The franchise does not intend to pay Meyer the remaining four years on his contract.
According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington, the Jacksonville Jaguars fired former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer this week for cause with the intention of not paying him the remaining four years on his contract.
“A source within the organization said the Jaguars' reasons for withholding the remaining guarantees are not tied to one specific incident, but rather a cumulation of instances that Jacksonville's officials believe justified the firing,” the report said.
Meyer – who went 2-11 in his lone season with the Jaguars – had a number of off-field incidents during his time in Jacksonville, including the hiring and subsequent firing of disgraced Iowa strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle and a viral video that showed him acting inappropriately with a woman who is not his wife at a Columbus bar after not flying home with the team following a loss in Cincinnati.
There was also a report in the hours before his firing alleging that Meyer had kicked former Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo during a preseason practice, a team spokesperson told The Associated Press the decision to fire Meyer had already been made by owner Shad Khan after Jacksonville’s 20-0 loss at Tennessee on Sunday.
Meyer is just the fourth head coach since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 to not finish his first season with a franchise, joining Lou Holtz (New York Jets) in 1976, Pete McCulley (San Francisco 49ers) in 1978 and Bobby Petrino (Atlanta Falcons) in 2007.
Meyer can challenge the decision in court, though Schefter and Darlington noted the two sides could also negotiate a settlement in the coming weeks to “avoid a prolonged legal situation.”
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