UPDATE: The Jaguars reportedly fired Urban Meyer for cause and don't intend on paying him the balance of his five-year contract, which was reported to be worth between $10-12 annually.
Meanwhile team owner Shad Khan has further detailed the head-turning dismissal of his former head coach.
Though Meyer's firing seemed all but inevitable after a 2-13 start and a series of embarrassing blunders, many assumed that the final straw was a Wednesday report detailing an incident in which Meyer allegedly kicked former Jags kicker Josh Lambo before a preseason game.
But a Khan spokesperson is now saying that the furor over the kicking incident was not the deciding factor, according to Eugene Frenette of Jacksonville.com.
Related
In fact, according to the spokesman, Khan had already decided Meyer's fate and was merely waiting until after a series of previously scheduled team events to announce it, per Frenette.
The spokesman reiterated that Meyer's firing was a culmination of factors and not based on any single incident, which Frenette said comports with his previous reporting -- although the Lambo story certainly couldn't have helped.
Lambo, 31, depicted Meyer as a mean-spirited bully in an explosive article that ran in the Tampa Bay Times. The free-agent kicker, a second-team All-Pro as recently in 2019, suggested his otherwise successful run in Jacksonville came to an end because of the friction with Meyer.
The Lambo incident wasn't new, however, and the Jaguars had been long aware of it prior to the Times report, given that Lambo and his agent had filed a complaint to the team.
Taken in total with comments from Khan earlier in the week in which he vowed to take a patient approach on Meyer and warned against making an "impulsive" move, it certainly seems to suggest the owner might have had a recent change of heart.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram