Few things are surprising anymore when it comes to Urban Meyer — especially if said things are stupid.
But, you have to admit, the report that him calling his coaches “losers” was a bit of a head-turner.
In a development that should be surprising to absolutely nobody, Meyer’s time as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, though brief, has been mired in controversy. Many of those issues came to light over the weekend in a bombshell NFL.com report from Tom Pelissero that outlined Meyer’s collection of missteps, some of which had been previously reported, others not.
One such claim was the Meyer lambasted his assistant coaches, at one point calling them losers and basically making them defend their resumes. But an unnamed former assistant of Meyer’s isn’t buying that whole story.
“I saw the one comment, ‘You’re all losers’ — he’d never talk like that,” the assistant told Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “It’s more, ‘What have you done for me lately?’ The biggest thing was to challenge coaches. He doesn’t blame players. But it’s very uncomfortable for coaches. He’ll go after you, he’ll ask why you’re doing drills a certain way, running meetings a certain way, and if you say, ‘That’s how I’ve always done it,’ he’ll tell you that’s the worst reason you can give. He’ll murder you for that. It’s uncomfortable. But I promise you he’s not coasting. Most coaches blame players in a situation like he’s in. He doesn’t.”
Whether that’s exactly what played out, Meyer has shown he doesn’t belong in the NFL. He hasn’t altered his coaching style from the amateur to professional level, and he refuses to get out of his way and stop doing boneheaded things. At 57 years old, Meyer is very much an old dog who can’t be taught new tricks.
Good for him that he has former employees willing to go to bet for him, but the Jaguars, Meyer and his future as an NFL coach seem beyond help at this point.
