JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One day after Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer issued a public apology following the release of a video that showed him in a compromising position with a woman who was not his wife, reports suggest his handling of the scandal is not going over well with players and management.
Sports Illustrated reporter Michael Silver tweeted Tuesday morning that the situation has “reached a crisis point, especially in the locker room.”
“He has zero credibility in that stadium. He had very little to begin with,” one unnamed Jaguars player said, according to Silver.
According to Silver’s reporting, players didn’t like that Meyer canceled Monday’s team meeting as he dealt with the fallout from the video.
In an apology to players, Meyer reportedly portrayed the woman in the videos as a random person who was just there dancing, the player said, but the players were skeptical.
4) Said one player: 'We looked at him like, WTF? Right when he left everyone started dying laughing. And he knew it.'
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) October 5, 2021
“Right when he left everyone started dying laughing. And he knew it,” the player said, according to Silver.
In his Monday apology, Meyer seemed to imply the women he was seen with in photos last week were trying to pull him onto the dance floor and “screwing around,” but another video that surfaced Tuesday afternoon showing a different angle clearly shows Meyer grabbing one woman’s backside in the lounge area of his Ohio bar.
Meyer said Monday that he “should have left” the bar before anything had the chance to happen. The 0-4 Jaguars dropped a 24-21 game to the Bengals Thursday night, and Meyer said he stayed in Ohio after the game to visit family, an uncommon occurrence, according to many NFL players who have weighed in over the past two days.
I've never heard of a Head Coach in the NFL not flying back with the team after a game.. Urban Meyer sticking arahnd after that Thursday night game is MIND BLOWING to me 🤯🤯#PMSOverreactionMonday #PatMcAfeeShowLIVE pic.twitter.com/w3N9oEaCEq
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 4, 2021
Former NFL executive Michael Lombardi tweeted Tuesday the situation could get ugly.
“According to two Jacksonville sources, there are many closed-door meetings happening over the last two days in the football offices and none of them have anything to do with the Titans,” Lombardi said. “Stay tuned. This might get ugly.”
The team even had conversations about who would replace Meyer if the position needed to be filled mid-season, Benjamin Allbright reported.
The Jags are going to keep Urban Meyer "for now," but conversations have been had about who to replace him with in-season (Sutton, Strong, Bevell), as well as if they part ways end of year.
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) October 5, 2021
FO wants to give him a chance to dig out of this.
NBC Sports reporter Mike Florio said Meyer “may not make it to the end of the week.”
Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan on Tuesday admonished the first-year head coach in a statement but seemed to imply he’s sticking with him, at least for now.
“I have addressed this matter with Urban. 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.”
So far no Jaguars players have publicly commented on the video. Players will have the chance when they are made available to the media on Wednesday.
