Jeff Darlington
Adam Schefter
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ESPN Senior Writer- ESPN NFL Insider
- Joined ESPN in 2009
- Former president of the Pro Football Writers of America and the author of four books
The Jacksonville Jaguars fired former coach Urban Meyer for cause, sources told ESPN on Saturday, with the intention of not paying him the remaining four years of his contract.
A source within the organization said the Jaguars’ reasons for withholding the remaining guarantees are not tied to one specific incident — but rather a cumulation of instances that Jacksonville’s officials believe justified the firing.
It is not unusual for situations like these — involving negated guarantees — to later be negotiated by the two sides to avoid a prolonged legal situation. It will be up to the lawyers involved in any negotiation between the Jaguars and Meyer to try to figure out if they can resolve the situation.
A spokesperson for Jaguars owner Shad Khan told The Associated Press on Friday night that the decision to move on from Meyer was made after Jacksonville’s 20-0 loss at Tennessee on Sunday. A conversation Khan and Meyer had in the locker room after that shutout — Meyer had few answers for the team’s woes or how he planned to fix them — sealed a decision Khan had been mulling for weeks.
The only reason the final announcement of the decision was delayed was because of other planned events, the spokesperson told the AP, and had nothing to do with former Jacksonville kicker Josh Lambo‘s accusation in the Tampa Bay Times that Meyer kicked him during an August practice. Lambo’s story came out hours before the Jaguars announced Meyer’s firing.
Meyer’s 11-month tenure also included controversial viral videos showing the former coach acting inappropriately with a woman at a restaurant/bar in Ohio after he stayed behind following a game against Cincinnati.
