Time and change?
Jaguars tenure might reflect who Meyer was at Ohio State
Two immediate thoughts on Urban Meyer’s firing in Jacksonville: Dysfunction does not develop overnight; and Ryan Day better be paying close attention.
As to the first thought, a Jaguar does not change its spots, meaning it is now fair to wonder whether Meyer pulled stunts at Ohio State similar to his missteps and misconduct in Jacksonville.
We know about him misleading the media early in the Zach Smith domestic abuse case. We know he should have stepped into that situation sooner, and done more. We know about the headaches, which interestingly enough we never hear about anymore. But what don’t we know?
Were the whispers true, that Buckeyes players hid from Meyer in the team training facility? That assistant coaches too often were treated like underlings? That Meyer thought he was too big to fail? Did Meyer use questionable motivational tactics at Ohio State but they just weren’t made public? Similar behavior reportedly happened in Jacksonville, including an NFL Network report that Meyer called his assistants losers.
Before Meyer’s defenders suggest he behaved “better” with the Buckeyes than he did in Jacksonville, consider what a few of his former OSU players had to say about him.
In September, former Ohio State defensive lineman Dre’mont Jones, now with the Denver Broncos, told reporters that he was not surprised by Meyer struggling to connect with Jaguars veterans.
“I just know how he is,” Jones said. “I’m not going to go into great detail about it, but it doesn’t surprise me.”
In October, after a video surfaced of Meyer at his Columbus restaurant in close contact with a woman who was not his wife, former Buckeyes linebacker Darron Lee tweeted, “People claim daily nowadays, that they are solid, real, accountable, etc. But if you catch wind of that not being the case and address it to them? You’ll see who they really are.”
Then Wednesday evening, former Ohio State linebacker Jerome Baker Jr. went on Twitter when former Jacksonville kicker Josh Lambo revealed Meyer had kicked him before a practice.
“I’m not surprised … KARMA is catching up,” Baker tweeted.
Jones, Lee and Baker all played defense for the Buckeyes, so their comments could be a not-all-that-uncommon resentful reaction to an offensiveminded coach like Meyer having spent less time getting to know his defensive players.
But my view is somewhat darker, given the players’ responses to specific negative circumstances involving Meyer. Put it this way: None of the three came out in support of their former coach.
Hard to blame them. Meyer began his short-lived NFL journey by hiring sports performance coach Chris Doyle, accused of berating Black players at Iowa, and ended embroiled in Lambo’s allegations, which included Meyer reportedly telling the kicker, “I’m the head ball coach, I’ll kick you whenever the (expletive) I want.” Meyer has denied Lambo’s accusations.
More indisputable is Meyer running into a brick wall he should have seen coming. Trying to control men who play and coach the game is nothing new for him. But players are more malleable in college than in the NFL, and college coaches tend to take orders more willingly than their pro counterparts. Brotherhood, and all that. Some Jaguars coaches, such as offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, have been in the NFL for more than 20 years and are not likely to take to being berated by a newbie.
At Ohio State, Meyer was more master of his environment, functioning as something akin to a CEO. NFL teams have a real CEO, the owner, who generally views the head coach as an employee more than a demigod. At Power Five schools, football coaches call the shots, or at least live by the mantra that it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission.
Recall the words of former Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee when asked if he had considered firing Jim Tressel in the early stages of Tattoogate?: “Are you kidding? I’m just hopeful the coach doesn’t dismiss me,” Gee quipped.
Compare that to Jaguars owner Shad Khan, who wasn’t kidding when he said Thursday morning, “As I stated in October, regaining our trust and respect was essential. Regrettably, it didn’t happen.”
My second thought: Ryan Day has a great situation at Ohio State, where job security is not wet cement. Meyer was fired after going 2-11, without even getting the rest of the season to show he can begin to turn things around. Meyer initially embraced the challenge of proving his coaching chops at the next level, while also wanting his ego stroked as someone on par with Pete Carroll and Jimmy Johnson, former college coaches with national championships who later won Super Bowls.
Instead, Meyer winds up more like
Nick Saban, who failed with the Miami Dolphins after leading LSU to a national title. Except Meyer lacks the juicy landing spot enjoyed by Saban, who left the Dolphins for Alabama after going 15-17 in two NFL seasons. The Notre Dame and Southern California jobs have closed. James Franklin just re-upped at Penn State. Texas is terribly underachieving, per usual, but let’s see how NIL money improves the Longhorns recruiting before suggesting Austin as Meyer’s next coaching stop. And all that assumes the biggest college programs would want a coach who now carries so much baggage.
Day, meanwhile, can lose to Michigan and still appear in public with his reputation mostly intact. He should want no part of pro football, even with college becoming more like the NFL with its version of the draft (early-signing period) and free agency (transfer portal). If tempted, he can look past Meyer to his other coaching mentor, Chip Kelly, whose NFL tenure lasted four seasons after going 28-35 with Philadelphia and San Francisco.
Day is better off channeling Notre Dame Lou Holtz — 100-30-2 with one national championship — than New York Jets Lou Holtz, who went 3-10 before resigning with one game remaining in the 1976 season, his lone foray into the NFL.
The grass is not always greener in The League. Just ask Meyer. roller@dispatch.com @rollercd