The rebuilding Jacksonville Jaguars will soon conduct yet another search for a new head coach, as team owner Shad Khan officially announced the firing of first-year leader Urban Meyer last Wednesday. His tenure didn't even last one full season, due to confounding missteps on and off the field.
Meyer's championship pedigree and long-established success in the college ranks didn't translate to the pro level. The franchise won just two of 13 games under his stewardship, clinching a fourth straight double-digit losing season. And former Jaguars receiver Jimmy Smith is upset that Meyer underachieved and underdelivered.
"I'm angry because I was a cheerleader for Meyer, and now I look like I have egg on my face," Smith told The Zach Gelb Show last week. "Everybody's just so disappointed, from having high hopes. We're fearful because we have a generational talent. It was hard to earn that first pick, that generational talent. Look at how we're handling it. When he wasn't flying on the plane, and the video, and the kicking...
"It tarnishes the integrity of the shield. I broke rules and had been suspended before, but this is different. This is how he's affecting an entire community that has such high hopes, and an owner that's trying his best to get the right guy there, listening to his people. If I could have [a convo with Meyer], I don't want one. After seeing that video, I'm embarrassed. I mean, that's bad."
The Jaguars' issues run much deeper than Meyer, as his absence didn't spark a change in the team's on-field production Sunday. They were pushed around in a 30-16 home loss to the rival Houston Texans, dropping to 2-12. First-round rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence completed 22 of 38 passes for 210 yards with no touchdown and no interceptions.
Jacksonville, which now owns the top pick in next year's NFL draft, ranks last in the league in average points scored, 30th in average yards, 28th in average points allowed, and 31st in giveaways. The team's draft position could change again this coming weekend, in a Week 16 road matchup against the New York Jets (3-11).
The entire Jaguars conversation between Smith and Gelb can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The Zach Gelb Show on Twitter @ZachGelb and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.