Reaction from Urban Meyer firing: Surprise, laughs, karma from around social media

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – When the Jaguars fired off a press release close to 1 a.m. on Thursday morning announcing that they’d fired coach Urban Meyer, there’s a pretty good chance that most people were asleep for the night.

Jaguars players Shaquill Griffin and Trevor Lawrence both said that they didn’t learn of Meyer’s firing until Thursday when they woke up.

Reaction from across social media has run the gamut, from shock and surprise, to excitement and delight. Meyer’s reputation wasn’t the greatest when he was hired by the Jaguars last January, and it certainly didn’t improve during the team’s 2-11 start.

Social media drove that point home.

This classic scene from the 1990 gangster movie, “Goodfellas,” is sure to make fans of the unforgettable flick starring Joe Pesci, Robert DeNiro and Ray Liotta laugh.

Former NBA basketball player and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins brought up a good point, and it’s been mentioned a time or two during Meyer’s tenure here. Maybe he wasn’t really into the NFL job.

The popular Twitter follow Super 70s sports always turns tough moments into ones we can all share a laugh at.

When facts intersect with cold-blooded humor, a perfect tweet is created, this one from Barstool Sports’ Kayce Smith.

And about that past-midnight news drop from the Jaguars. That was noticed by more than one person on social media. No one was going to let the Jaguars of the hook for that one, especially not Emmanuel Acho, a former NFL linebacker and current TV personality for Fox.

The second of this year’s first-round picks for the Jaguars, running back Travis Etienne, never will get the chance to play a regular season game under Meyer.

And former Jaguars kicker Josh Scobee likely summed up the feelings of the Jaguars’ fanbase by putting owner Shad Khan’s latest move into words that Khan used to describe Meyer’s hiring.