Urban Meyer Speaks On Dead-Fish Handshake With Mike Vrabel After Firing

Urban Meyer spoke publicly for the first time since the first-year NFL head coach was fired by the Jacksonville Jaguars early Thursday morning following a handful of off-the-field missteps.

Meyer, who was interviewed by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport for a story published Saturday, denied all accusations against him over the past week or so and explained he was devastated with how his short, 13-game tenure in Jacksonville played out.

Meyer also referenced his Week 14 postgame interaction with Titans head coach Mike Vrabel after Tennessee shut out the Jaguars in a 20-0 verdict. The interaction — or lack thereof — essentially became an instant meme, as Meyer was slandered for his dead-fish of a postgame handshake.

“Someone asked me about Vrabel’s (handshake), we’re really close,” Meyer told Rapoport. “That had nothing to do with him. That’s probably one of my issues why I’ve thought some of the things I said: I can’t take losing. I try to accept it, it just eats away at my soul. And I believe our players deserve better.”

And while that came following Meyer’s last game with the team, it actually wasn’t the final straw that got him fired. That final straw, believe it or not, came when former Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo told the Tampa Bay Times that Meyer once kicked him during a preseason practice.

Jaguars owner Shad Khan seemingly had enough of Meyer and the numerous situations he got himself into off the field, as Meyer was fired just hours later.

The Jaguars will get back on the field Sunday with Darrell Bevell taking over on an interim basis. Jacksonville will face the Houston Texans in a Week 15 game.