Jacksonville undoes hiring of accused racist strength coach
Brady returns to workout regimen
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars and embattled strength coach Chris Doyle parted ways Friday night, a few hours after a prominent diversity group assailed the team and called the recent hiring “simply unacceptable.”
Coach Urban Meyer and general manager Trent Baalke said Doyle resigned and they accepted.
“Chris did not want to be a distraction to what we are building in Jacksonville,” Meyer and Baalke said in a statement. “We are responsible for all aspects of our program and, in retrospect, should have given greater consideration to how his appointment may have affected all involved. We wish him the best as he moves forward in his career.”
The team initially attributed the statement to Meyer, but added Baalke’s name Saturday and said it was an oversight.
The Fritz Pollard Alliance, whose mission is to increase diversity in the NFL, criticized Jacksonville’s leadership, specifically Meyer, and said racist allegations at Iowa should have disqualified Doyle as a coaching candidate.
“At a time when the NFL has failed to solve its problem with racial hiring practices, it is simply unacceptable to welcome Chris Doyle into the ranks of NFL coaches,” the alliance said in a statement Friday. “Doyle’s departure from the University of Iowa reflected a tenure riddled with poor judgment and mistreatment of Black players. His conduct should be as disqualifying for the NFL as it was for University of Iowa.
“Urban Meyer’s statement, ‘I’ve known Chris for close to 20 years,’ reflects the good ol’ boy network that is precisely the reason there is such a disparity in employment opportunities for Black coaches.”
Meyer defended the hiring of Doyle on Thursday, saying he “vetted him thoroughly along with our general manager and owner.”
Iowa agreed to pay Doyle $1.1 million in a resignation agreement last June after more than a dozen former players said he bullied and discriminated against them. Doyle denied the allegations. An investigation by an outside law firm later found that the program’s rules “perpetuated racial and culture biases and diminished the value of cultural diversity,” and allowed coaches to demean players without consequence.
BRADY IS BACK: Apparently, the avocado tequila has run its course and Bucs quarterback Tom Brady is back at work.
On Saturday, the tb12sports. com website tweeted out a picture of Brady carrying an equipment bag over his shoulder and a water bottle in his left hand preparing to work out with trainer Alex Guerrero.
The tweet read: “Back to Work. #EyesOn8.”
Brady won his seventh Lombardi Trophy after throwing three touchdown passes in Tampa Bay’s 31-9 victory over Kansas City in Super Bowl 55 last Sunday.
He was named the game’s MVP for a record fifth time.
On Wednesday, the 43-yearold allowed himself a chance to celebrate by participating in the celebratory boat parade in downtown Tampa, riding in his $2 million, customized 40-foot vessel named Viva a vida.
He also had one famously completed pass of the Lombardi Trophy, tossing it from his boat to tight end Cameron Brate on another boat.
Brady showed his vulnerability after the boat docked at Port Tampa Bay, appearing to need some help walking as backup quarterback Ryan Griffin held on to him.
“Seasick,’’ is how Bucs coach Bruce Arians described it.
SUPER FINE: Bucs rookie safety Antoine Winfield Jr. reportedly has been fined for his peace-sign taunt at Tyreek Hill late in Super Bowl 55, payback for when the Chiefs receiver did the same to Winfield on the same field earlier in the season. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported Saturday that Winfield has been fined $7,815 by the NFL.
Winfield was flagged for taunting with 4:06 to play last Sunday at Raymond James Stadium after breaking up a pass intended for Hill.
Hill flashed a peace sign at Winfield at the end of a 75-yard touchdown catch en route to embarrassing the Bucs for 269 receiving yards and three touchdowns in a 27-24 Chiefs victory on Nov. 29. Hill was neither penalized nor fined.
“The taunting, it was just something I had to do,” Winfield said immediately after the Super Bowl. “… It felt amazing to be able to do that.”
The fine is figurative coins under the sofa cushions compared to the Bucs’ per-player compensation for their playoff run. Tampa Bay earned $130,000 per player for winning the Super Bowl, according to the league’s collective bargaining agreement, and a total of $255,000 per player for its fourgame postseason run.