacksonville’s locker room included both coaches and players. Meyer told his assistants in a staff meeting that they were losers and he was a winner, according to NFL Network, amid the team’s poor performance.

All of those incidents are just what has been reported in the last week. They don’t even include the issues around the team before the 2021 season began.

Meyer’s decision to sign Tim Tebow as a tight end was viewed by some people around the league as a publicity stunt, and the former quarterback didn’t make the roster. Meyer hired Chris Doyle as the director of sports performance on Feb. 10, only for Doyle to resign a few days later. Doyle left Iowa’s college football program in June 2020 after he was accused of making racist statements and bullying Black players.

Meyer’s most public humiliation didn’t come by the way of sources and was caught on video for all to see. A video of Meyer getting close to a young woman who was dancing at his bar in Ohio went viral. Meyer was in Ohio after flying home, separate from the team, following that week’s loss against the Cincinnati Bengals on “Thursday Night Football.”

That embarrassment forced Meyer to apologize to his players. Jaguars owner Shad Khan said the coach needed to regain the Jaguars’ trust, something that apparently didn’t happen over the next two months.

"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," Khan said in a statement. "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."

The Jaguars are 2-11, tied for the worst record in the AFC.