Why didn’t Jaguar shoot Urban Meyer? A few reasons why Jacksonville can keep the coach after 2021
Urban Meyer’s bank account may be too large to fail.
Meyer’s Jaguars future beyond 2021 looks pretty bleak, thanks to a pretty lousy NFL 2-11 debut season with Jacksonville mired in controversy, cold shoulders and tension in the coaches’ offices.
Drama with Jags head coach began in October, when a dirty video was leaked of the coach in an Ohio restaurant following the “Thursday Night Football” loss to the Bengals. Since then, reports of dysfunction with the coaching staff and controversies with players have surfaced.
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No matter how perilous the situation in Jacksonville is, though, Meyer could last this season, and potentially the next and possibly even the next season after that. So Meyer might have to send her agent a really good Christmas present.
Here’s why:
Why Jaguar didn’t shoot Urban Meyer
There are a few reasons why Jacksonville is unlikely to move in from Meyer even though a year of testing has gone horribly wrong: the loyalty of owner Shad Khan and Khan’s signature on Meyer’s checks.
Khan is a pretty patient owner, as evidenced by his time with Jacksonville: After taking over the team in 2011, he fired longtime office worker Gene Smith, and Dave Caldwell, the company’s new GM. team, fired coach Mike Mularkey.
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In return, Caldwell hired Gus Bradley, who spent four years as a coach before being fired in 2016. Doug Marrone followed Bradley, and he lasted five seasons (and attended one AFC match. Championship) after being released. Caldwell was fired during the 2020 season, which lasted nearly eight years as GM.
Collectively, 2 out of 3 head coaches during the Shad Khan era lasted at least four years each, with the only deviation occurring after the team changed ownership.
Even after the video incident involving Meyer, Khan backed his head coach in a statement:
The specifics of our conversation will be held with confidence. What I will say is that his behavior last weekend was inexcusable. I appreciate Urban’s contrition, which I believe is sincere. Now, he must regain our trust and respect. That will require a personal commitment from Urban to all who support, represent or play for our team. I am confident that he will deliver.
The second, and arguably primary, reason Jaguar didn’t fire Meyer: His salary. While Meyer’s contract situation was never made public, reports indicate that he earned between $10 and $12 million per season for six years. If Jags fires Meyer after the 2021 season, that will leave $60 million in the books through 2026.
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That amount may not affect the Jags salary limit, but it is certainly a number in the ledger and the bottom line of the franchise. Paying multiple coaches and coaching staff at once is something that tends to become a burden for NFL owners.
While money is no real object for Khan – one of the NFL’s richest owners, valued at around $9 billion – owes that much to a coach and underwriter for the test. Experience after a year may not be what Khan, or anyone in the organization, wants to do.
