Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan issued a stern rebuke of coach Urban Meyer on Tuesday regarding viral social media posts of Meyer at a Columbus, Ohio, bar following the Jaguars' loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
One video in particular showed a woman dancing close to Meyer's lap. Meyer, who is married, said Monday that he apologized to the team for "being a distraction," but it's clear from Khan's statement that an apology was necessary both up and down the ladder.
"I have addressed this matter with Urban," Khan said in a statement. "Specifics of our conversation will be held in confidence. What I will say is his conduct last weekend was inexcusable. I appreciate Urban's remorse, which I believe is sincere. Now, he must regain our trust and respect. That will require a personal commitment from Urban to everyone who supports, represents or plays for our team. I am confident he will deliver."
It's highly unusual for an NFL owner to voice that sort of public reprimand for his coach, and after an 0-4 start to the season, it's obvious that Meyer's status already is tenuous at best barely a month into his first year in the NFL
Whatever one thinks of Meyer's action, or inaction, that was posted to social media, the optics of skipping the team flight home from a crushing loss to the Bengals to supposedly spend time with family aren't good, either. While the game was played on a Thursday night and was presumably followed by some time off or at least a light Friday schedule, it makes one wonder how Meyer would feel about a player skipping a team flight for some family time.
It all amounts, at the very least, to the latest extension of Meyer's pattern lack of self-awareness that dates back to his college days.
In less than a calendar year on the Jacksonville job, he also hired a strength coach in Chris Doyle who had been accused of racist behavior during his years at the University of Iowa, only to see Doyle resign days later amid the criticism. He's earned fines for violating rules that limit contact in OTAs, drawn an NFLPA investigation after indicating that vaccination status impacted roster decisions, and briefly carried former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, who played for him at Florida, as a tight end in the preseason. The move was widely panned as a publicity stunt, and Tebow was released among the club's first cuts.
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