The Jacksonville Jaguars announced they fired head coach Urban Meyer early Thursday morning.
Meyer led the team to a 2-11 record through 13 games. The team announced that offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell will become the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
OJ SIMPSON’S NEVADA PAROLE ENDS EARLY
“After deliberation over many weeks and a thorough analysis of the entirety of Urban’s tenure with our team, I am bitterly disappointed to arrive at the conclusion that an immediate change is imperative for everyone,” Shad Khan said in a statement.
Meyer’s tenure was marked by a number of controversies. His firing comes after the Tampa Bay Times reported Wednesday an accusation from former kicker Josh Lambo that Meyer kicked him in the leg and fumed at him during warmups. Meyer was upset with him for missing field goal attempts, according to Lambo.
“And for a second, I couldn’t believe it actually happened,” Lambo told the Tampa Bay Times. “Pardon my vulgarity, I said, ‘Don’t you ever f- king kick me again!’ And his response was, ‘I’m the head ball coach, I’ll kick you whenever the f–k I want.’”
Meyer denied that the incident took place, according to the outlet. He argued that he had witnesses that could corroborate his side of the story but did not want to drag them into the controversy.
Khan previously told Meyer in October that he needed to regain “trust and respect.” At the time, Meyer, who is married, was caught on video acting inappropriately with another woman. He apologized for the incident.
Early on in his tenure with the Jaguars, Meyer hired a strength and conditioning coordinator, Chris Doyle, who was previously accused of making racist remarks, the Daily Mail reported. The team announced Doyle’s resignation shortly after receiving backlash for the hire.
Khan told reporters Monday that he was not going to be impulsive when acting on Meyer’s future. This was prior to the Tampa Bay Times report Wednesday.
“What concerns me is obviously wins and losses,” Khan said, according to the Associated Press. “In this case, Urban, he won wherever he was. This is something he’s never dealt with. And when you win in football, you create enemies.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The team has four more games left in the season.
“In the spirit of closure and recharging our players, staff and fan base, I will not comment further until some point following the conclusion of the NFL season,” Khan said.
