After his historic flame out last season, being fired midway through his first season as a head coach in the NFL, Urban Meyer insists he has no desire to return to the sideline.
In an appearance on the “All Things Covered” podcast hosted by Vikings cornerback Patrick Peterson and former Steelers corner Bryant McFadden, Meyer opened up about his 13-game tenure with the Jacksonville Jaguars, which ended with his firing after several several off-field missteps and a 2-11 record.
“No desire,” Meyer said in the podcast. “Of course, I would’ve done some things differently.”
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After his firing, Meyer returned to television, working as an analyst for Fox Sports’ college football broadcasts. Then-offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell took over as the interim before the Jaguars hired Doug Pederson in February 2022 to be Meyer’s successor.
Pederson and the Jaguars were one of the biggest surprises in the NFL this season, going 9-8 and winning the AFC South. Jacksonville upset the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild card round of the playoffs before losing to the eventual AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round.
“I was excited to see because they have a lot of different players from when I was there,” Meyer said. “They did a really good job in free agency this year. But to me, it’s kind of funny when you hear people say the NFL is a quarterback league — Pop Warner is a quarterback league. So is high school. It’s a quarterback sport and when you get a killer like a Trevor Lawrence … you’ve got a chance. So they’ve got a great future.”
Not only did Meyer’s performance in Jacksonville fail to meet expectations, he committed several missteps off the field that alienated him from players and the fan base.
It started shortly after he was hired, in February 2021, when he named former Iowa strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle, who had left the Hawkeyes program after allegations of racism and bullying surfaced. Doyle resigned the day after he was announced as Jacksonville’s director of sports performance.
After a Week 4 loss in Cincinnati, Meyer drew criticism for not flying back with the team and instead remaining in his home state to socialize with friends. That weekend, he was recorded in a video that went viral on social media with a woman who was not his wife dancing close to him.
Then in December 2021, the day before he was fired, former Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo accused Meyer of kicking him during a preseason game before his release.
Previously, Meyer enjoyed one of the most successful college coaches in history, posting a 187-32 overall record and winning three national championships. His winning percentage of .853 is the third-highest in college football history.
“I was done,” Meyer said. “I was retired. I had some health issues at Ohio State … I got approached by a few (NFL) teams and this team really appealed to me,” Meyer said. “Trevor Lawrence, who might be a Hall of Famer some day, he’s that good. Obviously it didn’t go well, but I had no plans of doing that at all. It just happened.”
